Muscle Car Match-Ups 2015: Round 2

Au revoir, ’87 GNX. Sayonara, ’13 Shelby GT500. We’ll miss you, ’70 Challenger.

We say goodbye to a bunch of worthy classics after Round 1, but we can’t help but salivate a little over the juicy match-ups coming up this round.

Hopefully by now, you know the drill. If you don’t, you can brush up on the rules, by checking out our original post here.

But don’t overthink it. The bottom line is you decide what happens next.

What car will win the 2015 edition of Muscle Car Match-Ups?

That’s totally up to you!

(1) 1969 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 vs.  (5) 1968½ Ford Mustang 428 Cobra Jet

And, boom! A classic Ford-Chevy matchup that actually took place! Fun! The 1969 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 is super-rare and super-powerful—just like the beastly Mustang it faces here. The ’69 ZL1 made short order of the 1970 AMC Rebel in Round 1 and will attempt to win another here.

Standing in its way is a car that wields a slightly bigger stick—the 1968 ½ Ford Mustang 428 Cobra Jet. Anyone who drove or raced against this legendary mid-year Bob Tasca creation knows what we’re talking about.

Camaro or Mustang? Chevy or Ford? Your call.

(2) 1968 Dodge HEMI Dart vs. (3) 1969 Chevrolet Yenko 427 Nova

Everyone loves rare cars. Especially fast ones. So it’s no coincidence the 1968 Dodge HEMI Dart (only about 80 built), and the 1969 Chevrolet Yenko 427 Nova won their respective first-round match ups and are set to square off in Round 2. The bare-bones HEMI Dart ran 10-second quarters right out of the factory. The Yenko Nova went zero to 60 in four seconds. Sick.

(1) 1970 Plymouth HEMI ‘Cuda vs (4) 1967 Mercury Cyclone 427

The 1970 Plymouth HEMI ‘Cuda ran past the ’69 AMC Hurst SC/Rambler to advance to the second round where it will face the 1967 Mercury Cyclone 427. Several OnAllCylinders staffers expected more from the ’93 SVT Mustang Cobra, but the Merc took it to school, and now we get to see whether you guys vote this 427-powered beast past one of the most popular Mopars ever.

(2) 1970 Chevrolet 454 Chevelle SS  vs. (3) 2015 Dodge Challenger Hellcat

When GM lifted its ban on 400-plus cubic-inch motors in mid-sized cars, Chevy responded with the 1970 Chevelle 454 SS. At the time, it was among the most-powerful production vehicles available for purchase. And that has a lot in common with its Round 2 opponent—the 2015 Dodge Challenger Hellcat, powered by a 707-horsepower engine that really shouldn’t be trifled with.

We bid farewell to what many call the original muscle car (the ’64 Goat), and another classic Mopar (the totally fantastic ’64 Belvedere) to get here. Who moves on? It’s on you.

(1) 1969 Dodge Charger R/T vs. (4) 1968 Hurst/Olds

Everyone loves the 1969 Dodge Charger R/T because you can’t help but love the Dukes. The car that served as the famed General Lee in TV’s Dukes of Hazzard made quick work of the ’61 Chevy Impala in the first round and now moves on to face another rare classic—the 1968 Hurst/Olds. The heart of the Charger is a 440-cubic-inch engine. Inside the ’68 Hurst/Olds lives a 455-cubic-inch monster. Two beasts, prepared to do battle.

(2) 1969 Pontiac GTO (The Judge) Ram Air vs. (3) 1970 Buick GSX

Save for maybe the Corvette from the first generation to the second, what car changed as dramatically as the Pontiac GTO without alienating its legion of fans? The second year of the second generation introduced us to a 1969 GTO named simply “The Judge,” and generally justice is served when opponents attempt to defy it. Only this time, you’ll overlook its opponent at your peril. The 1970 Buick GSX was powered by a 455-cubic-inch engine built for two things, and two things only: aggression and victory. Cast your vote now.

(1) 1969 Ford Mustang Boss 429 vs. (4) 1970 Plymouth Superbird

The theme of rare cars going rounds continues in this matchup between the wildly popular and powerful 1969 Ford Mustang Boss 429, and one of the most-unique and misunderstood vehicles in the history of American muscle—the 1970 Plymouth Superbird. Are you voting for the powerful pony (of which only 859 were built), or the Road Runner turned missile—the first-ever car to crack the 200-mile-per-hour barrier in NASCAR? One was built for a king. But the other is boss. It’s all up to you.

(2) 1965 Shelby Cobra 427 vs. (6) 1968 Corvette L88

The 1965 Shelby Cobra 427 was the winner of the first-ever Muscle Car Match-Ups, so it should come as little surprise that it held off one of the tournament’s most-popular newcomers—the ’87 Grand National. Carroll Shelby borrowed European design and combined it with a 510-horsepower engine to create one of the quickest cars ever built. Facing off with the former champ is the super-rare 1968 Chevrolet Corvette L88 which also cranked out more than 500 horsepower and is coveted by any serious car collector. Today, these two muscle-bound sports cars face off. Who wins?

Vote now!