When it comes to classic muscle cars, most enthusiasts agree that the golden era lasted from 1964 to 1971. But this doesn't necessarily mean that the muscle cars built beyond 1971 are slow and underpowered. Because some of them remained appealing up until 1974.
The Plymouth Duster is one of those cars. Sure, it didn't look as mean as the Barracuda and it wasn't available with a big-block mill, but it had plenty of oomph to brag about in 1974. That's because the 360-cubic-inch (5.9-liter) V8 that replaced the 340-cubic-inch (5.6-liter) unit delivered 245 horsepower and 320 pound-feet of torque.
Yes, it doesn't sound like a lot when compared to pre-1972 muscle cars, but we're talking about net figures here. Doing an accurate conversion to gross numbers is impossible, but the Duster 360's rating would come in at around 300 horsepower. And that's not far below a 1970 Chevrolet Chevelle with the 350-horsepower 402-cubic-inch (6.6-liter) V8.
Why this Chevy in particular? Well, because you're about to see a drag race between these cars. The duel happened at the 28th Annual Pure Stock Muscle Car Drag Race in September 2022 but the footage did not surface until now via YouTube's "Cars And Zebras."
If you're not familiar with the series, it welcomes stock-appearing classic muscle cars and allows a few modifications under the hood. This means that even though they look like factory models, the cars are usually more powerful than stock. There are no figures to run by for this Chevelle vs. Duster encounter, but the result is different than you'd expect based on their performance on paper.
The duel begins with the Chevy driver winning with a 14.22-second run, but the second encounter sees the Duster taking the win with a 14.60-click sprint. Both cars are notably quicker in the third race, but the Plymouth driver takes the win and moves into the next round thanks to an impressive 13.84-second run. And just for reference, that's more than a second faster than a stock Duster 360. Hit the play button below to watch the drama unfold.
Ask Ciprian about cars and he'll reveal an obsession with classics and an annoyance with modern design cues. Read his articles and you'll understand why his ideal SUV is the 1969 Chevrolet K5 Blazer. Full profile
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