Classic 90s Muscle Cars

I am a 90s kid, and it was truly a wonderful time to grow up for most of us. Pop culture was different back then, and people weren't as aggressive as they are now. I don't remember much of my childhood, thanks to a conscious effort on my part.

However, there are a couple of things I do remember — and one of them was the way I used to love looking at cool cars in parking lots when I'd go shopping with my mom. Nowadays, those "cool cars" are more commonly known as classic 90s muscle cars.

Today, I'm feeling nostalgic. Let's take a look at the classic 90s muscle cars I used to love spotting.

1996 Mitsubishi Eclipse GSX

Of all the classic 90s muscle cars we'll discuss, few became as well-known as the Mitsubishi Eclipse — many thanks to The Fast and the Furious. Most people don't remember, or rather, don't realize that the Mitsubishi Eclipse is a performance car.

The 1996 Mitsubishi Eclipse GSX was one of my favorites to spot because it looked so darn cool, and now that I'm 30, I can also say that I admire the very fun 210 horsepower this car offered.

(Yes, I know this is technically not a muscle car, but bear with me. This is my nostalgia list.)

1991 Toyota Celica All-Trac Turbo

Once again, I used to like looking at Celicas because they are so pretty — especially the convertible versions that were rolled out in the 2000s. However, the car lover in me also can appreciate the fair amount of muscle these cars boasted.

From what I've gleaned on CarBuzzard, the early 90s were the Golden Age of the Celica line from a muscle car perspective. The few All-Trac Turbo cars that were rolled out in the 90s were able to get 200 horsepower in their engine and go from 0-60 in under eight seconds. Those are some nice car stats, no?

Though they were more sports cars than they were muscle cars, the muscle was definitely there. So, I'll put this on the list, if only out of respect to the car.

1999 Ford Taurus SHO

Most classic 90s muscle cars were big on showing off a "muscle build," but not the Ford Taurus SHO. This car packed a powerful punch in the statistics realm, including a very impressive 235 horsepower with a max speed of 145 miles per hour.

However, it didn't look like a muscle car. At all. So, even if you were to drive fast in it, cops wouldn't really notice it. For drivers like the teenage version of me, the 1999 Ford Taurus SHO would have been a godsend.

Overall, it was cool in that "ninja muscle car," hiding-in-plain-sight kind of way. I think we can all respect that in a car.

1997 Dodge Viper GTS

I still remember when I saw my first Dodge Viper. I was in a parking lot, right outside the grocery store in a super-wealthy neighborhood. It was bright blue, and my eyes grew wide. It was one of the most beautiful cars I'd ever seen.

It was about that time when I realized I was a budding gearhead. Such is the power of a muscle car like the Dodge Viper.

The 1997 Dodge Viper GTS is one of those cars that really show how beautiful classic 90s muscle cars could be. It was powered by a V10 truck engine and had 450 horsepower that could make it reach a top speed of 185 miles per hour.

Drool.

1996 Ford Mustang GT

You can't get a more American classic muscle car than a Ford Mustang, at least, in my opinion. Many, many classic 90s muscle cars belonged to the Ford Mustang name — as well as many convertible cars that still turn heads to this very day.

The 1996 Ford Mustang GT is one of my favorite cars, primarily because it looked good and actually performed fairly well. With a max horsepower output of 215 and a convertible option, it just seemed like one of the best ways to feel the wind in your hair at a high speed.

1992 Pontiac Firebird Trans Am

This was another major head-turner in the 90s, and who could blame people for looking? Pontiac, a known muscle car manufacturer, ended up making a car that looked pretty similar to a number of supercars of the time.

Its glorious V8 engine was capable of pumping out 240 horsepower, and though it's technically a pony car, it has the muscle and the make of a really nice muscle car.

Much like the Dodge Viper, Firebirds were one of the car models that got me into scoping out cars. Besides, when it comes to classic 90s muscle cars, few could look as good as the Firebird did in its day.

1996 Chevrolet Impala SS

Much like Ford Mustangs, we really can't talk about classic 90s muscle cars without broaching the subject of the Chevy Impala SS. These are major nostalgia-getters for a number of reasons.

One of the reasons why is because they were a cop car choice, and many Hollywood movies made a point of using them for this particular reason. So, it's kinda like looking at an old movie prop.

The other reason is since commercials for the Chevy Impala were everywhere we looked. I still remember seeing them cruising on our old CRT television.

Now that I'm a bit older, I know that the Chevy Impala SS was a cop car for a reason — it was fast. As one of the best muscle cars of the 90s, the Chevrolet Impala SS was able to get as much as 260 horsepower from its V8 engine...all while looking good.

1995 Chevrolet Corvette

Finishing off my weird, nostalgic walk down my favorite list of classic 90s muscle cars is the Chevy Corvette. Much like the Firebird, the Corvette looked good, real good. Corvettes always do, though. That's why they are Corvettes.

With a maximum horsepower rating of 405, the high-performance V8 version of this car offered a lot of zoom — and looked totally appropriate in every single 90s music video ever.