Not all modern cars are high revving. My 1986 Buick T-type Redlined @ 5,300 RPM stock and makes peak HP @ 5,000 RPM
Back in the 1990’s it ran low 12’s in 1/4 mile almost completley stock: K&N Filter, Sticky tires, $15 Chip, Cheap/free mods. With a $450 Turbo and $200 Fuel injectors, it ran 11.50’s@118 mph, driving it 180 miles one way to the track, getting 23 mpg, with the A/C on.
It was at that point I realized Old school mucle was dead to me.
My dad and I had collected about 15 old school muscle cars: Cuda’s, AMX’s, Torino Cobra/Cyclone Spoiler, Motion Camaro, Chevelles, etc. As pieces of art and icons of a bygone age, they are great, but as cars (their primary purpose) they are “not so much”.
Muscle cars were originally build to “go fast cheaply”. They were to provide an alternative to Cobra’s, Ferrari’s, Porsches, corvettes, etc. that anyone could afford.
That is why the whole craze of paying $40-$60-$100K for an old muscle car is alien to me. I’ve driven almost every one of them. Some are OK to drive while others are downright awful. Convertible ‘Cuda’s are a “loose collection of parts flying in close formation” and some idiots pay over $2 Million for one. I hope he never tries to drive it fast on the same road I’m on.
The best muscle cars have been upgraded with disk breaks and sway bars etc. Old school muscle cars suck in the MPG department but there is nothing I cant fix myself. No mechanic bills is a real plus.