Back in the late 60s and 70s, muscle cars were all the rage. The V8s that dominated the roads those days were monsters. They packed some serious horsepower under the hood and would set the rear tires spinning and smoking as the engines roared. But, for all their power, they have nothing on the muscle cars of today.

Loads of power was proportionate to size; the more cubic inches, the more horses. Check out the specs on some of the top muscle cars of the era:

Chrysler/Dodge/Plymouth 426 Hemi

• This beast came from the factory with 425 listed horsepower
• Torque was measured at 490 lb-ft
• The 1970 Cuda was rated at 13.10 seconds in the quarter mile at 107 mph
• You could find the 426 in the Barracuda, Challenger, Super Bee, Charger and Road Runner. Even the smaller Dodge Dart was available with the big-block hemi.

Chevrolet 454 LS6

• This big-block monster pumped out 450 horses and 500 lb-ft torque.
• It had an ET of 13.12 in the quarter mile at 107 mph
• When mounted in the Chevelle Super Sport, it was one of the classic muscle cars of all time. But it was also available in Camaros and even El Caminos

Ford 428 and 429 Cobra Jets

• The horse power generated by these growling serpents was rated at a modest 335/375 hp. But rumors swirled that the Cobra Jets actually boasted 410 horses. Torque was listed at 440 lb-ft
• The Cobra Jet was said to run the quarter mile in 13.56 seconds at 106.64 mph
• The top pony for a Cobra was, of course, the Mustang. But it was also found in Cougars, Torinos, and Falcons.

Buick/Olds 455 

• This heavy-metal troopers could produce 360 horses with 510 lb-ft of torque 
• The GS Stage 1 burned up the quarter mile in 13.38 seconds at 105.5 mph. The Olds 442 W30 boasted 370 horses and ran the quarter mile in 13.89 seconds at 101.1 mph
• Along with the Cutlass and Regal, the 455 was the top of the line engine in the Trans Am

This is an impressive list of muscle cars from back in the day. But what about today?

• The Dodge Hellcat engine of today is rated at 797 hp with 707 lb-ft of torque.
• The Challenger SRT is rated at 807 horses. 
• The Shelby Mustang of today – the GT500 – is rated at 760 hp and 625 lb-ft of torque.
• The LT4 Chevy in the ZL1 Camaro is rated at 650 hp and 650 lb-ft

You won’t, however, find those kinds of horses in two-door muscle types today. The LT4, for instance, is also available in the CT5-V Cadillac. This version of the engine is rated at 668 horses with 659 lb-ft of torque.