The 10 Best Muscle Trucks of All Time
Mecum Auctions/Mecum Auctions/RM Sotheby’s/Ford
After more than 60 years on American roads, even the most peevish of enthusiasts have come to a consensus about what qualifies as a muscle car. There is some wiggle room, of course, but it is generally agreed upon that any vehicle that belongs in the class must be an American-made, rear-wheel-drive two-door with a gigantic V-8 under the hood.
Things are a little more up in the air when it comes to the muscle car’s more obscure sibling, the muscle truck. Around since the early 1970s, they’re American-made and have big engines, but the same could be said for the overwhelming majority of full-size pickups on U.S. roads today. Because of this, the main difference is one of utility, because the muscle truck serves one primary purpose: burning rubber while looking as cool as possible.
With that in mind, here are the ten best muscle trucks of all time, from the Chevrolet El Camino SS to the Ford Raptor R.
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1970 Chevrolet El Camino SS 454 LS6
Image Credit: RM Sotheby’s If the standard Chevrolet El Camino was a cross between a truck and a car, the high-performance El Camino SS (which stands for Super Sport) was the former mashed up with a muscle car. Introduced in 1968, during the model’s third generation, the variant was just as much of a beast as the Camaro and Chevelle SS of that era. Chevy would go on to build the variant for 19 years, but our favorite is the 1970 vintage. The year’s top-of-the-line model placed a massive 7.4-liter LS6 engine under the hood that was capable of producing a monstrous 450 hp and 500 ft lbs of torque.
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1978 Dodge Li’l Red Express
Image Credit: Mecum Auctions When most people think of muscle trucks, the first to leap to mind isn’t the El Camino SS, it’s the Dodge Li’l Red Express. Introduced eight years later, the factory-built variant is the true percussor to today’s high-performance Ford Raptor F-150 and Ram 1500 TRX. The heavily modified D150 was the brainchild of engineer Tom Hoover, who called it the “last American hot rod,” and featured a special 5.9-liter V-8 that kicked out 225 hp and 295 ft lbs of torque, along with a four-barrel carburetor and dual-snorkel air cleaner. The resulting truck was so noisy it couldn’t be sold in several states, including California, Florida, and Maryland.
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1990 Lamborghini LM002 LM/American
Image Credit: RM Sotheby’s Was the Lamborghini LM002 built in America? No, but the LM/American model was exclusive to our shores. Was it actually a truck? Again, no, but the off-road vehicle is just about the coolest pickup-shaped vehicle we’ve ever seen, which is why we think it qualifies for this list. The 4×4 better known as the Rambo Lambo—Sylvester Stallone was a fan of the vehicle during the peak of his movie stardom—was a burly beast that predates Lamborghini’s popular Urus SUV by nearly a quarter-century. The stylish bruiser came with a V-12 that, in its most powerful iteration, made 444 hp and 369 ft lbs of torque. It may not produce the same kind of performance as Lamborghini’s other V-12s of the era, the Countach and Diablo, but the LM002 is cooler than both.
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1990 Chevrolet 454 SS
Image Credit: Mecum Auctions The muscle truck may have gotten its start in the late ‘60s, but it wasn’t until the ‘90s that it really came into its own. The first modern truck to truly deserve the distinction was the Chevrolet 454 SS. The high-performance version of the range-topping CL1500 had a 7.4-liter big-block V-8 stuffed into its engine bay. That mill, which was mated to a three-speed automatic gearbox, generated 230 hp and 385 ft lbs of torque, thanks to which it could sprint from zero to 60 mph in under 8 seconds, an impressive feat for a full-size pickup from that era. But its best feature may have been the original black-and-red colorway, which was the only choice available in the first two years of production.
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1991 GMC Syclone
Image Credit: Mecum Auctions Chevy’s sister brand, GMC, also added a muscle truck to its lineup at the start of the 1990s. The compact Syclone wasn’t as big as the 454 SS—both literally and figuratively—but it was more fun. In production for a single year, during which time just shy of 3,000 examples were built, the modified Sonoma had a 4.3-liter V-6 under its hood that split 280 hp and 350 ft lbs of torque between all four wheels. That was more than enough oomph to slingshot the pickup from zero to 60 mph in just 5.3 seconds, a time that’s still impressive for a pickup today. The model was also available as an SUV called the Typhoon, both of which sport some very ‘90s-looking graphics.
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1993 Ford F-150 SVT Lightning
Image Credit: Mecum Auctions Ford’s debut electric truck wasn’t the first F-150 to carry the Lightening name. In 1992, the Detroit giant unveiled its answer to the Chevy 454 SS, the SVT Lightning. Based on the ninth-generation F-Series, the boxy pickup was built by the company’s Special Vehicle Team and featured a naturally aspirated 5.8-liter Windsor V-8 equipped with a new high-flow intake and heads that made 240 hp and 340 ft lbs of torque. The pickup wasn’t just powerful, though. It also had a lowered ride height and retuned suspension that helped ensure it handled more like a sports car than a truck.
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1998 Dodge Dakota R/T
Image Credit: Mecum Auctions Chrysler wasn’t going to leave all the muscle truck fun to Ford and GM at the tail end of the last century. Dodge, which had helped create the class with the Li’l Red Express, introduced its own high-performance truck, the Dakota R/T, in 1998. The limited-edition build had a lower ride height and a 5.9-liter Magnum V-8 that was more powerful than the mill found in the standard version of the mid-size pickup it was based on. The upgraded mill produced 250 hp and 345 ft lbs of torque, which was enough to push the truck from zero to 60 mph in 6.9 seconds.
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2004 Dodge Ram SRT-10
Image Credit: Mecum Auctions As impressive as the Dodge Dakota R/T may have been, it was only a precursor to bigger and better things for automakers. In 2004, the brand introduced an over-the-top sports version of the Ram 1500 called the SRT-10. The big story here is the 8.3-liter V-10 found under the pickup’s heavily sculpted hood. You read that right, an 8.3-liter V-10, which just so happened to be the same engine that powered that generation’s Viper. That mill pumped out 500 hp and 525 ft lbs of torque, thanks to which the pickup could hit 60 mph in 5.3 seconds and reach a top speed of 147 mph.
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2017 Shelby F-150 Super Snake
Image Credit: Shelby American Who better to push the high-performance truck to new heights than the shop that helped make the muscle car a thing in the first place? Shelby American has built modified pickups since 1989, but its best, the second-generation F-150 Super Snake, didn’t make its debut until last decade. Introduced in 2017, the limited-edition beast pairs a 5.0-liter Coyote V-8 with a 2.9-liter Whipple supercharger. The result is an aggressively styled truck that pumps out a ridiculous 750 hp and can sprint from zero to 60 mph in 3.45 seconds (and 100 mph in just 8.3 seconds). Not bad for a full-size bruiser.
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2024 Ford F-150 Raptor
Image Credit: Ford No list of muscle trucks would be complete without Ford’s current range-topper, the F-150 Raptor. Like the Lamborghini LM002, it’s technically an off-roader, but it’s also deserving of mention because it’s the most powerful factory-built F-150 of all time. The top-of-the-line Raptor has a 5.2-liter supercharged V-8 that makes 720 hp and 640 ft lbs of torque. Thanks to all that oomph, the truck can rocket from zero to 60 mph in just 3.6 seconds, making it only marginally slower than the Shelby Super Snake. It tops out at 112 mph, an impressive figure that would probably be even higher if speed wasn’t computer-limited.
