Aussie & U.S. Muscle Cars 'Head to Head'

Australia vs the USA it's a battle that's been raging in boats on tennis courts and in the pool for years but who builds the best muscle car we're gonna find out we've assembled 10 iconic Australian and American Muscle Cars old and new for an all-out head-to-head contest they're all legends but only one will be crowned a winner in the green and gold Corner are the Aussie underdogs Falcon GT Monaro Falcon hardtop charger and new HSV GDs and in the red white and blue Corner are the Yankee Challengers Mustang Camaro Barracuda Torino and new Boss 302 now the cars aren't the only Legends we have here at Eastern Creek Raceway to help us pick a winner we've got V8 Supercar and Bathurst Champs John Bauer and Jim Richards motoring Juno and walking car encyclopedia Joe kenwright Australia's favorite petrol head Phil Walker and rounding out the five myself Nathan ponchard now you may have noticed that some of the muscle car big hitters aren't here but there's method to our Madness we've chosen cars with a direct foreign rival in order to make this a genuine head-to-head contest they're big fat tough they've built reputations and their muscle cars that make Australia and America proud the judging criteria will use to decide a winner is based on a few basic things performance of intended function engine and engineering social influence design advancement and styling relative performance and competition pedigree affordability and collectibility and of course the X Factor so let's get to it foreign [Music] Ford Mustang was America's highest selling car of the 1960s with a breakthrough design that paved the way for what would be known as the pony cars Mustang kicked off and dominated the muscle car scene for years to come the most desirable model the Ford Mustang K code how right could that car be very collectible it's still probably the purest of all the Mustangs I don't think anybody dislikes a Mustang styling was Paramount to the Mustang team and the 66k code was undeniably one of the sexiest cars built in America the Americans were being blown out of the water by Imports like Volkswagen they couldn't really beat the technology of the Europeans but they could sure as hell out produce them back in those days that was the bees news Mustangs have always been started phonic era in the states the start of the compact car in America there are about 3 800 bucks Keiko today still pulling 55-70 Grand and by getting the production price down they could offer this massive array of parts and components and body styles where you would never look at an import again that Mustang was a global Benchmark that determined cars for the next 20 or 30 years from 64 and a half to the very early 70s The Styling was after that they got fat and flabby just like most American cars did it has that look to it that is timeless even today there's still an impractical car the interior however just wasn't as nice inside it's clearly inexpensive the little things that aren't quite the way you might like them you accept because you know that that's the way they work the K code was Mustang's high performance model it had a 289 cubic inch V8 with a heap of upgraded features including Pistons Carby and camshaft 271 horsepower at its disposal it was no surprise that Shelby faced his Mustang GT350 on the k-code the little K code shrinks inside when you drive it that's always a good sign it's for like a little sports car [Music] the whole shooting that what do you want that 270 horsepower feels like 400 horsepower so it basically had the running gear of four speed at 289 because they made so many the affordability is pretty reasonable like you say great card the Mustang K code is the Godfather of muscle cars sexy powerful and affordable it's Aussie relative the 67 XR GT sure has its work cut out foreign [Music] Australia's first muscle car the XR Falcon GT had a 289 cubic inch V8 the same as its American counterpart the factory racing team led by Harry Firth entered two cars in the 1967 Bathurst 500 finishing first and second the GT began a new dawn for Ford in Australia it was probably the most significant car of Our Generation they were groundbreaking in Australia they are unique and that's sort of where it all started the gtho would later come in and overshadow the XR GT but its power and handling were undeniably strong for the time and still today it's great to drive by 1966 the Falcon had become a very different car to the Mustang the XR Falcon GT arguably was as significant as the Mustang the Americans said let's reject all this European sophistication let's use the best of American Simplicity and give everybody a car to only be able to dream about broke into two categories you had the Belkin compact based cars then you had the intermediates get into the Falcon GT and you could feel the feline in that car it's ride and handling and more suited to our sort of roads it's very Australian then they put the best of the Mustang performance gear into this Falcon and turn it into a sporty Grand tourer 289 Ford speed gearbox it was just the best car you could buy in the day that started our muscle car industry styling was perhaps not the xigt's strongest point but it did what it had to do the styling was quite American and had this sort of coke bottle rear book on it and it was massively impacting it's like something from outer space the first thing you notice when you get in them is the seats to think that my HR is also a 67. those Ford seats might be just a tiny bit massively better the first genuine thing still a Nikon car I do like the way it drives it's got a lighter brake pedal it was comfy and a cruiser and a lot more modern than I thought it would be it's got a built smooth engine it handles well for the period put on the highway probably nothing better in the state with only 695 produced the 67 XR Falcon GT is highly sought after and arguably even more so than the Mustang with one of those today it's still an 80 000 car I think the XR GT would be a good little investment in my world the XR G2 is the most important car of the whole lot two cars that started the muscle car race without the Mustang k-code or the XR Falcon GT we may not have some of the performance cars we have today nearly 50 years on both cars are still the Envy of many car enthusiasts in both the states and Australia [Music] adopting Chevrolet's 350 cubic inch V8 the 1969 HT Monaro GTS 350 was Holden's answer to Ford's burgeoning muscle car portfolio to me a 350 anro was the biggest and the best it's something that I've kind of always wanted to own this car was as special as an ho was to Ford beautiful to look at it's a good muscly ballsy car and if I could take one home tomorrow I'd be very happy the original HK Monaro GTS 327 had already won Bathurst so in the GTS 350 hit the road in 69 with an extra 50 horsepower Ford understandably had to be wary this ballsy looking car fueled an automobile race between Australia's two biggest manufacturers that is still raging even in 2012. who would have thought in the middle 60s that Holden was capable of turning their bathtub into a sporty car I've always loved that generation of Monaro and you could see the square lines of the Kingswood at the front but then it all turned into flight beyond that it's got lots of torques so pools you don't have the Revit pull a gear early just chugs away it's got a lovely V8 sound very docile but also quite quick the HT Monaro had our judges divided for several reasons the first thing that you really notice is that it's heavy now I like driving a truck I can imagine driving as Colin bonded at Bathurst for 500 miles pretty big ask the gearbox was Heavy everything was just heavy it had everything going for it you look at the seat and it just looks like a bucket seat but it held you much better this is an Australia versus the state's competition and JB summed it up best our Engineers made suits to go around corners and the American Engineers made suits to go down freeways all the judges could agree on one thing the 1969 Holden HT Monaro GDs 350 is a collectible the Monaro GDs 350 is collectible but it probably hasn't reached the heights of obviously the ahos and the governors are going to probably affection more than but it's going to get there tough as Nails beautiful engine it's got quite a heavy clunky gearbox but it's nice it works well live axle at the back leaf springs which were invented for the awesome cart I think they'll always be worth really good money if you tweak the engine a little bit you can keep the tail out I think that thing would be absolutely awesome the HT Monaro GTS 350 may have been a game changer but it's American equivalent the 69 Chevrolet Camaro SS had our judges salivating simply put it was the best looking car here the Monaro GTS was Holden's answer to Ford's XR GT and across the Pacific the Camaro the Chevrolet's answer to the Ford Mustang the 69 Camaro was the ultimate package do you say Camaro Camaro I've always said Camaro that is one of the best prepared cars and the nicest looking cars I've ever seen it is a beautiful car I absolutely loved the Camaro it's the best of everything I had to come up with something because Ford caught them sleeping and for Camaro to make an impression they had to come up with something really special in 19 with 14 engines from a 3.8 liter six-cylinder through to a 7 liter big block V8 the 69 Camaro had something for everyone 600 plus horsepower the 7 liter ZL1 dominated on the track and on the road the standard Camaro was still a solid all-round package you couldn't mistake the 69 Camaro for anything else but a muscle car the Camaro was that the gutsiest muscle cars you could buy what it just says muscle blew a beautiful car to drive I think they're a very balanced car the Camaros had power steering mostly but plenty of power got a really nice gearbox and the American power steering is very light just a nice car to drive so whilst it makes it very easy to drive it's not easy to place because it's Spirit life the Camaro's power and performance were not its only desirable features this Beast had looks to kill looks beautiful you know it's tough but elegantly detailed I think the styling's awesome there's no doubt that for that brief period between 65 and 1917 GM was leading the world in styling it almost got like a modern car and an old gasket and this Camaro the 69 had elements of the Goldwing Mercedes if they were they can't have them today so many produced over the years the Camaro SS is not as rare or valuable as the Monroe JDS 350 but it doesn't mean it's not a collectible a Camaro in various specs is quite affordable lots of them have been imported over the years and certainly not as collectible as a 350 GDs Monaro I just thought that car was a beautiful motor car it's quite a lot different to the Monaro and then it doesn't have to be everything to everybody those headlights and that Grill and that coke bottle hip that slip tail lights and everything it's just Hot Wheels Perfection with a roaring presence and looks to kill the 69 success was it hit 60s and even today the Monaro GDs 350 on the other hand might look more subtle but its Legacy may just last an extra bit longer foreign [Music] dominated by big V8s the 1972 Chrysler Valiant charger e49 really was a used car the e49 I think is a much much better car than has ever been given credit for that is a unique car that's such a sweet car to drive I think that car really pushes the boundaries really if they were a great car for what they were built for I like to go in love with them an e49 equipped with the racebeck 265 cubic inch Hemi six pack could clock the quarter mile in 14.4 seconds a rare achievement in the early 70s initially from a car that probably shouldn't have existed another great Aussie Innovation where they took the best of what was available to them and had to make a fit with tiny Australian volumes and very limited budgets the charge was a six Honda car in an era where the V8 was King it could have won Bathurst it should have won Bathurst it would have done so probably in 72 they really tried hard to make that car do the job and I think that is the reason for me that that I I really think it's a unique car in the whole history of muscle cars Uncle Phil may not have loved the charger they're temperamental they sound terrible they don't start first go and all this sort of thing so I like things to do things real quick and nice but even he had to admit that 40 years on the e49 still drives brittedly beautiful car to drive that's where it excels I love driving it it's got a beautiful feel it's got a lovely balance the steering's non-powered but actually has feel makes it fantastic noise when you consider the age of that car it is very very felt really really good as good as anything left right if not if not the best some may argue that the e49 should have had a V8 version would I like it better with a V8 probably but as it is the e49 is a very desirable and collectible car but I still love the engine and I still love its point of difference it's collectible and it's worth quite good money I think they are just as collected as nature because the uniqueness because of the triple web it's the six cylinders and that it is beaut I love it I'd love one the charger never actually won Bathurst which it was built to do but it still remains an Australian favorite [Music] a 1971 Plymouth Barracuda 426 Hemi was built with the same intention to rule the track the Barracuda is like Americana as we know it I don't think it's ever reached the heights that perhaps they wished than it had the Henry's the engine to have so I thought the Barracuda was awesome it's just so American but it wasn't for everyone other than the look at this doesn't do it for me a barracuda wasn't a favor of mine there's just too many of them two things stand out with a Hemi Cuda its looks and that engine these cars had New Generation 7 liter engines the seven liters that we saw in the late 50s early 60s were big heavy engines that were developed for full chassis cars well we started to see this smarter casting smarter way of building these engines to where you could put them into the pony cars and the ones just above them they had the 426 Hemi which is probably one of the best engines ever made just awesome you can see the Chrysler lineage in there and then you lift up this Bonnet and there's this exotic meba how good is that driving nikuda was up for debate some of the judges liked it some didn't you go around the corner you slide off the seat and the steering's got absolutely zero feels it's a straight line hero when you sat in the e49 and then got out and sat on the Barracuda almost identical but totally different but just like getting in a boat it was fun it was good but if there was ever a car built with just presence in mind it was the 71 Cuda I think it's a beautiful looking car I love the toughness about it I Like That Hot Wheels 70s style that the car has the Interiors I know and you're as nice as the Chargers about it because the engine makes up for it every time the shake is fantastic I love the body shape I like the look of it I think the styling is terrific intimidating powerful and attention seeking the Cuda was one of the most striking cars here good engine slapsticky that was fantastic that's a chemical thing the thing you love it's you know big rear tired skinny front tight bum in the Air drag car didn't stop but it went around corners these enormous Grunts and their Chrysler taught quite automatic even at that stage was still a legendary transmission and it was a standout two cars built to win built to impress the two cars that failed to live up to their makers expectations in both Australia and America today though their beautiful muscle cars worthy of Legend status [Music] foreign States bigger is often better and they don't come much bigger than the Ford Torino the 1970 Ford Torino 429 Super Cobra Jet had our judges Tails wagging well all except one Torino alike landed because of the bags it said 429 for 69 that was groundbreaking just has this beautiful combination of sophistication and sportiveness as a car with a great carpet not fulfillable the Torino may look like the Australian X8 Falcon but the main difference is the Torino was designed three years before sure one was bigger but the way they designed it you'd see that that one was mimicked on on the other one I personally loved the way the car looked I've been told that I'm wrong but I think the train is awesome and with its 429 V8 didn't feel like it was overpowered and it's potentially the worst package car in the world for something that long it has almost no recent room I mean the right up on you you can barely see over the split bench in the front and it Shakes as you drive it and it's big mother of a car the Torino is as American as they come big loud ostentatious and with a big block V8 there was no missing this puppy the engine is mighty and awesome it made the GT feel soft imagine you're bragging rights at a pub saying I've got a 429 you know like how big is that it's big Uncle Phil is not a big car person I'm not a big cat person I like to feel like a part of the car you sat in it and you drove it but you never felt part of it even he had to admit that looks can be deceiving beautiful car mechanically it drive great for a big car I thought it would be a revless torquey lead-tipped arrow of a thing but when you've seen it you thought oh my God it's going to be huge and cumbersome and it really wasn't here we think gt351 is the ultimate and you drove that Torino with that big block motor and all of a sudden it made a GT feel soft the seven liter Big Block in the front of that thing doesn't feel like you've got seven liters of big block hat there you know it gets up and goes and you get this real sort of oral sound of the engine and the Shaker and you know it's a muscle cap Ford Torino was America's Next Generation of muscle car large and loud the XA Falcon GT may have been inspired by the Torino's design but it was a completely different package after media outcry about Australia's 160 mile per hour supercars put a stop to the development of the phase 4 Falcon Ford secretly installed some phase four parts into the regular XA GT under the option code RPO 83 it was the first unique to Australia Falcon it's important it's undoubtedly collectible you took the best of America and the best of the Europeans and developed their own car the XA was the start of the next year of the car a beautiful car and modern it may not have been a homologation special but that doesn't mean it's of less significance than other performance cars of the day this is a classic example of the options guy it meant that you could put certain combinations of parts to create something that was a little bit or a lot better than the cooking version of the car in hindsight it was a fabulous car it was a nice car very nice car and I could have that car very unperformed at the time to build a two-door car I'm sure it was in answer to the Monaro being of the new generation of muscle car you would expect a smoother ride from the XA GT it drove more like a modern car than the other ones very nice car to drive very balanced but European touches in it nice steering wheel nice driving position I don't think it has the walls the muscle of the XY phase 3. unfortunately for the car when you've got other engines like the Hemi and the Cobra Jet the 351 actually seems a little bit mild-mannered I got in that car I felt like I'd given it for years it has a more European feel inside with the toggle switches that wrap around cockpit feel they're really grabby bucket seats and you can start to see how we was charting our own course but it's not my favorite it goes quite well and they had quite good success John Goss One Bathurst very good at any of the RPO stuff because there was only a few of them made it probably arrived three years too late and I think xagt was probably overlooked at the time because of its fairly soft styling the Torino which was yellow Ford did it compared against you can't see anything behind us doing well there's probably needs more re-rubber on it though the XA Falcon GT RPO 83 and the Torino Super Cobra Jet are hardly conspicuous and they could be heard from over a mile away they were muscle cars in the true sense big cars that were as tough as they were loud foreign power and performance have always been the core of a muscle car and the new 2012 Ford Mustang Boss 302 has done its best to replicate yet modernize all of that paying homage to the original Mustangs of the 60s the Boss 302 has recreated the American muscle car instantly reminded me of a 6970 Boss 302 when you sit inside it it feels a bit like a retro car retro styling I love that it looks a bit like the 60s cars on steroids it recreates the period that we're talking about better than HSV the 331 kilowatt 5 liter coyote V8 pearls the boss down the standing quarter mile in just 13 seconds the new boss is all muscle isn't it funny how they name engines after animals I don't know if they use the term kitten for an engine that was a joke okay delivers six liter pan for five liters because of its magnificent breathing the engines are nice linear engine please Ford put that motor in an xr8 tomorrow the steering wheel position together everything was really really nice it was a beautiful car to drive really nice view change um great race seats and the engine is superb and the sound Sensational I love the sound of it I mean the sound was just awesome I said that the Mustang's exhaust sounded a little bit like Ferraris you've got laughter it has this crackling through the exhaust even a moderate revs the Mustang sounds phenomenal despite all of that still feel it's a cheap car at Australian prices you can't take it seriously I thought it was a little bit cheap inside as far as plasticy and that still in a mid-2000 Mustang interior it's not this flashy space in the world I like the car I just didn't like it as much as the GPS I'd probably like the HSV a little better I was overall package is very good it's got good brakes good transmission good engine you can very happily live with one for sure it's got a good grip it's got big tires which I like it's got two eight fives on the back they've doubled the price I would go for the HSV I like the front but I don't like the bag you look at it and the Retro side it was fantastic and I love the looks of it the boss may be the new King in the states the best muscled car around but in Australia the HSV GDs rules the streets it's the biggest and baddest Australian muscle car today tough and imposing even a little Brash but it's easy to drive comfortable and best of all affordable I love the current HSV it's a really good car world class talk hold yourself go and buy a lot of this as much as I hate to say this about a whole I'm impressed the very best structure and strength that you can build for Australian conditions all of it comes together in a package that there's no equivalent of anywhere in the world beautiful and for the money couldn't answer anything better and it's Drive Great Corvette arrived engine it's fast it's Nimble it turns at a stop but it did everything great for an 850 kilo car that thing has such good balance and handles so well it's got a great engine it's just a really good car it was really really good it's awesome the HSV GTS is exceptional value and ridiculously good on the road but there was some controversy it is absolutely Sensational but it's a car to look at it was absolutely awful now I cannot begin to understand why they are designing an HSV with a goatee beard that makes the thing look like a block of flats at the front I think the front of us but it makes a statement if you've got one of those no one's ever going to see if you've got something else the rest of it I quite like I like the little vents in the front yard I like the wheels so I could live with it with the ugly front but they have forgotten that muscle cars look horizontal and wide on the road for half the price of a quarter the price of some of the German cars don't go and buy them please that car is amazingly competent I enjoyed driving it and it was fun seats four or five people had rides as well as it handles great seats not for its styling details but you know for its engineering it's it's awesome two modern day Titans two cars that have taken completely different paths to be the current Muscle Car Kings in terms of style they may not be everyone's cup of tea but they have performance and character to rival the greats of the past and if you were given the keys to these beasts it would be almost impossible to say no deciding on a winner from 10 of the most legendary cars Australia and America have ever produced was never going to be using 10 grade engines Looks To Die For trendsetters race winners Champions on the track and on the road they're all icons and they're all brilliant in their own way but we promised you a winner and after much deliberation the winner buyer knows 1966 Ford Mustang k-code Fastback it's a classic that still turns heads and to this day still awesome to drive that is a beautiful beautiful little car I don't think you could pick anything else if it wasn't for the Mustang the muscle car war in America and in Australia wouldn't have been anywhere near as successful or may not have even ever happen the Mustang was the start of a romance of high performance cars it just set a blueprint that was impossible not to follow we wouldn't have had the XR GT we wouldn't have had the Monaro we wouldn't have had the E38 everything started from that Mustang I don't think the impact of that can be ignored Mustangs have been around since 64 and they've never had one year out of production so it says it all so A Yank was Victorious but after winning three out of five contests I can proudly say Australia builds the best muscle cars they were close calls and really unanimous but that's Testament to just how awesome these 10 cars are here they could have gone either way it really could we were all in agreement that that's the way it should be well considering that we have a Tasmanian a kiwi and three Aussies someone's going to think we're being biased the Americans started the muscle carrier no question about that but I think Australia refined IT muscle car in Australia had to do everything they can carry for people they can pound a dirt road they can do the shopping in the US a muscle car could be an indulgent purchase I think the Aussies surpassed the American cars it wasn't an easy decision but it was the right decision put on the Aussies so there you have it the American 66 Mustang K code is the muscle car King but Australia builds them best we hope you've had as much fun watching this film as we've had making it this is Ponch signing off for you need cars [Music] [Music]

Channel: Joni Pitchfork

Views: 20,648

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Id: Wb_r5TUPVy0

Length: 31min 55sec (1915 seconds)

Published: Mon Jan 30 2023