FASTEST CARS OF 1970: THE BIRTH OF THE MUSCLE CAR
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 Published On Dec 16, 2023

#10 1970 Oldsmobile 442 W30 455

In tenth place is the 1970 Oldsmobile 442 W30.
In 1970, 3,100 cars with the W30 engine were made. Of these, 2,574 were Holiday Coupes, 264 were convertibles, and 262 were sport coupes.
In the April 1970 issue of Popular Hot Rodding magazine, a 70 W30 442 recorded a 13.89-second pass traveling at 101.1 miles per hour.


9 1970 Plymouth GTX 426 Hemi
In ninth place is the 1970 Plymouth GTX 426 Hemi.
71 GTX Hemi cars were produced in 1970, making it one of the rarest production cars on this list. 43 were equipped with a 4-speed, and the remaining 39 came with a 3-speed automatic.
In the September 1970 issue of RSS, a 70 GTX Hemi ran the quarter-mile in 13.85 seconds traveling at 104 miles per hour.


#8 1970 Dodge Super Bee 440 Six Pack
In eighth place is the 1970 Dodge Super Bee 440 Six Pack.
A new "Bumblebee Wing" front grille assembly, an available C-shaped rear quarter panel Super Bee decal, and a unique dual-snorkel hood were added to the 1970 Dodge Super Bee 440 Six Pack.
Having a 1970 Super Bee with a 440 Six Pack engine was pretty uncommon back in 1970. Dodge only made 196 coupes and 1,072 hardtops with this engine.
In the January 1970 issue of Hi-Performance Cars magazine, a 70 Super Bee 440 Six Pack captured a 13.8-second quarter-mile ET traveling at 102 miles per hour.


#7 1970 Ford Torino Cobra 429 SCJ
In seventh place is the 1970 Ford Torino Cobra 429 SCJ.
The 429 Cobra Jet engine replaced the 428 Cobra Jet in the Torino in 1970, while the Mustang and Cougar held onto it until the end of the model year.
The 429 Thunder Jet (360 hp) engine was the base model. It was also offered as a 429 Cobra Jet with 370 hp and a Super Cobra Jet with 375 hp.
Like the 428 Cobra Jet, the 429 Cobra Jet was also available as a Super Cobra Jet (SCJ) version.
In 1970, Ford produced 7,675 Torino Cobras. 3,488 of these were equipped with the J-code Ram Air system.
In the March 1970 Super Stock & Drag Illustrated magazine issue, a 70 Torino 429 SCJ recorded a 13.63-second quarter-mile pass traveling at 105.9 miles per hour.


#6 1970 Dodge Challenger R/T 440 Six Pack
The 1970 Dodge Challenger R/T 440 Six Pack came in sixth place.
There were a total of 1,640 Challenger R/T 440 Six Packs made this year. There were 847 4-speeds and 793 automatics in the hardtop variety. Convertibles added 61 with a 4-speed and 39 with an automatic.
In the November 1969 issue of Car Craft magazine, a 70 Challenger R/T 440 Six Pack ran a 13.62-second quarter-mile pass traveling at 104.3 miles per hour.


#5 1970 Pontiac GTO Ram Air IV 400
The 1970 Pontiac GTO Ram Air IV was Pontiac’s only entry in the top 10 fastest muscle cars of 1970 results. It came in the fifth-place position, shown in The Judge package above.
Because they were so rare, only 804 Ram Air IV GTOs were made in 1970. Hardtop versions came with 627 manual transmissions and 140 automatic transmissions. There were 13 manuals and 24 automatics that were convertibles.
In the June 1970 Super Stock & Drag Illustrated issue, a 70 Ram Air IV GTO recorded a 13.60-second pass traveling at 104.5 miles per hour.


#4 1970 Buick GS Stage 1 455
The 1970 Buick GS Stage 1 had a lot of power, which was good enough for fourth place.
Known more as a gentleman’s car than a muscle car, it surprised its competitors, having barely lost out at third place to the Roadrunner by only four-hundredths of a second!
There were 2,465 Stage 1 GS hardtops produced in 1970, of which 16 were equipped with a floor-shifted 3-speed manual, 664 with a 4-speed manual, and 1,785 with a 3-speed automatic.
In the January 1970 issue of Motor Trend magazine, a 70 Buick GS Stage 1 recorded a 13.38 ET traveling at 105.5 miles per hour.
Note: The 1970 Buick GSX came in eighth place with an ET of 13.66 seconds and a speed of 100.2 mph. This is because the GSX choice was based on the Buick GS, so it was only counted once.


#3 1970 Plymouth Roadrunner 426 Hemi
The 1970 Plymouth Roadrunner, powered by the mighty 426 Hemi, rounded out the podium in third place.
While the ’70 Roadrunner had the same drivetrain as the Cuda, the B-body was slightly heavier with a longer wheelbase and overall length, which made enough of a difference at the end of the race track.
A total of 152 Roadrunners were equipped with the Hemi in 1970. There were 74 Coupes, 75 hardtops, and three convertibles produced.
In the December 1969 issue of Super Stock & Drag Illustrated magazine, a 70 Plymouth Roadrunner recorded a 13.34-second pass traveling 107.6 miles per hour.

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