Muscle car. These two words invoke the memory of carbureted V8s, side-exit exhausts, four-speed manuals, and smoking Goodyear Polyglas GT tires. Remove the rose-colored glass, though, and you’re left with big, heavy cars that exhibited body roll at drive-thru speeds and big, heavy engines that guzzled fuel and puked toxic emissions at an alarming rate.
Don’t get us wrong – muscle cars have their place in the pantheon of vehicular greatness. But history notwithstanding, what place does a muscle car have in an era when fuel economy, vehicle emissions, on-road comfort, and track-day fun have to coexist in the same package? As we learned over a week with three incredible machines, the muscle car might actually have a bright future. Between the BMW M8 Competition, Ford Shelby GT500, and Polestar 1, which best brings the burly two-door coupe segment into the next generation, packing comfort, speed, and at least a small dose of sensibility?
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