Most aerodynamic Muscle Cars?

[plovett]

What are the most aerodynamic Muscle Cars from the Muscle Car era?

I don't know how much data there is, but what would some of the most aerodynamic muscle cars from the muscle car era be? Like 1964-1972?

I know there are some Nascar homologation models like the Charger 500, Charger Daytona, Plymouth Superbird, Torino Talledega, Cyclone Spoiler II, etc. Those are fair game for the question, but I am more interested in "normal" muscle cars and pony cars. I suppose there isn't drag coefficient and frontal area info on those, but I don't know?

Off the top of my head I would guess cars like: 1968-1969 Ford Torino fastbacks, 1967-1968 Chevy Camaro, 1968-1969 Oldsmobile Cutlass, and 1967-1969 Barracuda fastback. What other cars of the era just happen to have an actually low drag coefficient?

I know even the good ones from back then would not likely compare well with a slick modern car, but still....... Any ideas?

Thanks,

Paul

[bobmc]

71 mustang looks the slickest to me

[rebelrouser]

Dodge Charger Daytona drag coefficient .29 and a Plymouth Superbird .31 A NASCAR designed muscle car about as slick as you can get. I never got to drive a Daytona but my buddy has a Superbird and I have driven it many times. About 100 MPH you can really feel the difference between a super bird and a regular Roadrunner. The old mopar B-bodies like to stand up at speed as the air gets under them, not so with a Superbird. When I was a teenager I had a 1969 Sport Fury with a police package on it. I was told it was special ordered by a big wig in the highway patrol as it was a turquoise two door hard top with a black vinyl roof and a silver interior. I ran 140 mph on the certified speedo one night, crazy thing teenagers will do.

[lefty o]

outside of the aero war cars, they are all fairly crappy.

[swampbuggy]

!953 Stude was pretty good in its day . Not a Muscle car though. Mark H.

[tjs44]

68 firebird.Tom

[BOOT]

My 2009 Silverado has better aerodynamics than my 1977 Corvette But if you park them side by side, you can clearly see what one has a smaller front profile.

[Tom68]

71 mustang looks the slickest to me

Narrow to, lower frontal area. Were the 60's Mustangs narrower ?

[plovett]

Dodge Charger Daytona drag coefficient .29 and a Plymouth Superbird .31

That is impressive. I wouldn't have guessed a cd that low.

[dannobee]

Not a muscle car, but from the same era (1965). Summer's Brothers had a streamliner whose Cd was 0.117 and the frontal area was less than 9 sq ft. Went 409 mph at Bonneville and the record stood for over 40 years.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goldenrod_(car)

Cd is merely one part of the equation. Ultimately, you'd want a car with low Cd and as small a frontal area as you could get. There's a reason why nascar mandated templates early on; too many people were showing up with skinny cars for the long tracks.

[rfoll]

I had a 1969 455 Toronado. Despite it's size it was pretty slippery. At 125 mph the engine was just starting to pull hard. That was when I realized I didn't really didn't need to know what top speed it was capable of.

[Dan Timberlake]

A slight nose down attitude can be worth a little something too. At least it was back in 1966.

I doubt pumping up the Hi-Jackers in the back would accomplish the same thing.

[Truckedup]

The only new vehicle for me was a 69 Super B..After a year and half I got a 69 Chevelle SS 396.. The Chevy looked cleaner with no vent windows and a smoother overall styling . They were not jacked up in the ass end, both had larger tires than stock but I don't believe there was any real difference in air drag.. Just as a note, the Chevy had a better ride and was a more balanced handler...The Dodge was cruder but was not actually slower on curvy roads and had a feeling it was more durable,...

[plovett]

I had a 1969 455 Toronado. Despite it's size it was pretty slippery. At 125 mph the engine was just starting to pull hard. That was when I realized I didn't really didn't need to know what top speed it was capable of.

That car does look pretty slick.

1969-Oldsmobile-Toronado.jpg

[plovett]

A slight nose down attitude can be worth a little something too. At least it was back in 1966.

I doubt pumping up the Hi-Jackers in the back would accomplish the same thing.

Cool article! Thanks.