The Ford Mustang name originated from the World War II fighter plane, the Mustang. The logo however is of a mustang (horse).
Most Mustangs are fitted with a 4.6 litre V8 producing upwards of 215bhp. The newest mustangs however have 194kW (260bhp). The Ford Mustang is a 2-door coupe which is rather heavy, weighing in at over 1600kg (3500lbs). Due to the weight, the car is rather sluggish, with the standard 1996 Mustang GT reaching 60mph (96kph) in 6.8 seconds. Mustangs are also very cheap, only US$17,610, meaning they are very popular in America.
The more powerful 2000 Ford Mustang coupe has 194kW and weighs in at only 1468kg (3236lbs). Due to increased power and decreased weight the acceleration is greatly improved, reaching 60mph (96kph) in only 5.9 seconds.
The newest sports addition is the Ford Mustang Cobra R, which produces an incredible 286.1kW (385bhp) out of a 5.4 litre V8. It weighs in at 1628kg (3589lbs) and can reach 60 mph in only 4.4 seconds.
The Chevrolet Camaro is another popular American car which has a 5.7 litre V8 engine. The newest Chevrolet Camaro Z28 coupe has 227kW (305bhp) of power and weighs 1560kg (3439lbs). It can accelerate to 60mph (96kph) in around 6 seconds. The Chevrolet Camaro SS is the sports version of the stnadard Z28. It has increased power and performance, with power ouput at 239kW (320bhp) at 5200rpm. The wheels sizes are larger to improve handling and grip, with the standard 235/55R-16 being replaced by 275/40ZR-17 wheels.
The newest Camaro concept is the Camaro ZL1, which has a very large engine capacity of 9.4 litres in a V8 configuration. This is a very odd supercar as it is very large and heavy, weighing 1538kg (3390lbs) and its engine produces 574kW (770bhp) at 6900rpm. Despite its heavy mass it can accelerate to 60mph (96kph) in only 2.7 seconds and has a top speed of 370kph (230mph). It also does the 1/4 mile very quick in only 10.4 seconds. By comparison, the McLaren F1 takes 11.6 seconds. The quick acceleration is helped by the large wheels at the rear - 335/30ZR-18. This car looks like it will always be a concept car as the demand for a car with such a large engine would be insufficient for production.
The Chevrolet Corvette is another very popular car, which has good styling and performance. It is one of the better American Muscle cars as the Corvette only has a 5.7 litre engine, with the new 2001 Corvette producing 261kW (350bhp) at 5600rpm. It is lighter than the other American Muscle cars, weighing only 1457kg (3212lbs). Like most other American cars, it only has 2 valves per cylinder, whereas new Japanese and European cars have 4-5 valves per cylinder for smoother running and economy. The Corvette is one of the fastest American cars reaching 60mph (96kph) in just 4.5 seconds and has a good top speed of 282kph (175mph). The handling is very good with 0.93g's of lateral acceleration.
The fastest Corvette ever was the twin turbo 1988 Callaway Sledehammer Corvette producing 656kW (880bhp) at 6250rpm. It had an incredible top speed of 410kph (255mph) and a good 0-60mph (0-96kph) time of 3.9 seconds. It was rather heavy at 1665kg (3671lbs) due to the added features such as the twin turbos.
The Dodge Viper is a relatively newcomer to the American Muscle cars. It first originated around 11 years ago with the Viper RT-10 being unveiled. The car has a monster 8 litre V10, with some other variants having an even larger engine capacity. The engine originated from the Dodge Ram truck, which was made of Iron, but in the Viper they made it into lighter Aluminium. When the Viper was unveiled in 1989, there was a great interest for it. The concept had 224kW (300bhp), with the production versions increasing power up to as much as 343kW (460bhp) in the Viper ACR.
There are three main versions of the Viper: the RT/10 (a convertible), the GTS (coupe) and the ACR (coupe). There were also some other more powerful Vipers such as the Viper GTS-R and the Hennessey Viper Venom which had up to 485kW (650bhp). The price of the Vipers range from US$58,500 for the RT/10 and up to US$165,450 for the Viper Venom 650R.
The interior of the Vipers are very simple and it looks cheap with plastic being used a lot. The exterior of the Vipers however is good with an aggressive look.
