These Are The Vintage Muscle Cars That Should Be Reborn As EVs

Dodge calls the Charger EV Daytona the first EV muscle car, which may or may not be true in the era of plentiful and instantaneous torque. Whether you agree with Dodge's designation or not, the revived Charger Daytona sure looks good. So, we asked readers what other muscle cars should be brought back as EVs.

Most of the vintage heroes you'd expect made the list, along with some cars that don't quite fit the definition of a muscle car proper. But, perhaps most notably, readers want to see dead brands like Pontiac and Plymouth brought back to life.

That's not likely to happen, but as Volkswagen's upcoming revival of the Scout brand shows, nothing is off-limits. Here are the vintage muscle cars and brands that readers say should be brought back as EVs:

They should make a modern take on the AC Cobra, and call it the D.C. Cobra. Take the side exhaust and paint them like Duracell batteries.

Submitted by: boneheadotto

Bring Pontiac back as an EV brand.

Submitted by: SlickS30r

And...

Pontiac back as sporty EV. Saturn back as appliance EV.

Submitted by: Weirdisgood

With the ICE Camaro on the way out, it probably makes sense to give it the vintage EV treatment. Sure beats the Camaro EV SUV that GM probably has planned for us.

Submitted by: paradsecar

And...

The obvious one: Camaro

The Mustang and Charger live on, but the Camaro is gone. GM has invested billions into their EV transition. And they've already shown us a teaser image of a "Camaro" riding on the Ultium platform.

The Camaro was the best handling and driving "muscle car" of the trio, and I would hope that GM would carry that forward with an EV version.

Submitted by: featherlite

My thought is not a muscle car but a luxury coupe- The Lincoln Mark IX and maybe a Thunderbird variant. I want big cushy seats and a nice stereo in something that can eat up highway miles.

Submitted by: klone121

And...

I was thinking extend this to the land yachts in general. With how massive the Charger is, it stands to reason you could just bring back the B-Body and Panther Platform now that you wouldn't have to squeeze the EV through CAFE.

Submitted by: Mosko

Not a muscle car per se, but how about the Ford Thunderbird, give us a retro look similar to the final iteration.

Submitted by: JetZ

And...

Agree – EVs fit great with luxury cruisers: Thunderbird, any old straight 8 Buick, pre-1970 Caddy, Duesenberg (ducks to dodge rock)..

Submitted by: scramboleer

While I love the idea of a Javelin, I'm going to go further back in the way back machine. The Hudson Hornet. 3 time NASCAR champ. Immortalized in Disney's Cars. Cool looks, history, heritage. This is the right answer.

Submitted by: GTB

Chevy: The Chevelle

Ford: The Thunderbird

GM: resurrect Pontiac but the LeMans as a Tesla roadster fighter.

Submitted by: Texas Jalopy Maker

And...

Big block Chevelle

Submitted by: Richard Eaton (via Facebook)

Pontiac Firebird but don't call it a Firebird. I think the mistake with car manufacturers wanting to badge their performance EVs classic muscle car names is they are treading on sacred ground where as if they just gave them new names they would be better received and the sacred could be left sacred.

Submitted by: Sid Widmer (via Facebook)

The first gen ('68-'69) AMC Javelin:

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You want to point to a pony car that gets no notice because nowadays it's so rare, yet still looks utterly fantastic, you're pointing at one of these first gens. Such clean styling—if Stellantis resurrected this car as an EV and went mass-market on the price, they could not build 'em fast enough. Seriously.

Submitted by: the1969DodgeChargerFan

Remake the Superbird into an EV halo car. The modified nose of the Superbird works perfectly for an EV, since it won't need any air intake.

Throw the giant wing on it. Give it stupid torque, a chin-up bar on back, and turn it into a drag racing monster.

Submitted by: Stubb0632722

And...

Plymouth Superbird – with the full aerodynamics.

Submitted by: Douglas Miske (via Facebook)

Duh, the Electra.

Submitted by: John Caola (via Facebook)

Studebaker Avanti or Avanti II (not the Avantis after 85)

Submitted by: Jason Smith (via Facebook)

The 71' Barracuda. I just specifically adore this car for some reason. It's the grille! If they can keep it looking exactly the same but obviously updated suspension etc, I would go into debt tomorrow. I'm still skeptical on how different they can make an EV feel and provide a different experience from each other, but perhaps this can be an opportunity to bring back some brands like Plymouth and Pontiac as performance EV brands with proper coach building.

[...]

Submitted by: darthspartan117

Hell yea. Give me a Caprice Classic/Roadmaster EV, and a Crown Vic/Grand Marquis/Town Car/Marauder EV. Bring back all the giant wallowy sedans of my youth and their coupe equivalents. I want a Cougar EV with hideaway headlights.

Submitted by: klone121

My first thought was the Duster (I guess Dart Demon because Dodge is the one that survived, but the Duster looked better and I don't know how people would feel about putting the Demon on a smaller, cheaper model after the Challenger), but yes, Stellantis has already proven themselves willing to do EV muscle cars, I just want to see something smaller than the new Charger, whatever name they revive to put on it.

Submitted by: Maymar

I think that Ford should make a Mustang EV, but not based on the bloated behemoth that they produce today, but rather something similar to the 1st generation mustang with more modern styling. Keep the long hood and turn it into a useful frunk and maintain the general shape and size.

[...]

Submitted by: Flintstone943