Recent years have shown us more and more innovation in design and technology from the automotive industry. Engines are becoming ever more efficient, emissions are quickly being reduced, and the major car companies continue to bring out futuristic designs built for the best possible aerodynamics. However, one trend truly stands out to those who want a little more out of their cars: the redesigning and re-engineering of classic models, bringing them into the modern era in updated forms.
Muscle and Sports Cars get a Makeover
From the Chevrolet Camaro, to the Dodge Charger and Challenger models, and even to the ever classic Ford Mustang, auto manufacturers have put huge amounts of time, effort, and money into bringing high performance vehicles up to date, with designs calling on their classic incarnations, but modernized for the consumer of today. These designs tend to have less dramatic body lines than their previous counterparts, but come off as extremely sporty all the same. Tastes have changed a little since the early 1970s, and these cars reflect a mixture of old and new in their cosmetic designs. In particular, the Camaro has had a drastic change, with the recent Camaro 2SS model looking almost nothing like its original form, but becoming massively popular with performance vehicle enthusiasts all the same for its revolutionary body style and high performance engine.
Under the Hood: Are They Really Performance Vehicles?
Along with tastes in vehicle appearance, laws governing engine emissions have changed since these classics were in their hay day. Few, if any, of the original muscle cars would even come close to meeting legal requirements for new cars today. Even my own personal high performance vehicle, a 1990 Pontiac Firebird, much newer than the original designs, would fail miserably were it subjected to a modern emissions test. So, with these new limitations, how does the horsepower of the newer cars stack up to the true classics? Let us use the Dodge Charger, arguably one of the most beloved muscle cars, as a test subject for this. For reference, the classic car specifications listed here are provided by www.autofiles.org, and taken from original manufacturer specification listings. According to these listings, a 1969 Dodge Charger, complete with the hemi engine, topped out at 431 horsepower. By comparison, a 2014 Charger, as listed on the current Dodge website, tops out at only 370. This is, unfortunately, a fairly standard trend among these updated cars. However, don’t let that number fool you, its still a huge amount of power under the hood.
Overall, speaking myself as a lover of classic and high performance cars, I love the newer versions many companies are coming out with of their older classics. They are especially wonderful when compared to the average cars of today, many of which barely seem to have any power behind them at all, and certainly lack in the department of cosmetic appeal.
