Hello and welcome to Mechanical Grip, your source of automotive knowledge and entertainment. Today, we're here to talk about the 80s, the era of neon, walkmins, and the return of power to America. After suffering through the 1970s, the idea of American muscle cars made the first steps towards a return in the 80s. These cars looked better and had more power, but that was not the end. They were also better built, felt more modern, and had more technology. This unique moment in time gave us razor sharp lines and turbo engines, and more than a few iconic cars that generation X lusts after even today. So let's have a look at the eight best 1980s American muscle and performance cars. First up, the Ford Mustang SVO. The third generation Ford Mustang arrived in 1979 as a sleeker, lighter, and more aerodynamic car. The Fox Body Mustang was sleeker, more modern, and aerodynamic. To give the Mustang some edge, Ford's special vehicle operations department introduced the Mustang SVO in 1984. It featured a 2.3 liter turbocharged four cylinder with 175 horsepower. Though that doesn't sound like much, it was quite the power output for a small engine, and as a light car, the SVO was pretty hot back in the days. With four wheel disc brakes, stiffer suspension, and sharper steering, the little Mustang was quite capable, but the best came in 1985 when SVO up the power to 205 horses. Second, the Dodge Omni GLH GLHS. While Europe fully embraced the hot hatch class by the 80s, American manufacturers seemed quite uninterested, giving the Golf GTI an empty playground on the market. All that changed when Carol Shelby teamed up with Dodge and introduced his version of the compact Omni model. Shelby took the 2.2 liter four-banger and added a turbocharger to produce a total output of 175 horsepower and 0-60 time of less than 7 seconds. Quite impressive and competitive for the day. No wonder the GLH badge stood for Go's Like Hell. Later on, Shelby and Dodge produced a very rare improved version called GLHS, which stood for Go's Like Hell some more. Number three, Buick GNX. Back in 1982, Buick started experimenting with turbocharging its line of standard V6 engines. The results were satisfying and Buick engineers got the permission to go further. Soon, there was a Buick Grand National with 175 horses, which wasn't impressive, but later, in 1987, came the ultimate version called GNX, or Grand National Experimental. It featured the same 3.8 liter turbocharged V6 with 275 horsepower and 0-60 time of 4.7 seconds. At that time, Buick GNX was the fastest accelerating production model in the world. At $29,000, it wasn't cheap either, but there's a widespread legend about the owners who paid the lease on these cars just by street racing them for money. The company made just 547 of them in one production, and today, they're as equally praised as they were in the late 80s. Number four, Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS AroCoup. Despite being in production for just two short years, the AroCoup is one of the most interesting 80s muscle cars. Basically, it was a regular Monte Carlo SS, but homologated for NASCAR races. The AroCoup was introduced in 1986, and it featured a panoramic back window with back spoiler. The new rear glass provided almost fast-backed profile, which vastly improved the aerodynamics on NASCAR super speedways. However, the AroCoup was mechanically identical to the regular SS, meaning the power was provided by a 180 HP 305 V8 engine. The production for the 1986 model year was just 200 examples, which was enough to homologate the car. However, to please the market, Chevrolet produced an additional 5,852 cars in 1987. Number five, Chevrolet Camaro Irox Z. The third generation Camaro was a well-received and popular car, but buyers wanted more performance and power after a while. Chevrolet delivered just that in the form of the legendary Irox Z. Under the hood was a 350 V8 with 225 horsepower in the early years and 245 horsepower in later versions. The buyers could opt for manual or automatic, and the suspension was tuned as well as steering. Chevrolet even offered a cool-looking convertible, the first Camaro Rack Top in 18 years. The Irox Z proved to be a very popular and influential muscle car that finally brought some real performance to match the cool looks. Number six, Oldsmobile 442. The most famous name from Oldsmobile's performance portfolio was revived for the 1985 model year and was based on the rear-wheel drive cutless platform. This time, the model designation stood for four-speed automatic transmission, four barrel carburetor and two exhausts. However, the 307 V8 engine delivered 170 to 180 HP, which wasn't enough for very exciting performance and Oldsmobile concentrated on handling, luxury and options, which made this 442 a comfortable and enjoyable car to own. This was the last rear-wheel drive 442, and for three years, just over 10,000 were made. Number seven, Ford Mustang GT 5.0. The rise in power during the 80s brought the first real performance to the Mustang range in almost 20 years. The Fox body Mustang grew more powerful with each model year, starting from 175 horsepower in 1983. By the late 80s, the venerable 5.0-liter V8 was pumping 225 horses and 300 pound feet of torque, which translated to quite competent 0 to 60 times. The Mustang was once again an affordable performance car with cool styling, lots of options, and enough power to spin the rear wheels in any gear. This car marked a return to the roots with a strong V8 engine and exciting performance. The late 80s Fox body was very popular, so they're plentiful today, and the aftermarket for those cars is enormous so you can easily modify your Fox body GT to make it even faster. Number eight, the Pontiac Transamm GT-A. Transamm was the best version of the third generation Pontiac's F body. It was introduced in 1987 and was the top of the range Firebird. The package was available until the 1992 model year and was produced in relatively limited numbers. The secret weapons of the GT-A, where its engine and WS6 handling package, the engine was the 350 V8 with 210 horsepower or up to 245 horses in later versions. The rumor was that the engine was the same as in the Corvette, since it used the same TPI fuel injection system and displacement. Sadly, that wasn't true. Corvette used aluminum heads while Pontiac used iron cast ones. However, the power and performance were still pretty similar. We hope you enjoyed our choice of the best Radwood approved muscle cars from the neon years. For more gear head videos in the future, please like, share, and subscribe to our channel.