All That Power Without Any Aesthetics
Muscle cars aren't always beautiful beasts, and the glory days produced some spectacular mechanical triumphs wrapped in questionable packages. These 20 automotive eyesores had serious power under their hoods but couldn't outrun their awkward styling.
1. 1971 Plymouth Road Runner
Performance enthusiasts wept when Plymouth introduced its bloated 1971 Road Runner. Gone was the taut, aggressive styling of the ‘70 models, replaced by rounded curves and a less distinctive grille. Plymouth's redesign added nearly 200 pounds, alongside the addition of the 340 V8.
2. 1974 AMC Matador X
AMC desperately wanted the Matador X to compete with the popular Ford Torino. Their design team created what many consider automotive styling gone horribly wrong. Apparently, the protruding, bug-eyed front end paired with an awkwardly sloping rear made the car look perpetually confused.
CZmarlin — Christopher Ziemnowicz on Wikimedia
3. 1970 Ford Torino King Cobra
Only three prototypes of this aerodynamic nightmare were ever built, thankfully sparing the public from mass-produced ugliness. Crafted to dominate NASCAR, the King Cobra featured a dramatic drooping nose with hideaway headlights. Ford abandoned the project when NASCAR changed homologation rules.
JOHN LLOYD from Concrete, Washington, United States on Wikimedia
4. 1974 AMC Gremlin X
That bizarre chopped-rear profile makes this vehicle recognizable for all the wrong reasons. AMC's attempt at building a performance subcompact resulted in what looked like a car with its back half removed in a tragic accident. However, it packed a punch with its optional 304 V8.
5. 1971 Dodge Charger Super Bee
Dodge followed up one of history's most iconic muscle car designs by increasing the visual weight and adding a split grille that fans compared to a whale's mouth. Dodge's decision to transfer the Super Bee badge from the Coronet to the Charger coincided with this controversial redesign.
Greg Gjerdingen from Willmar, USA on Wikimedia
6. 1975 Ford Elite
Excess chrome, opera windows, and vinyl roofs signaled Ford's disoriented direction during the mid-70s. Their personal luxury muscle car gained weight while losing power and style. Despite marketing it as a prestige vehicle, it couldn't hide that it was essentially an underpowered Torino.
1975 Ford Gran Torino Elite V8 muscle car walkaround by GoViralMedia
7. 1970 Mercury Cyclone Spoiler
Mercury's approach to aerodynamics resulted in one of the strangest front ends ever bolted onto a production automobile. The pointed nose and recessed headlights created a face only an engineer could love. Wind tunnel testing may have proven the layout effective, but aesthetic considerations were secondary.
JOHN LLOYD from Concrete, Washington, United States on Wikimedia
8. 1970 AMC Rebel Machine
Painted in eye-searing white with red and blue graphics, The Machine looked like a patriotic experiment gone wrong. AMC's bold styling attempt gave us a car that still turns heads today, mostly in bewilderment. It never received the respect its mechanical specifications deserved.
Greg Gjerdingen from Willmar, USA on Wikimedia
9. 1975 Chevrolet Camaro
Chevrolet's designers struggled with incorporating federally mandated 5-mph bumpers into the Camaro's once-sleek profile. The result was a bulbous, oddly proportioned car with an ungainly rubber-tipped nose. Sales slightly declined from 1974 as drivers recoiled from the styling and neutered engine options.
Greg Gjerdingen from Willmar, USA on Wikimedia
10. 1977 Pontiac Can Am
Desperate to recapture muscle car glory, the famous Pontiac produced this strange Colonnade coupe with outlandish graphics and a massive shaker hood scoop. When production problems with the fiberglass rear spoilers arose, Pontiac canceled the model after just 1,377 units.
CZmarlin — Christopher Ziemnowicz on Wikimedia
11. 1973 Pontiac Grand Am
Pontiac carmakers did manage to extract reasonable performance from the 455 V8 despite new emissions requirements. However, the 1973 Pontiac Grand Am is often viewed as an awkward hybrid, too luxurious and heavy for muscle car purists, yet not refined enough to compete with European luxury sports sedans.
12. 1974 Dodge Charger SE
Opera windows belong on formal luxury cars, not muscle machines. Dodge's baffling decision to incorporate this characteristic destroyed the Charger's image overnight. Well, it weighed nearly 4,300 pounds while generating only around 280 horsepower from its largest engine option.
Greg Gjerdingen from Willmar, USA on Wikimedia
13. 1970 Plymouth Superbird
Love it or hate it, the Superbird's outlandish appearance can't be ignored. Though, maybe we should ignore it because the overall design left much to be desired, and this automobile was made purely for NASCAR domination.
14. 1972 Buick Gran Sport
People still ask why Buick designers abandoned their clean, aggressive styling for this intermediate. The 1972 Gran Sport had strange concave body panels and an awkward front end that didn’t interest everyone; some found the look less cohesive before the 1973 bumper regulations took effect.
15. 1974 Ford Mustang II Mach 1
Based on the humble Pinto platform, Ford's legendary pony car reached its aesthetic nadir with this underpowered pretender. The comically small 2.8-liter V6 generated just 105 horsepower, making the wild graphics and spoilers seem like false advertising. Ford president Lee Iacocca demanded the downsized Mustang.
order_242 from Chile on Wikimedia
16. 1978 Dodge Magnum XE
Chrysler tried hiding rectangular headlights behind clear covers, forming a squinting face that looked confused. Thankfully, the Magnum eventually replaced the Charger in Dodge's lineup. NASCAR teams hated the body style so much that Dodge had to bring back the previous generation Charger for racing.
17. 1976 Plymouth Volaré Road Runner
This car’s color combinations and graphics packages couldn't disguise the Volaré's economy car origins or its performance. Once capable of sub-14-second quarter-mile times, the Road Runner nameplate now sat on a car that struggled to reach 60 mph in under 11 seconds.
** RARE ** 1976 PLYMOUTH VOLARE "ROAD RUNNER" 4-SPD ** SOLD !! by Jay Brown
18. 1973 Pontiac Firebird Formula
The government-mandated 5-mph bumpers destroyed its formerly sleek profile. Pontiac's attempt to integrate these safety requirements showed up as rubber-covered protrusions that looked like afterthoughts. Weighing nearly 200 pounds more than its predecessor, the Formula was an example of sheer performance degradation.
19. 1975 Mercury Cougar XR-7
It looks like Mercury carmakers never met a body crease they didn't like. By 1975, the once-athletic Cougar had evolved into this overdecorated personal luxury barge. This model got rid of hidden headlamps for exposed quad headlights and larger 5-mph bumpers.
20. 1972 AMC Javelin AMX
Bizarre bulging fenders made this beat look unattractive. AMC's chief designer, Teague, developed what he called "baroque" styling elements that still confound enthusiasts today. In spite of improved performance over the previous generation, the second-generation Javelin couldn't escape its polarizing appearance.
