Originating in the late 1960s, the term "musclecar" has always referred to an American coupe with a robust engine designed to generate stout levels of both speed and power. In other words, a rear-drive two-door V-8-propelled Yankee capable of producing thunderclouds of Firestone smoke.
Today, much remains the same. Take a look at our recent comparison test between three modern musclecars -- Ford Mustang GT, Chevrolet Camaro SS, and Dodge Challenger SRT8 -- and you'll see that all are American designed and engineered (the Chevy and Dodge, it's worth noting, are assembled in Canada), feature brawny 400-plus-horsepower V-8 engines (the "smallest" displaces 5.0 liters), and are capable of quarter-mile times once reserved for race cars and import supercars (the Mustang GT needs just 12.7 seconds at 111.3 mph). It's safe to say that today's collection of muscle is the greatest of all time, certainly when considering the handling dynamics match the heady horsepower.
Of course, the price for all of this muscular marvelousness, while relatively cheap compared with similarly powerful coupes from Asia and Europe, still runs around $40 large when optioned up. So if you're one who associates musclecar with affordable, then you're out of luck. Fortunately, there's an offshoot of the musclecar available today that can burn gobs of rubber without burning wads of cash. These coupes retain the requisite front-engine, rear-drive layout but ditch V-8s in favor of advanced, high-revving V-6s, a move that drops bottom lines to around $25,000 to start. And, when applicable, these six-cylinder, four-seat coupes sport styling that mimics that of their V-8 brethren, so their facades still scream bulging bicep. Let's dub them "hustlecars."
Click to view Gallery
Surveying today's offerings, we found four such machines: the 2011 Ford Mustang V-6, armed with a fresh 305-horse engine and GT suspension; the retro-chic Chevy Camaro RS, boasting 20-inch wheels and 304 direct-injected ponies; the 250-horse cruise-ship Dodge Challenger SE, arguably the finest modern interpretation of a classic forebear; and the wildcard Hyundai Genesis Coupe 3.8, a low-slung South Korean whose 306 horsepower trumps that of its three American foes.
