The Muscle Car really is the epitome of power and performance, and there’s no better way to prove that than running these highly tuned machines down the quarter-mile. The Wheels YouTube Channel put out a video in which old school muscle cars go head to head against their modern counterparts in a series of drag races.

Old School vs Modern

These races give us a chance to see how far the Muscle Car story has come. You might think that these old classics don’t stand a chance, well, think again, because you’d be surprised by the results. Most if not all the cars pack some form of big-block V-8 under the hood. With that, let’s get to the races.

Dodge SRT Widebody vs Plymouth Road Runner

We begin with a modern Hell Cat Widebody taking on the legendary Road Runner from the 70s. Both cars are sitting on drag racing rubber and skinnier tires up front.

The Christmas lights turn green and the Black Dodge gets a great start, but the Plymouth runs pretty close to the SRT all the way to the line.

Shelby Mustang Cobra vs 1969 Chevy Chevelle

Next, we have a modern Shelby take on a classic Chevelle. Although the Mustang looks aggressive, it appears to be factory stock. The Chevy meanwhile, has done away with its hood and has a supercharger sticking out. It’s sitting on drag radials and has a wheelie bar and parachute sticking out of the back.

Both cars line up for the launch. The lights go green and the Chevelle gets some air while launching, and gets the lead on the Mustang. It's a clean run for the Chevy which clinches the win, clocking in 10.52 seconds to do the standing quarter, while the Mustang Cobra managed 11.84 seconds.

Ford Mustang vs Chevrolet Camaro SS

This time around, we have a modern Mustang 500 with its hood missing. It looks like a highly tuned beast and is rocking Drag radials. At the other end, we have a late ’60 Camaro SS also on Drag radials, and the Camaro’s driver pulls off a burnout to put some heat into the tires. Both cars line up for the launch.

The hammer drops and the Camaro leaps forward, by a car's length. Was it poor reaction time from the Mustang’s driver or did he give the Camaro a head start?

Dodge Demon vs Plymouth Duster

Now, we have one of the most potent Drag racers of today, the Dodge Demon Widebody, taking on an old Plymouth Duster. The Demon was built by Dodge, with the sole purpose of dominating the drag strip, which it does in style. Dodge famously gives you all the extra performance parts for $1.

Both cars line up for launch. After the lights go green, the Demon gives the Duster, a four-second head start, before setting off. From there it was all about reeling in the Plymouth, which the Demon managed to do successfully. It set a quarter-mile time of 10.83 seconds while the Plymouth managed 17.57 seconds.

Shelby Mustang Cobra vs Dodge Monaco

In this face-off, yet another modern Mustang Cobra, takes on a ’66 Dodge Monaco. The Shelby looks like the same one we saw earlier, with the duel against the Chevelle. It looks bone stock factory. Monaco meanwhile looks like it's been tuned with its mighty supercharger sticking out of the hood and is on drag radials. After pulling off some 11’s. Both cars line up at the start.

The lights go out and both get a near-perfect launch. It was great to see these two set off into the dusk with the Mustang taking the win at 11.24 seconds while the Dodge managed 13.38 seconds to do the standing quarter.

Chevy Camaro ZL1 vs Chevy Chevelle

This is a Chevy vs Chevy showdown. In the modern corner, we have a Camaro ZL1 sitting on drag racing tires. In the old school corner, we have yet another late 60’s Chevelle, this time dressed in police livery, complete with overhead lights, drag radials, and a wheelie stand.

The Chevelle sounds rather good with a deep rumble. Right from the launch, the Chevelle roars past the ZL1 and hammers down the dragstrip and wins this one. The Chevelle did the standing quarter in 11.60 seconds while the Camaro managed 11.76 seconds.

Hellcat SRT vs Pontiac Le Mans

Yet another Dodge Challenger Hellcat SRT takes on a 70’s Pontiac LeMans. Painted in white, the Pontiac looks modest, in contrast to the Challenger’s stunning blue. Both cars pull some burnouts and get set for launch. The lights go out and the Le Mans is given a four-second head start before the Hellcat goes.

You can hear the SRT’s supercharger whine, at full chat, as it sets off in hot pursuit of the Pontiac. The Challenger gets past the Le Mans and takes the win, clocking in a quarter-mile time of 10.95 seconds vs the Pontiac’s 13.24 seconds.

Ford Mustang vs Chevy Nova

In this penultimate run, a modern Mustang takes on a Classic Chevy Nova, again from the late 60s. This Mustang looks quite potent with its reverse hood scoop, while the purple Nova saw here also looks like it's heavily modified. Burnout done, both cars line up for launch.

The moment the lights go green, the Nova is off to a great launch, the Mustang’s driver had a poor reaction time and trailed the Nova all the way to the finish line. It clocked in a time of 11.87 seconds while the Mustang managed 12.14 seconds to do the standing quarter.

Dodge Challenger Scat Pack vs Chevrolet Chevelle

In this final showdown, we have an Orange Dodge Challenger R/T Scat Pack take on yet another Silver 60’s Chevelle. The lights go out and the Chevelle struggles for traction off the line. The Challenger on the other hand got a perfect launch.

But don’t dismiss the Chevelle yet, because by the mid-way point the Chevy caught up with the Dodge, and goes on to win this duel. This really did come as a surprise. The Chevelle managed a quarter-mile time of 12.78 seconds while the Challenger managed 13.35 seconds.

Conclusion

Watching this series of drag races was a lot of fun. Out of the nine passes we witnessed, the modern cars took five wins while the old school cars won four races. It just goes to show that with the right performance parts and rubber, pretty much any old muscle car can keep up or even beat their modern counterparts.

Watch the entire video below