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Holy Grails: Ultra-Rare Muscle Cars Produced In Single Digits

Vukasin Herbez November 22, 2023

Car fans today are mesmerized by rare, limited-edition supercars produced in low numbers. Yes, those multi-million-dollar machines are fantastic, rare, and advanced, but they are not the only ones with single-digit production numbers. Back in the heyday of muscle car culture, Detroit made numerous ultra-rare muscle cars with lower production numbers than the Bugattis of today.

Today, we’ll look back at the truly exclusive list of muscle cars with single-digit production numbers. They were and still are incredibly rare, expensive, and seldom-seen pieces of muscle car culture and history, so check them out here.

Chrysler 300 - Chrysler — Photo Credit: eBay

1970 Chrysler 300 Hurst Convertible – 1 example

Almost all classic car fans know about the legendary Chrysler 300 “Letter Cars.” They were a series of high-powered coupes and convertibles built from 1955 to 1965. However, in 1970, a special limited-edition 300 Hurst was produced. It was built in very limited numbers of around 500 coupes with the help of the famous transmission company Hurst. It featured an exceptional white and gold paint job, a similarly styled interior, and a rear spoiler integrated into the deck lid (via eBay).

Under the hood, a mighty 440 V8 engine with 395 hp propelled the two-ton beast to respectful acceleration times. But, for promotional purposes, Hurst built only one 300 Hurst Convertible, making it the rarest muscle car in the world. The vehicle was in promotional material and old photos. It was a valuable promotional tool for Hurst company and Chrysler’s performance and was used on high-profile drag racing events. The current whereabouts of this particular Chrysler is unknown.

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1967 Shelby Super Snake – 1 example

This unique Shelby GT500 was produced as a rolling laboratory to showcase the possibilities of the Mustang platform as well as for testing Goodyear’s “Thunderbolt” tire line. It had a Le Mans-winning GT 40 race engine, special transmission, suspension, and tires. Ultimately, only one ever left the factory (via Road and Track).

There were plans for a limited production run. But the proposed price was over $8000, an enormous sum in the late ’60s. That was too bad since the Super Snake was capable of a 170 mph top speed, unheard of speed in the late ’60s. The number would have put the Mustang as the world’s fastest muscle car. The car sold twice in recent years and had set up a couple of auction records. The last one was sold for a staggering $2.2 million.

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1967 Ford Country Squire Wagon 428 with 4-speed – 1 example

Ford’s luxury 1967 Country Squire station wagon was the perfect example of a muscle car disguised as a family long roof. To an average person, this car looked like a big station wagon that could haul nine people and a lot of stuff as it cruised the highways. But to experienced enthusiasts, just one glance under the hood revealed the true nature of this car (via Auto Blog).

For 1966 and 1967, Ford offered a 428 V8 engine as an option on its station wagon model lineup. The 428 V8 in question was not the famed Cobra Jet, but the engine from the Thunderbird with 345 horsepower. With over 460 lb.-ft of torque, the Country Squire could really move despite its size and weight. Only one left the factory with a four-speed manual.

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1968 Shelby EXP 500 “Green Hornet” – 1 example

During the Mustang’s heyday, Ford and Shelby worked hard to explore the possibilities and limits of the Mustang’s platform and engineering. They also produced several exciting prototypes. One of the most popular is the “Green Hornet” from 1968. Although it wasn’t the only car, the Green Hornet featured the most innovative features like a 390 V8 equipped with fuel injection, unique disc brakes on all four wheels, and independent rear suspension (via SPC).

With this layout, the Green Hornet was a very capable car that handled and stopped better than any other sports car on the market. Unfortunately, the cost of producing those features was too high. Ford and Shelby decided to go with more conventional technology. Also, the “Green Hornet” is one of the rare surviving cars from the era and possibly one of the most expensive Mustangs for sale, but a $1.8 million offer wasn’t enough.

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1967 Dodge Coronet R/T Hemi Convertible – 2 examples

The 1967 Coronet with the R/T package is quite a find. But when you find one with the Hemi engine, you’ve struck gold. But that’s not the end of the story. In 1967, Dodge produced only two R/T Hemi Convertibles, one with a four-speed manual and the other with an automatic. Apparently, only one car survived (via Motor Trend).

The standard Coronet lineup was popular with buyers and most performance-oriented clients opted for the 383 or 440 V8 engine. The Hemi option, although very sought-after, was also very expensive. On average, it added over $1000 on top of the base price of Coronet R/T.

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Dodge Coronet - Car — Photo Credit: Hemmings

1970 Dodge Coronet R/T Hemi Convertible – 2 examples

1970 was a watershed year for classic muscle car culture. Never before since there were so many cars to choose from. Dodge was at the forefront of the movement with the Charger and Challenger. But the Coronet wasn’t as popular even though it had almost the same options and engine choices. In 1970, you could order a Coronet with the R/T package, optional 426 Hemi, and convertible body style. Apparently, only two customers did so, making this car incredibly rare (via Motor Trend).

With an aggressive front end, great mechanics, and a long list of optional equipment, the 1970 Coronet R/T is considered one of the most interesting classic muscle cars. It’s too bad that the Hemi was in so precious few of them.

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1966 Shelby Cobra Supercharged – 2 examples

What do you get when you put a Paxton supercharger on top of Ford’s 427 V8 engine and install it in the light and nimble Cobra? Carroll Shelby gave us the answer to that question in the form of an extremely rare Cobra with 800 HP, which he produced as a unique project in 1966. Only two cars left the factory. One was crashed and destroyed and the other was recently sold for a staggering $5.5 million (via Hemmings).

This Cobra originally cost double the price of the standard 427 Cobra, which was already an expensive car. But it was not only the sheer cost that turned buyers away from this car. The Supercharged Cobra was also notoriously dangerous to drive and potential buyers didn’t want to drive a death trap.

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1969 Chevrolet Corvette ZL-1 – 2 or 3 examples

The new third generation of the Corvette was introduced in 1968. It brought a new, sleek design, the so-called “Coke bottle” look. The mechanics, chassis, and drivetrain were the same and the car was still great value for the money. The C3 generation brought us some of the most potent Corvettes. None was more powerful than the ultra-rare and legendary ZL1 (via Hagerty).

The heart of the ZL1 was the fantastic, almost racing-spec aluminum 427 V8 with up to 550 hp in mild tune. Chevrolet also made around 12 test Corvettes with that same engine in late 1968. The performance potential was unbelievable. Chevrolet wanted to refrain from offering this wild racing engine to the general public, so the ZL-1 option was never in the press or official brochures. However, wealthy individuals close to the factory knew about its existence and could purchase the ZL-1. That’s why only two Corvette ZL-1s left the factory. There was one manual and one equipped with an automatic gearbox.

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1970 Ford Torino King Cobra – 3 examples

Ford wanted to attack the fast, victorious Aero Mopars like the Dodge Daytona and Plymouth Superbird. So for the 1970 season, they designed the Torino King Cobra. Apparently, the Torino Talladega with its modest modifications, was not enough to beat the wild warriors from Mopar. The King Cobra was a regular Ford Torino but with a special, wedge-shaped front end and 429 engine. The King Cobra was also a step up from Ford Torino Talladega in terms of technology and performance potential (via Motor Trend).

The car did well at initial testing. Yet at the last minute, Ford pulled the plug, and the project was canceled. They only made three cars, which are incredibly expensive today. Today, not many enthusiasts know about this car. Who knows, maybe the history of NASCAR and famous Aero Specials would be much different if the King Cobra had a chance to participate.

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1970 Plymouth Roadrunner Hemi Convertible – 3 examples

When it first appeared in 1968, the Roadrunner proved to be a very influential and essential muscle car. It introduced a new trend of inexpensive and fun cars. It was also a strong seller, affecting the whole segment. The idea behind the Roadrunner was simple. Present a low-priced but powerful model and attract people on a limited budget who had a strong need for performance. The most appealing thing about the Roadrunner was the fact that Plymouth used the cartoon character of a roadrunner from the popular Willie E. Coyote cartoon (via BJ).

Chrysler paid $60,000 for the rights to use the name and design. Nearly everyone thought the company was crazy for doing so. The sales results proved everybody wrong, and the Roadrunner was the first muscle car with crazy graphics and the car that started the trend. The Roadrunner was always a popular muscle car, but most Plymouth’s customers looked for standard examples with 383 or 440 V8 engines, closed body, and no options. However, some wanted to maximize their Roadrunners, and the 1970 Hemi Convertible is a perfect example. However, they only made three such cars that year, one with the manual and the other two with automatic transmissions.

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1967 Chevrolet Corvette L88 Convertible – 3 examples

The second-generation Chevrolet Corvette (C2) produced from 1963 to 1967 was arguably one of the most beautiful and aggressive-looking cars from the muscle car era. Despite the fact that the big block 427 Corvette was new for 1966, it was further refined with four levels of power for the 1967 model year. The list started with a 390 hp 427 V8 and ended with an extremely rare and powerful L-88 427 V8 (via Rob Report).

Corvettes equipped with this engine were in a class by themselves. The aluminum head L-88 produced close to 600 hp and came with mandatory heavy-duty suspension, brakes, and a handling package. This option was for racers and was very expensive. It cost almost double the price of the base ’67 Corvette. That’s why it is one of the rarest, with 17 built as a coupe. By comparison, only three were built as a convertible.

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1969 Hurst Oldsmobile 442 Convertible – 3 examples

One of the most successful collaborations between a major car company and a small aftermarket outfit was the partnership between Hurst and Oldsmobile. At the time, Oldsmobile was under GM’s ban, which forbade the company from putting engines larger than 400 CID in intermediate cars. However, since Hurst was an independent company, GM rules didn’t apply. Oldsmobile shipped partially disassembled 442s to Hurst, where they installed the biggest engine Oldsmobile had, the mighty 455 V8 with 390 hp (via Street Muscle Mag).

Of course, the Hurst Olds package also has numerous other performance upgrades, such as the Ram Air induction system and heavy-duty suspension. Since the Hurst Olds was a limited-production factory hot rod, it was expensive and the convertible wasn’t available. But in 1969, Hurst did produce three convertibles for promotional purposes only.

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1970 Dodge Super Bee Hemi 2-door coupe – 4 examples

The 1970 Super Bee had a great design and the best of corporate technology in the form of mighty Hemi engines. Most of the cars they made were hardtops or convertibles. But Dodge offered a two-door pillared coupe as well. This was the choice of serious street racers who wanted the lightest body with the most powerful engine. That is what the 1970 Super Bee 2-door with the Hemi really was. Only four left the factory, all with manual transmission (via Automobile Catalog).

The 1970 Super Bee was the last of its kind since the 1971 model was based on the Charger, not the Coronet body style. With an aggressive design, an excellent lineup of engines, and a crazy name, it was a favorite with street racers of the period.

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Dodge Coronet - Dodge — Photo Credit: Auto WP

1966 Dodge Coronet Hemi Sedan – 5 examples

Chrysler introduced its legendary 426 Hemi engine in 1966 as an option on select Plymouth and Dodge models. The iconic power plant was also offered as an option on Dodge Coronet. Technically, it could be ordered with any body style. However, buyers associated Hemi power with two-door coupes or convertibles. Most people needed to realize that they could have Hemi in a sedan or even in wagon form (via Auto Evolution).

That’s why only a few people bought the Coronet De Luxe Hemi four-door in 1966, getting the ultimate muscle car sedan. With an advertised 425 hp under your right foot, the Coronet Hemi four-door was arguably the fastest production sedan in America and the ultimate four-door muscle car.

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1963 Corvette Grand Sport – 5 examples

In the early ’60s, the Corvette had already proven itself on the market. It became time to establish itself on the race track. Back in the day, the Shelby Cobra by Ford was dominant at race tracks and the Corvette team wanted to beat it. So Zora and his team prepared five Grand Sport Corvettes with modified bodies, special suspension, fully loaded race engines, and a host of other specially built components (via Rev Institute).

The Grand Sport Corvette had over 550 hp and was capable of brutal performance. The Corvette team had big plans and entered the Grand Sport Corvettes in several races with mixed success when the decision from the top of General Motors stopped all racing activities. For some reason, GM decided to stop investing in all forms of racing in early 1963. It killed the fantastic Grand Sport program before it could prove its worth, making the Corvette Grand Sport one of the racing world’s greatest “what if” stories. All five cars are still around, which is amazing.

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1970 AMC AMX/3 – 6 examples

Encouraged by the success of Javelin and AMX, AMC management wanted to go further and attack the sports car market. They had the funds to do so but they didn’t have a starting point. Very soon, AMC hired renewed sports car creator and ex-Ferrari engineer Giotto Bizzarrini and asked him to build them a modern sports car with a sleek body, rear engine, and transaxle design (via Hagerty).

The AMX/3 prototype was capable of 170 mph. It had world-class handling and sexy Italian styling. AMC’s 390 V8 engine provided power with 340 horsepower. Despite the promising start, AMC realized that the finished product would cost somewhere around $12,000. That price was significantly more than a similarly designed De Tomaso Pantera and almost double the price of the Corvette. Unfortunately but understandably, they decided to kill the fantastic AMX/3 after just six pre-production cars left the factory.

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1966 Shelby GT350 Convertible – 6 examples

A large number of muscle car enthusiasts will tell you that the first model year for the Shelby Mustang convertibles was 1968. But this is only partially true. In 1968, Shelby offered convertible versions for sale to the general public as a regular production option. Still, the first convertibles built by Carroll himself left the factory in 1966 as a secret project (via SMM).

Ford Mustang - Shelby Mustang — Photo Credit: Auto WP

At the end of the 1966 model year, Carroll Shelby produced a limited and secret run of 6 GT350 convertibles and gave them to his family members and friends. This was a commemorative edition to celebrate the GT350’s success and a prototype for the potential production of convertibles. Each car had full options like A/C and a roll bar. Each vehicle was in a different color with signature white racing stripes.

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1965 Shelby Cobra Daytona Coupe – 6 examples

Although the Cobra roadster dominated the international GT racing scene in the early ’60s, Shelby noticed that the roadster body was not suited for all tracks and races. Even with the hardtop mounted, the Cobra lacked top speed due to poor aerodynamics. On long straights like in Le Mans, it was slower than the competition. The answer was to redesign the car and turn it into a racing missile capable of insane top speeds (via Supercars).

To do that, Shelby needed to modify the Cobra entirely. With the help of his talented team of engineers and hot rodders, he managed to construct a more extended chassis, relocate the suspension, and design a whole new, longer, sleeker, and much more aerodynamic body. The Daytona Coupe was a pure racing car barely suitable for street driving and intended to destroy the competition. The car was ready just in time for the legendary 1965 racing season. It was shipped to Europe, where it continued to dominate American engineering and managed to win the 1965 GT Championship. The car was an extraordinary success for Ford, Shelby, and his talented drivers and mechanics team.

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1971 Plymouth Hemi Cuda Convertible – 7 examples

Two of the biggest Chrysler legends from the classic days of muscle car culture are the Barracuda and the 426 Hemi engine. All throughout the ’60s, those icons of the industry didn’t mix, at least not in street-legal cars. In 1970, Plymouth offered this legendary engine in Barracuda body style, immediately creating one of the fastest and most desirable muscle cars ever made (via Motor Trend).

The mighty Hemi engine was an expensive top-of-the-line option for the 1970 and 1971 Barracuda lineup. It was available in coupe or convertible form. It costs around $900, over the standard Barracuda’s price. Just about 600 coupes and only 17 convertibles got the Hemi option during a two-year production period. However, in 1971, only seven Cuda Convertibles got the Hemi treatment, making them incredibly rare and sought-after cars.

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1969 Pontiac Firebird Trans Am Convertible – 8 examples

In 1969, Pontiac wanted to present a model that could be homologated for Trans Am racing. Pontiac made the Firebird Trans Am a loaded version of the standard model with big block power from the famous 400 V8 engine equipped with a Ram Air III or IV intake system (via Auto Evolution).

This particular version, which came with signature white paint, blue stripes, Rally II wheels, and other equipment, proved to be a tough seller. Only 634 Firebird Trans Ams left the factory and only eight were convertibles.

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1970 Dodge Challenger R/T Hemi Convertible – 9 examples

Despite the fact that Plymouth had the Barracuda, the first pony car model introduced two weeks before the Ford Mustang, its stablemate Dodge didn’t enter the segment until 1970. The Challenger immediately got the full firepower of Mopar’s engines. Buyers could get a powerful 383 V8, a hefty 440, and the famous 426 Hemi (via SCM).

Dodge Challenger - Dodge — Photo Credit: Auto WP

Since the Challenger was an actual muscle car, the majority of sold examples were coupes. But the convertible was also available. In 1970, Dodge produced only nine convertible Challengers, with the Hemi making this model one of the rarest and most powerful muscle car convertibles built in those golden years.

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1968 Dodge Coronet Hemi Convertible – 9 examples

1968 saw the major redesign of the whole Dodge mid-size lineup, including its muscle offerings. The Charger got the famous Coke bottle shape, and Coronet also got new sheet metal. For those who wanted more out of a regular Coronet, Dodge prepared a nice-looking convertible and 426 Hemi as an option. Only nine people decided to purchase this fast, rare cruiser (via RMW).

What was the reason for such low production? Even though the mainstream Coronet offerings were popular, the unique models were expensive and rarely seen. Most of the customers opted for 383 or 440 models, which provided enough power but without the high price tag. However, only a handful choose the Hemi and the even rarer convertible option.

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Holy Grails: Ultra-Rare Muscle Cars Produced In Single Digits

1970 Chrysler 300 Hurst Convertible – 1 example

1967 Shelby Super Snake – 1 example

1967 Ford Country Squire Wagon 428 with 4-speed – 1 example

1968 Shelby EXP 500 “Green Hornet” – 1 example

1967 Dodge Coronet R/T Hemi Convertible – 2 examples

1970 Dodge Coronet R/T Hemi Convertible – 2 examples

1966 Shelby Cobra Supercharged – 2 examples

1969 Chevrolet Corvette ZL-1 – 2 or 3 examples

1970 Ford Torino King Cobra – 3 examples

1970 Plymouth Roadrunner Hemi Convertible – 3 examples

1967 Chevrolet Corvette L88 Convertible – 3 examples

1969 Hurst Oldsmobile 442 Convertible – 3 examples

1970 Dodge Super Bee Hemi 2-door coupe – 4 examples

1966 Dodge Coronet Hemi Sedan – 5 examples

1963 Corvette Grand Sport – 5 examples

1970 AMC AMX/3 – 6 examples

1966 Shelby GT350 Convertible – 6 examples

1965 Shelby Cobra Daytona Coupe – 6 examples

1971 Plymouth Hemi Cuda Convertible – 7 examples

1969 Pontiac Firebird Trans Am Convertible – 8 examples

1970 Dodge Challenger R/T Hemi Convertible – 9 examples

1968 Dodge Coronet Hemi Convertible – 9 examples

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