11. Dodge Shelby Charger
Those L-Body Chargers they built in the ’80s were forgettable cars that weren’t especially popular or fast. But when Shelby, who was involved with Chrysler at the time, introduced the Shelby Charger, the car finally gained some respect. But Shelby’s recipe was simple. He turbocharged an existing 2.2-liter four-cylinder to deliver 175 HP.
Then he equipped it with a close-ratio five-speed manual gearbox. Also, he stiffened the suspension and improved braking. And all those changes turned the boring regular Charger into the Shelby Charger with a vivid performance. And it could outrun most production muscle cars of the period.
They sold the Shelby Charger along with the regular models in the Dodge dealerships. However, Shelby bought the last 1,000 of them, turning them into the Charger GHLS. It was similar to the Shelby Omni GHLS with the same engine and platform.