What's The Difference Between A Muscle Car And A Pony Car?

We’ve all heard the term ‘muscle car’ used for a variety of rear-driven, V8-powered cars from ‘Murica, but is ‘pony car’ a more appropriate term in some cases?
What's The Difference Between A Muscle Car And A Pony Car?

It’s common for people to refer to any rear-wheel drive American performance car with a V8 as a ‘muscle car’, but is that always the case? Some would have you believe that ‘pony car’ is in many instances a more appropriate description. Since this is probably the lesser-known term, let’s look at its history.

It all goes back to the original Ford Mustang, which caused something of a revolution in the car world when it arrived in 1965. Here was a relatively compact, affordable and sporty car aimed at young people, which was so popular it effectively spawned its own class: the pony car class. You know, because a Mustang is a horse, and all that.

What's The Difference Between A Muscle Car And A Pony Car?

Naturally, other manufacturers wanted a slice of the pie which Ford was gorging itself on with impunity. Rivals soon came along in the form of cars like the Plymouth Barracuda and Chevrolet Camaro, the latter becoming the thorn in the Mustang’s side right up until the present day.

Yes, some of these cars shared whopping V8s with much larger machines from the same marque, but small-block eight-cylinder engines and even six-cylinder engines were generally the order of the day.

What's The Difference Between A Muscle Car And A Pony Car?

Muscle cars on the other hand were always much larger, both in their exterior dimensions and the equipment found under the hood. We’re talking vast, V8-powered monsters like the Dodge Charger, Ford Galaxie and Chevrolet Impala.

They generally didn’t care much for handling sophistication: they were all about shoehorning a massive engine into a coupe body, and having a penchant for drag strip action. In a lot of cases, they were the halo cars for the brands that spawned them.

What's The Difference Between A Muscle Car And A Pony Car?

Looking to today however, things get a little more complicated. Most of those ‘traditional’ hulks of the muscle car world have long since disappeared or morphed into very different machines. Some would argue that the current Dodge Challenger is the only true muscle car on sale right now, and it’s easy to see why. The bottom end of the range may be propped up by V6s, but the headline cars are powered by massive V8 engines, slotted into a conspicuously large and heavy frame.

While other US manufacturers are obsessing over trick suspension, weight loss and Nurburgring laptimes, the Dodge and its Challenger seem focused on straight-line entertainment and ‘no replacement for displacement’ heroics. The 392 cubic-inch powered Scat Pack - which I had a ridiculous amount of fun driving in California recently - is a 485bhp burnout machine thanks to its hilariously skinny 245-section rear tyres, and the Hellcat’s very much cut from the same cloth.

You can even get a shaker hood added on some Challengers, adding a retro throwback to muscle cars of the past, and you can’t forget the incoming SRT Demon, which is about quarter-mile glory and precious little else. Although to add a dash of irony, the Challenger isn’t quite the all-American hero, since it’s actually built in Canada. But who cares.

It's an American coupe, it has a V8 and it's happy smoking the rear tyres. But is it a muscle car?
It's an American coupe, it has a V8 and it's happy smoking the rear tyres…

The modern Ford Mustang on the other hand often finds itself labelled as a pony car, thanks partly to its lineage. It’s still arguably targeted at young people, and having finally ditched the whole live rear axle deal and switched to independent rear suspension in the latest generation it certainly has a more sports car-like focus. Hell, the latest one even has the option of adaptive dampers and an active exhaust.

It’s the same deal with the Chevrolet Camaro. Again, we have adaptive dampers on the menu, not to mention a big drop in weight compared to the last model. An argument could be made for the ‘pony car’ moniker for this car also.

What's The Difference Between A Muscle Car And A Pony Car?

But there are a couple of problems with grouping modern machines as either muscle cars or pony cars. For starters, with all those traditional muscle cars long since deceased, the term seems a little meaningless if applied only to the near two-tonne Challenger, the last stalwart of ‘true’ muscle.

Secondly, the Mustang, Camaro and cars of that ilk aren’t exactly small now, so it’s no surprise that in V8 form they often end up labelled as ‘muscle’, and the same goes for a lot of Australian RWD V8 heroes. It’s also worth pointing out that the pool of cars that could be considered ‘ponies’ isn’t exactly that big either - these days youth oriented cars in the US tend to take the form of compact hatchbacks rather than sporty coupes.

What's The Difference Between A Muscle Car And A Pony Car?

But what about the super-sporty Mustang GT350 and Camaro ZL1? Well, there’s rationale to call them ‘sports cars’. And if the ‘normal’ versions carry on getting more sophisticated in the handling department, we’ll eventually be describing them thusly as well.

So, while once upon a time all this was clear cut, these days it’s more open to debate. Purists will insist that the Challenger is muscle and the rest should be called pony cars, while others say those purists are just living in the past and the muscle term can be applied a little more liberally, particularly as cars that could be given either label are generally in short supply.

So, while I’m slightly concerned this will open a whopping great can of worms, where do you stand?

Sponsored Posts

Comments

Deoxide

[DELETED]

02/18/2017 - 13:26 |
0 | 0
Deoxide

What makes a muscle car a muscle car.

02/18/2017 - 13:29 |
344 | 2
Dat Incredible Chadkake

In reply to by Deoxide

more to it than that, but yeah, power is a big part of it

02/18/2017 - 16:53 |
18 | 8
Jurgen Qatipi

In reply to by Deoxide

More like Torque in my mind

02/18/2017 - 22:38 |
16 | 0

They go to the gym

02/20/2017 - 00:16 |
2 | 0

Subaru told me it was love…

WAIT A SEC

02/20/2017 - 00:28 |
4 | 2

I’d say this and body style, muscle cars look muscular and strong, and a pony car now is a muscle car without POWER!

02/21/2017 - 15:42 |
0 | 0
Ali Mahfooz

Buick GNX anyone? It had a turbocharged V6 but Idk if it was called a pony car or a muscle car.

02/18/2017 - 13:40 |
58 | 0

Its called a special snowflake that we put in the freezer to keep forever

02/18/2017 - 13:58 |
102 | 0

it’s a muscle car

02/18/2017 - 16:55 |
12 | 10
k_badam

TL;DR pls

02/18/2017 - 13:43 |
12 | 2
Matt Robinson
Matt Robinson

In reply to by k_badam

TL;DR: it’s complicated.

02/18/2017 - 15:39 |
26 | 0

pony car=big and mean, muscle car=bigger and meaner

02/18/2017 - 18:12 |
6 | 0
Sniff Petrol

Can’t do enormous burnouts = Pony car

Can do enormous burnouts = muscle car

02/18/2017 - 13:44 |
12 | 4

that’s generalizing too much

02/18/2017 - 16:55 |
10 | 2

so the mustang, having a factory line lock, should be in the muscle car class

02/18/2017 - 20:21 |
0 | 0
Ian.L

I shall invent a test to seek the muscle car out of the pony cars,a pony cars should barely able to go around it while a muscle car should not even attempt to turn its wheels.

02/18/2017 - 13:49 |
136 | 12
Driven to Drive 1

In reply to by Ian.L

Challenge accepted ;).

02/18/2017 - 15:48 |
28 | 0
Dat Incredible Chadkake

In reply to by Ian.L

i doubt that pony and muscle cars are that bad in the handling department

02/18/2017 - 16:56 |
18 | 6
Anonymous

[DELETED]

02/18/2017 - 13:52 |
0 | 0
Anonymous

I would say that the Ford Taurus SHO could also be a muscle car. It doesn’t have a V8, but it’s twin turbo V6 is pretty powerful and it is quite the large car. I also think the Hyundai Genesis Coupe (although not American and going out of production) and 370Z have a lot of features of a pony car

02/18/2017 - 13:54 |
2 | 2
P1eased0nteatme

In reply to by Anonymous (not verified)

E9X M3 as well

02/18/2017 - 14:03 |
2 | 2
Dat Incredible Chadkake

In reply to by Anonymous (not verified)

No, Ford Taurus isn’t a muscle car

02/18/2017 - 16:52 |
4 | 0
What's The Difference Between A Muscle Car And A Pony Car?
Ethan Hines

In reply to by Anonymous (not verified)

This theory hurts me. First of all, no V8? Not a muscle car. End of story. Second, it’s got 4 doors, it’s not a coupe. Not saying the SHO isn’t adequate, it’s an awesome car, just not a muscle car.

02/18/2017 - 17:45 |
10 | 0
Anonymous

‘Murcia Intensifies

02/18/2017 - 14:06 |
0 | 0
Anonymous

If the purists are living in the past, how come the Challenger is a muscle car? Correct me if I am wrong, but Challenger was MOPAR’s take on the pony car craze. If you wanted a Dodge brand muscle car back in the day, you either went with the Charger, Coronet (and perhaps some other models). So while the modern Challenger may fit the description of a muscle car, if you were to keep the tradition of what a certain model used to be, it should still be a pony car. If you instead go with definition and disregard the category the model used to belong to, then Mustangs and Camaros should also be called muscle cars, since they are way larger then they used to be, as pointed out in the article… excuse my brain diarrhea, I would just like to see what some of you think of my “insight”. Anyway, a great article!

02/18/2017 - 14:59 |
26 | 2
Anonymous

In reply to by Anonymous (not verified)

Agreed. The ‘Cuda, which is a pony car, and it’s the base of the Challenger shows it already.

02/18/2017 - 15:20 |
10 | 0
Driven to Drive 1

In reply to by Anonymous (not verified)

I think it’s more in how the challenger is far less performance oriented compared to the Camaro and mustang. It’s more for eye candy and sound, with decent straight-line performance. There was an article a while back about a Camaro v6 beating a hellcat around a track.

02/18/2017 - 15:51 |
12 | 0
Dat Incredible Chadkake

In reply to by Anonymous (not verified)

You have a point there. While the old Barracuda and Challenger were definitely pony cars, nowadays that’s not really the case. The modern Challenger doesn’t seem to want to directly compete with the Mustang like the Camaro is, and it feels more like a muscle car.

02/18/2017 - 16:52 |
6 | 0
Anonymous

In reply to by Anonymous (not verified)

Exactly my thoughts. But it seems the Challenger has grown too much in size and power to be considered a pony car. The only thing it shares with the old car now is the name. At least thats the figures suggest.

02/18/2017 - 20:52 |
2 | 0