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If you’ve been eye-balling a sporty, Herculean vehicle like the new Dodge Challenger, you might hear people toss around terms like “sports car” and “muscle car.” Sadly, these two phrases are often used interchangeably when they are, in fact, very different things. Before you start test driving different Dodge Challenger models, take some time to understand the difference, so you won’t be embarrassed by using the wrong phrase.
Here’s what you need to know about the difference between sports cars and muscle cars:
Check Under The Hood
Modern cars often come with a slew of engine options. The biggest difference between a muscle car and a sports car has to do with the purpose of the engine. Muscle cars are typically loaded with a V8 or something stronger. The whole term “muscle” is meant to denote a big, bold, and robust engine.
Muscle cars typically won’t be built to save fuel. They are mean to be bulky and powerful. Sports cars, on the other hand, typically focus on acceleration and speed instead of raw power. That doesn’t mean that options from either category can’t be big and mean or quick, but the intention of the powertrain is a great place to start.
Look Over the Body
Muscle and sports cars also differ in how their bodies are designed. Muscle cars are known to have lots of straight lines and bold curves. These broad-shouldered vehicles are meant to look like bouncers at the local club.
Sports cars are typically designed to appear sleek. Engineers try to gain every bit of performance from the body’s design, so don’t expect to see it as broad as a footprint. Less body weight helps the sports car achieve fast speeds quickly.
Feel That Handling
Muscle cars typically aren’t worried about driving around corners quickly. Muscle car drivers are more likely to burn the tires to show off the car’s raw power than to take it to the race track.
Sports cars focus a great deal of effort on excellent handling. The idea is to zip and zoom around corners and curves with little to no effort. By keeping things nimble, sports cars can blast around the track at top speeds.
Notable Examples
While there are certainly a number of cars that come to mind when you hear these two terms, let’s take a look at some of the most famous examples. You’ll notice how each of these cars distinctly fits into one of these categories.
Muscle Cars
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