"Muscle car" is a term that's been thrown around for years now, sometimes correctly, sometimes not. For this Top 10, were the original term for the 60's and 70's cars that have been popular for 40 years now.

These mid sized cars were usually 2 door, front engine, rear wheel drive machines. The engines were usually huge and put out serious power for their relatively low purchase price.Simple really.

Sadly though, muscles cars died out in the early 70's due to the introduction of Unleaded gas. The change in fuel dropped horsepower outputs and people just stopped buying them. The good news of course, is you can buy one of these and put a modern unleaded engine in, and produce upwards of 1000bhp should you choose (and of course have the money) and still use it as a street car.

The Skylark GS (Gran Sport) appeared back in 1965 when Buick decided it was a good idea to put a 402ci (6.5li) V8 in the front. They were right of course! It was a success for Buick and carried on into the early 70's with the GSX, a 454ci (7.5li) engine developing over 400bhp and 500lb.ft torque!

Oldsmobile were the second company to offer up a massive engine on a mid sized platform. In the case of the 442, it was a 310bhp 330ci (5.4li) V8 which was a Police spec engine. The 442 came from the name 4-4-2, referring to the 4 barrel carb, 4 speed box and twin exhaust system. It was also known for it's good handling, which is rare for muscle cars.

This was the response to sister company Pontiac's GTO. The normal SS only had 300bhp, so this SS model was upped to a more respectable 375bhp 402ci (6.5li) V8. Sadly, it was known to be terrible under breaking and didn't like going round corners, to much extra weight in the front with that massive engine. Over the next few years, the suspension and brakes were tweaked to massively improve this. In 1970 the ultimate SS came out, the 427ci (7.0li) 450bhp and 500lb/ft version.

The late comer to the muscle car party. After the success of the Charger, Dodge released the slightly larger Challenger R/T (Road and Track) with either a 427ci (7.0li) Hemi with 425bhp, or a 440ci (7.4li) producing 390bhp, the Hemi was the one to go for of course. This has also just had a 2008 revival with a modern day Challenger SRT-8 launching. We all wish they'd make the Challenger SRT-10 though.

The name for this car cost $50,000, which in the 60's was a lot of money. Plymouth bought permission from Warner Bros to use the Roadrunner name to help people know it was fast. It was, 14 second quarter mile for $4000 is very cheap! There was a 335bhp 385ci (6.3li) or the bigger 425bhb 427ci (7.0li) V8 options, both were fast and popular.

In 1964, Pontiac released the GTO which is regarded at the first Muscle Car. Pontiac took a 389ci (6.3li) for a bigger car, and replaced the 326ci (5.3li) in the tempest, and thus the GTO and muscle cars were born. Interestingly, one of the men behind the GTO was John Delorean, who later formed and designed the Delorean DMC12 of Back to the Future fame.

In 1966, GM had to watch the Mustang come out, and sell, oh did it sell. It's to this day one of the fastest selling cars, and the fastest selling sports car. To respond, the year after they released the Camaro. The Best of the early models was the Z28. A small 300ci (4.9li) v8 which was race prepped to 400bhp was the engine to go for, if very hard. The SS got the 427ci (7.0li) 425bhp engine, which was easier to get, and still awesome.

The Mustang is the biggest selling, which also makes it the most common and therefore not the best. This particular model was made famous by one of the greatest car chases of all time in Bullitt. The GT390 was a 427ci (7.0li) 390bhp V8, not the biggest engine, but 30bhp more! It was and is a legend car.

The 'Cuda was actually released before the Mustang, but due to the popularity of the Mustang, and the Barracuda's under powered engines, it almost bombed. However, in 1970 it got a restyle, and a new range of engines, the Hemi 'Cuda was born. The Hemi being a 427ci (7.0li) 425bhp monster.

The daddy of muscle cars. The 69 R/T is a legend car that many around the world dream of owning. Yes, being the General Lee in The Dukes Of Hazard, and also being the baddy car in Bullitt helped a lot. But look at it, it was always going to do well. It's evil, especially in black. The original Hemi was rated at 425bhp, but it was more like 500bhp! It's a shame modern day car makers don't do it that way! The R/T was slightly less powerful, but was massivly more reliable which meant it could offer up a 5 year warrenty.