There are many different definitions of musclecar (see the two word spelling: muscle car). Common elements are
American +
2 door + V8 + rear wheel drive. Some
people even add a date/time/year element (silly, I think). Some people add a price element, ie, a musclecar provides good power at an affordable price, whereas a supercar provides good power, but is very expensive.
I propose that a musclecar is simply any car with muscle, ie, a good power-to-weight ratio. I suggest 10 pounds or less per horsepower. Therefore, a MINIMUM requirement would be:
2,000 lbs. = 200+
hp.
3,000 lbs. = 300+
hp.
To go with the economy idea, say $100 per
hp. Therefore, the 2,000 lb., 200
hp car would cost $20,000. The 3,000 lb., 300
hp car would cost $30,000. Unfortunately, the $ amounts would have to be adjusted with inflation.
Maybe we could come up with a
definition that does NOT need modification with time, rating the musclecar as a percentile of the new car population available that year.
We could say the 0-60 and quarter mile times must be better than 75% of the other new cars available that year.
We could say the price should be less than 10% above the
average price of a new car that year. We could reserve "supercar" for more expensive cars, and raise the performance parameters to 90%+.
