The automatic transmission rose to prominence in the 1940s and 1950s. But while there’s nothing wrong with relying on an automatic for your daily driver, you wouldn’t want one in your muscle car.
What good is driving a performance vehicle if you aren’t pulling the gears yourself? Have some respect for the driving experience!
Here are 20 iconic muscle cars available with a manual transmission.
1
Mustang Boss 429
A classic Mustang with a beloved manual.
2
Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat
700+ horsepower with a manual? Good luck.
3
Ford Mustang Shelby GT500
You can’t say no to Shelby.
4
Corvette C6 ZR1
Considered by many to be the best Corvette ever made, it understandable comes with a six-speed manual.
5
Buick GSX
The classic Buick muscle experience.
6
Dodge Viper RT/10
Every dodge Viper is manual only. This one just wanted to kill you too.
7
Chevy Chevelle SS
The classic Chevy SS.
8
Cadillac CT5-V Blackwing
This modern beast comes with a six-speed manual as standard.
9
Dodge Charger R/T
The classic Dodge is always better with a manual.
10
Pontiac Trans Am WS6
Despite its inferior looks to its predecessors, this Trans Am delivered superior performance.
11
Pontiac GTO Judge
This extra-special GTO came with an extra-special manual.
12
Plymouth Superbird
Of course the most striking muscle car of its era was a manual.
13
Dodge Charger Daytona
Like the Superbird, this big-winged Dodge came with a four-speed.
14
Mustang Mach 1
Perhaps the most iconic Mustang, the Mach 1 came with a four-speed.
15
Chevy Camaro
The classic second generation Camaro came with a three or four speed manual. Unfortunately the iconic Z28 was mostly an automatic.
16
BMW M4
The Competition model is automatic only, but that’s not the case for the standard.
17
Pontiac Indy Fiero
The Fiero came with a four-speed.
18
Camaro Z28
The second gen came with an automatic, but the original was purely manual.
19
Pontiac Trans Am
The first gen Trans Ams came with three and four-speed manuals.
20
Chevy Camaro IROC-Z
One of the few redeemable ‘80s muscle cars, the IROC-Z came with multiple manual options.
