Five Underrated Muscle Cars You Should Know About

1970 AMC Rebel Machine

Introduced in 1967, the AMC Rebel joined the muscle car wars in 1969 thanks to a 390-cubic-inch (6.4-liter) V8 rated at up to 325 horsepower. But the nameplate didn't reach its full potential until the Machine arrived in 1970.

Not only fitted with a beefed-up 390 V8 good for 340 horsepower, but the Rebel Machine also arrived in a white livery adorned with blue and red stripes. 'Murica!

A one-year-only offering, the Rebel Machine is AMC's most recognizable muscle car. But it's often overlooked because 1970 also gave us a long list of cool muscle cars, including the Dodge Challenger and Plymouth Barracuda, as well as some of the best iterations of the Ford Mustang and Chevrolet Chevelle and Camaro.

1971 Dodge Dart Demon

Launched in 1959, the Dart went through short full-size and midsize phases before it morphed into a compact. And needless to say, it was far from impressive performance-wise in the mid-1960s.

But that changed toward the end of the decade when Dodge began offering it with increasingly larger V8 mills under the hood.

The Dodge Dart Demon was born in 1971 when the brand gained a version of Plymouth's popular Duster. Advertised as a high-performance car, the Demon was available with hood scoops and black accents. When ordered in Demon 340 trim, it came with the 340-cubic-inch (5.6-liter) V8 good for 275 horsepower.

1969 AMC SC/Rambler

The second AMC on this list, the SC/Rambler arrived in 1969, and it was, in many ways, the spiritual predecessor of the Rebel Machine.

Based on the third- and final-generation Rambler American, the SC was developed in cooperation with Hurst Performance. Just like the Machine, it also sported a white body with blue and red stripes.

Fitted with a 390-cubic-inch (6.4-liter) V8 rated at 315 horsepower, a limited-slip differential, race-spec mirrors, and Magnum 500 steel wheels, the SC/Rambler was AMC's most outrageous package ever until the Rebel Machine debuted in 1970. AMC built only 1,512, so these muscle cars are also rare to find nowadays.

1971 GMC Sprint SP

GMC has been offering upscale and rebadged versions of Chevrolet SUVs and trucks since the 1920s. But did you know that the company also produced its own version of the El Camino?

It was called the Sprint from 1971 to 1977 and the Caballero from 1978 to 1987.

The first-gen Sprint was introduced for the 1971 model year, right when muscle cars were starting to lose power due to the oil crisis and new fuel economy regulations. But GMC had just enough time to introduce the Sprint SP, a rebadged Chevrolet El Camino SS.

While it wasn't offered with the wild LS6 V8 that produced a whopping 450 horsepower in 1970, the Sprint SP did get the LS5, good for a solid 365 horses.

Not only forgotten, but this GMC is also rare. It's believed that only 25 examples were fitted with the 454-cubic-inch (7.4-liter) V8 and that only 16 of them still exist.

1971 AMC Matador Go-Machine

Oh look, yet another AMC on this list! And the second AMC with a "Machine" badge. Well, not exactly.

Discontinued after just one year on the market, the Machine did return in 1971 when the Rebel was replaced by the Matador. But instead of a stand-alone trim model, it was just an optional package.

Called Go-Machine (or Machine Go, according to some sources), it included many of the Rebel Machine's features, including a stripe package. However, AMC did not revive the red-white-blue livery, so the Matador Go-Machine is nowhere near as flashy.

But it was powerful nonetheless thanks to a 360-cubic-inch (5.9-liter) V8 good for 285 horsepower and a 401-cubic-inch (6.6-liter) V8 rated at 330 horses. AMC sold only about 50 of them in 1971.