24. 1966 Oldsmobile 442 W30
Although the Pontiac GTO takes all the credit for being the first modern muscle car, not many people know the Oldsmobile 442 started the same year as the Pontiac. From the beginning, they marketed the Olds 442 as a “gentleman’s hot rod.” It was an elegant, well-equipped muscle car with luxury appointments and reserved styling. Yet it delivered strikingly high performance. The name, “442,” caused many controversies back in the day, the meaning was simple. It had a 400 CID engine, a four-speed manual transmission, and a dual exhaust. Customers could order it with an automatic transmission, but if they wanted to get the most out of their 442, they got the manual.

In 1966, Oldsmobile prepared an interesting special version for the 442y called the W-30. The model came with a special ram air induction system with tubes going from the front bumper to the carburetors and a hotter cam. Being a little conservative, Oldsmobile didn’t put any wild graphics or emblems on the car, so the W-30, which was significantly faster than the regular model, still looked the same. Even though the price of the W-30 package wasn’t high, people overlooked this model, so they only made 54 of them.