5 Muscle Cars from the ’70s that are now worth a small fortune

The year is 2026. The modern muscle car segment has dried up, leaving one V-8-powered nameplate with rear-wheel drive. What’s worse, those fans who dream of owning the outrageous, brazen, brightly colored muscle machines of yesteryear are finding that they are simply priced above some of their favorites. If a sought-after muscle car or pony car has a unique story, it can even fetch more than a million dollars at auction.

Take, for example, these five dream machines from the 1970s. Each of them started with a few thousand dollars or so as they rolled off the production line and onto local lots across the country. Now, however, everything from classic Chevrolet Chevelles to Pontiac GTOs commands an average retail price in the low six figures. In some cases, you may pay the same as some states’ median home price for a collectible 1970s muscle car.

While this is far from an exhaustive list, it is a collection of outrageously expensive American muscle cars from the early 1970s. To bring you the most up-to-date sales values, we used sales data from sources like Classic.com and Hagerty.

1970 Chevrolet Chevelle SS 454 LS6

Average sales price in the past year: $104,033

In 1970, the Chevrolet Chevelle was already seven model years old and in its second generation. Little did anyone know, the Malaise Era was not far away, and America’s horsepower-hungry car buyers kept up demand for fire-breathing muscle cars. So Chevrolet and its rivals continued to release powerful V8-powered cars with rear-wheel drive. In 1970, you could get a second-generation Chevelle with a 454 cubic-inch LS6 engine that made 450 horsepower and 500 pound-feet of torque without the need for any form of forced induction or electronic fuel injection.

At the time, you would probably spend about $4,800 on a 1970 Chevy Chevelle with the RPO Z15 SS package. Adjusted for inflation, this equates to approximately $40,100 in today’s currency. That said, $40,100 can’t buy a solid, clean 1970 Chevrolet Chevelle SS 454 LS6. Not by a long shot. The average sales price for a 1970 Chevy Chevelle over the past year is $104,033. As for the most recent top sale, a 1970 Chevrolet Chevelle SS 454 Convertible passed the auction for an eye-watering $770,000.

1970 Chevrolet Chevelle SS 454 LS6 Specs

1970 Dodge Challenger R/T

Average sales price in the past year: $115,540

It’s a silhouette you just can’t forget. Whether it’s Kowalski hitting the desert at full speed in “Vanishing Point” or, more recently, the snarky Stirling Archer talking to someone in “Archer,” the first-generation Dodge Challenger has been turning heads since its arrival. And the second-hand market shows that popularity without a doubt. Last year, the average sales price for a 1970 Dodge Challenger was $115,540, with high-dollar sales increasing around the new year. That said, some sales skew the average sales price of the 1970 Dodge Challenger a bit.

For example, an original example in the sought-after Plum Crazy Purple with a 426 cubic inch HEMI V8 and a four-speed manual transmission sold at auction for $467,500. That’s a far cry from the original sticker price on a hardtop or convertible when it was new. In 1970, you could browse a selection of Challengers and find an R/T 440 Six Pack with a base price of $3,266 before adding options. One of those options was the more powerful 426 cubic inch HEMI V8, which added a healthy $1,228 to the original price tag. Today, Hagerty estimates the value of a 1970 Dodge Challenger R/T with a 426 HEMI in #3 condition (good condition) at closer to $127,000.

1970 Dodge Challenger R/T 426 HEMI specs

1970 Pontiac GTO judge

Average sales price in the past year: $117,022

Next to the 1970 AMC Rebel Machine, this might be the coolest name in all of muscle car fandom. We are of course talking about the Pontiac GTO Judge. Named after a popular sketch from the late 1960s comedy television series Laugh-In, the GTO Judge has become something of a collector’s item. Under the hood, the 1970 Pontiac GTO offered a library of hot, naturally aspirated V8s, including a Ram Air IV option with a 370-horsepower, 400 cubic-inch V8.

56 years ago, a 1970 Pontiac GTO cost about $3,267 for the hardtop and $3,492 for the convertible. If you wanted the Ram Air IV package, you’d have to pay an additional $558.20. Now, the average sales price for a 1970 Pontiac GTO Judge was around $117,022 last year, while the top sale went for $286,000 for a convertible with the sought-after 366-horsepower Ram Air III option. But that’s small potatoes compared to the record sales for a GTO Judge, which was a convertible with the Ram Air IV. In 2023, the rare drop-top judge earned a $1.1 million payday at a Mecum auction.

1970 Pontiac GTO, right Ram Air IV specs

1971 Plymouth Hemi ‘Cuda

Average sales price in the past year: $214,580

Let’s talk numbers. In 1971, Plymouth rolled out fewer than 16,500 Barracudas. Ford sold almost nine times as many Mustangs in the same year. Only 254 of those Barracudas were equipped with a 440 cubic inch “Six-Pack” V8. Even rarer, approximately 114 Barracudas were delivered as the iconic Hemi ‘Cuda with the muscular 425-horsepower 426 cubic-inch HEMI V8. In short, the 1971 Plymouth Hemi ‘Cuda is rare. Really rare. And, as you might imagine, that means it’s a valuable prospect for collectors.

According to Hagerty, the average retail price for the fat-tire Hemi ‘Cuda is approximately $214,580. That’s just the average. Plymouth made only 59 Hemi ‘Cudas with the four-speed manual transmission, and only seven of those were convertibles. Basically, if you want one of those drop-top Hemi ‘Cudas, you’re looking at a seven-figure retail price. Don’t you believe me? A 1971 Plymouth Hemi ‘Cuda Convertible sold at a Mecum auction in 2014 for a stratospheric $3.5 million. That’s a far cry from about $4,500 you could have spent on a then-new Hemi ‘Cuda.

1971 Plymouth Hemi ‘Cuda Specs

1970 Plymouth Road Runner Superbird

Average sales price in the past year: $316,311

It’s perhaps one of the wildest, most instantly recognizable shapes in the classic American muscle car book. The Plymouth Superbird took the angular proportions of the Road Runner and added a host of NASCAR-inspired aerodynamic equipment, including the massive wing and shark-nose front fascia. These days, however, buying a house will net you more than the average home price in Michigan, where it rolled off the market.

In Michigan, the average price of a single-family home in 2025 was about $290,200. In contrast, a 1970 Plymouth Superbird had an average sales price of $316,311 last year. Like the 1971 Plymouth Hemi ‘Cuda, the long, sculpted, airy Road Runner Superbird is a rare sight. While concrete production numbers are rare, estimates put the Superbird at approximately 1,969 units for the 1970 model year. Of those souped-up Road Runners, only 170 examples had the range-topping 426 HEMI V8 under the hood. And those rarer HEMI-powered Road Runners are the more expensive persuasion. In some cases, they can fetch more than a million dollars at auction. For example, in 2022 a Plymouth Road Runner Superbird in Tor Red crossed the border for an impressive $1.65 million.

1970 Plymouth Road Runner Superbird Specifications

No more expensive than America’s favorite pony car

Although some of these highly sought-after muscle cars from the 1970s fetched seven figures at auction, they are far from the most expensive V8-powered American classics available. Take the venerable Ford Mustang, for example. On many occasions, special Mustangs fetched millions at auction. Of these expensive ‘Stangs, the Ken Miles-powered “R-Model” 1965 Ford Mustang Shelby GT350R takes the cake with a downright bizarre auction price of $4.07 million.

Sources: Audrain Automobile Museum, AutoBuzz, Classic.com, Forbes, Hagerty, Nieuwpoort Automuseum