Faster than a Lambo: which US muscle cars could beat the Miura?

Detroit classics pitched against a European supercar

The performance car scene exploded in the 1960s, with two trends dominating the news on different sides of the Atlantic.

In Italy, Lamborghini created the Miura, and with it, what we now know as the supercar. Over in Detroit, meanwhile, the big three – GM, Chrysler and Ford – were pumping out tyre-melting muscle cars that swallowed quarter miles whole.

But which were faster? We dug through some period road tests to find out.

The benchmark: 1968 Lamborghini Miura P400S

Here’s our supercar baseline, the Lamborghini Miura S. Introduced in 1968, two years after the original Miura P400, and available until the wide-arch SV replaced it in 1971, it coincided with the hottest years of the muscle car craze.

The S retained the original P400’s narrow body, but added more exterior chrome and a pony club’s worth of horses to the V12’s tally.

1968 Lamborghini Miura P400S (continued)

Bolder cam timing lifted power to a claimed 370bhp from the 350bhp of the original Miura and enabled Road&Track magazine’s test car to scorch to 60mph in 5.5 secs and through the quarter mile in 13.9 secs.

We all know the 170mph Miura would outrun any factory muscle car given enough space, but was it a different case at the traffic light grand prix?

Contender #1: 1964 Pontiac GTO

The Pontiac GTO wasn’t the first fast car to come out of Detroit, but it’s the one credited with kicking off the 1960s muscle car craze.

Pontiac ignored GM’s ban on fitting engines bigger than 330cu (5.4 litres) into midsize cars, offering the 389cu in (6.5-litre) V8 from the big Catalina in the smaller Tempest as part of the GTO option pack.

Base cars made 325bhp with a four-barrel carb, while the optional Tri-Power (three two-barrels) upped that to 348bhp.

1964 Pontiac GTO (continued)

Apart from the cheeky appropriation of Ferrari’s GTO tag, a big part of the legend came from an infamous Car and Driver test, where a GTO recorded 4.6 secs to 60mph, 11.8 secs to 100mph, and streaked through the quarter mile in 13.1 secs at 115mph.

But the C&D car was a ringer. The mag admitted it had been breathed on by Pontiac dealer Royal Oak, but years later PR man Jim Wagners came clean, recounting that the car’s engine was actually a 421cu in (6.9-litre) V8.

1964 Pontiac GTO (continued)

Other mags’ figures were more representative: cars with the standard four-barrel engine were good for 6.9 secs to 60mph and 15 secs quarter miles, while a Tri-Power car with a manual transmission could cut those numbers to 5.8 secs and 14.5 secs.

Muscle or Miura? It’s a win for the Lambo (unless Pontiac’s PR dept has been meddling under the bonnet)

Contender #2: 1970 Buick GSX

Having watched enviously as GM cousin Pontiac’s star soared on the back of the GTO, Buick got in on the muscle car action for 1965 with the 325bhp Gran Sport option on the Skylark.

Trouble was, Buick’s OAP image and the GS’ discreet badges didn’t exactly shout performance. The 1970 GSX, on the other hand, screamed it loud and clear.

1970 Buick GSX (continued)

Available in Apollo white or eye-popping Saturn Yellow, the GSX was a Gran Sport tricked up with stiffer suspension and an even hotter version of the stock GS’ 455cu in (7.5-litre) V8.

The GSX’s rated 360bhp (almost certainly fictitious, as were most muscle car outputs) wasn’t exceptional, but its 510lb ft of torque was, and helped Motor Trend to dispatch 60mph in 5.5 secs and demolish the quarter mile in 13.4 secs.

Muscle or Miura? It’s a win for the Buick

Contender #3: 1969 Plymouth Barracuda 440

If Plymouth’s mostly-forgotten 1967-’69 Mustang rival has one claim to fame, it’s that it offered the biggest engine available in a 1960s pony car.

Available with the performance ’Cuda package, the 440cu in (7.2-litre) V8 usually seen in bigger cars such as the Charger enabled this Plymouth to reach 60mph in 5.6 secs and stop the quarter mile clock in 14 secs – despite struggling to put its power down on take off.

1969 Plymouth ’Cuda 440 (continued)

But it wasn’t all plain sailing – although sailing straight through red lights and into the scenery on sharp bends was a distinct possibility.

It was such a squeeze to get the 440 under the ’Cuda’s bonnet that Plymouth engineers had to leave out the power steering and brake servo.

‘There are such obvious discrepancies between the superb way the Cuda 440 goes and the way it does other things (like, for example, stop) that in many ways it is a disturbing automobile,’ Car Life magazine was moved to say.

Muscle or Miura? The Lambo noses ahead by a hair

Contender #4: 1966 Dodge Coronet Hemi

Chrysler’s legendary Hemi V8 arrived with a bang in 1964, notching up drag-racing wins and proving so fast in oval racing that it was banned from the 1965 season by NASCAR.

The legend was cast, but it was 1966 before the mighty 426cu in (7-litre) was available to power-crazed members of the public.

1966 Dodge Coronet Hemi (continued)

You could get a 425bhp Hemi in Dodge’s new fastback first-generation Charger for ’66, but real mischief makers would order theirs in the discrete Dodge Coronet – you could even have a four-door 426.

For almost $1000 over the car’s $2700 base price you got a tiny Hemi badge on each front wing and the capability to get to 60mph in 5.3 secs and devour 1320ft of road in 13.8 secs.

Muscle or Miura? A narrow win for the Dodge

Contender #5: 1968 Shelby GT500 KR

The original 1965 Shelby Mustang was a stripped-down, souped-up racer, but by 1968 it was playing the luxury angle as hard as the performance one.

Shelby Mustangs were now built in Michigan, not in Carroll Shelby’s workshop, they could be ordered with an automatic transmission and air conditioning, and the GT350 made a feeble 250bhp, down from 306bhp in 1967.

1968 Shelby GT500 KR

On the plus side, ’67-’68 Shelbys were available with the big-block 428cu in (7-litre) V8, the flashiest of the lot being 1968’s GT500 KR.

The KR stood for the king of the road, but was it? Not according to Car Life, which recorded 6.9 secs to 60mph and a 14.6 secs quarter mile time.

Muscle or Miura? The Miura wins by TKO

Contender #6: 1968 Plymouth Road Runner

Conceived as a no-frills muscle car that young fans could actually afford, the ’68 Road Runner came with a bench seat, drum brakes and manual steering.

The luxuries were under the bonnet: a standard four-speed transmission and a hopped-up 383cu in (6.3-litre) V8 that punched out 335bhp and 425lb ft.

Oh, and a ‘meep-meep’ horn to go with the sticker of the Warner Bros cartoon Bird on each door.

1968 Plymouth Road Runner (continued)

You could size-up to the optional 425bhp Hemi engine, but since it added almost $1000 to the Road Runner’s price, the 383 outsold it 44:1.

Car and Driver achieved 7.1 secs to 60mph in a 383 with a quarter mile time of 15 secs – impressive numbers, even 50 years on, in absolute terms, but nothing special by muscle car standards.

Muscle or Miura? An easy win for the wily Lambo

Contender #7: 1970 Chevrolet Chevelle SS454

Chevrolet’s answer to the Pontiac GTO (and built from the same GM A-body platform) was the Chevelle SS, or Super Sport.

The standard SS for 1970 was the 350bhp, 6.5-litre SS396. But the hot ticket was the SS454 with the optional 7.4-litre LS6 V8.

1970 Chevrolet Chevelle SS454 (continued)

The LS6’s claimed 450bhp was the highest power rating of any Detroit-built car from muscle’s first wave – though rare monsters such as the aluminium-block ZL1 Camaro (underrated at 430bhp) were actually more powerful still.

So just how quick was this 450bhp monster? Car and Driver’s Feb 1970 test showed it took just 5.4 secs to reach 60mph and romped through the quarter in 13.8 secs.

Muscle or Miura? A photo finish, but the Chevy just pips the Miura to the flag

Contender #8: 1970 Oldsmobile 442 W30

You could argue that Oldsmobile actually started the whole muscle car thing back in 1949, when it launched the Rocket 88, but come 1964 Olds was caught on the hop along with everyone else by the Pontiac GTO.

It responded with the 442, an option pack on the mid-size Cutlas that got its name from the four-barrel carb, four-speed manual transmission and twin exhaust bolted to its police-spec 330cu in (5.4-litre) V8.

1970 Oldsmobile 442 W30 (continued)

By 1970 the 442 was packing a massive 455cu in (7.5-litre) V8 that churned out 360bhp and a stomping 500lb ft of torque. Go for the W31 option package and you got functional cold air scoops for the fibreglass bonnet, an aluminium intake manifold and a small bump to 370bhp.

That was enough for 5.7 secs to 60mph and a 14.4 secs quarter, according to Car Life. Not bad for a 4195lb/1900kg five seater with an automatic transmission.

Muscle or Miura? The Miura wins, but only if the driver doesn’t fluff a shift