What makes the powerful American muscle car so strong today is the fact you can get them for a fraction of what a luxury car is priced.

Some of these affordable yet modern American muscle cars will give car fans goosebumps when they hit the gas 0-60 in 4 seconds! The car world may be dominated by foreign companies, and some of these are of the best quality, but most affordable modern muscle cars come from the states. Why? We love them. We buy them.

There are some powerful and affordable American cars out there, especially modern American muscle cars. But what makes these American muscle cars 1) affordable for the guy with a mortgage and 2) is loud and scary fast too?

Before we go there, what do modern American muscle cars need to be considered important? American muscle cars of quality should have some “amp” to them, roar loud like the corvette, and be fast, going from 0-60 in no time.

Oddly enough, the vintage cars we now call muscle cars were just V-8 engines put into small cars. The movement for better and better muscle cars drew definite interest from the automobile industry, and we’ve seen lines like the Pontiac GTO rise, fall, and rise again.

The Pontiac GTO was the first muscle car, but today we also have the Cadillac CTS-V and the Chrysler 300 Hemi.

In terms of the very best modern American muscle car, there are still some options if you want to race a bit over the speed limit. But the best 3 may have just been mentioned.

Let’s consider the Cadillac CTS-V. The pros here are the modern muscle cars’ incredible power. It’s got a supercharged 6.2 V8 engine, with some incredible horsepower numbers pushing 550. And you can go 0-60 in 4.3. The only clear con to this modern American muscle, if you could call it a con, is the basic seats and the price tag, nw at $60,000.

Next, let’s talk about the Cadillac CTS-V. The pros here are the incredible horsepower, the very best in modern American muscle cars. It’s got a supercharged 6.2 V8 engine, with some incredible horsepower numbers pushing 550. And you can go 0-60 in 4.3. The only clear con to this modern American muscle is the price tag, pushing $60,000.

Finally, we have the Pontiac GTO, the car that started it all. The story behind this classic is interesting. A car designer, sick of driving boring vehicles from work to home, put a big engine into one of his smaller cars. And the muscle car was created. Throughout its history, the Pontiac GTO has been top 5 in American muscles cars; the modern Pontiac GTOs are no exception. It actually has some non-American flavor to it, but an American engine with 400 and up horsepower. The GTO does have a shaky production run started and stopped over the years, but the price is right here, with most used models being sold for fractions of the stated value.

You’ve seen the prices of modern American muscle cars. You might cross out the Cadillac CTS-V, but it’s likely the best car here. For history, the GTO might get it. For sheer power, the winner is the Cadillac CTS. For a combination of price and power, you’ve got the Chrysler 300 Hemi. It’s almost a draw. For modern muscle cars, with the price and power just right, the Chrysler 300 Hemi is the winner.

Mike Stone used to sell muscle cars in the auto state of Michigan, but now he just writes about them for Streetside Auto.com. He can’t get enough of the sound, power, and look of today modern American muscle cars.