Of all of the cars on the market, few can claim the iconic status of America's famous muscle cars. This broad term is used to describe the huge number of stylish, high-performance cars which were mainly produced in America between the 60s and 70s. With their slick looks, solid bodies and powerful engines, cars like the Ford Mustang and the Dodge Polara soon started to dominate the American street car scene. As they started to become more and more popular, and immortalised in classic American cinema too, subcultures of motoring fanatics started to modify and race the hugely powerful vehicles and even form clubs.

Termed 'muscle cars' thanks to their domineering presence and high speeds, this breed of automobile originates from the 1949 Oldsmobile Rocket 88, which shook up the American racing circuit when it was introduced, thanks to its V-8 engine and 135 horsepower performance. More and more cars were made to similar specs, all originally designed for racing, but soon the modern body shape and incredible top speeds were applied to road cars too, and makers like Dodge, Pontiac and Plymouth became big names in the muscle car category. By the 70s, almost all of the major American manufacturers had made their attempt at a muscle car, trying to out-do each other in producing the most powerful car on the streets but, crucially, maintaining a relatively low price. These weren't luxury cars by any means; the emphasis was always on producing as much power as possible.

Thanks to their low price though, the cars became even more popular than expected, as few drivers could refuse the lure of a cool looking, powerful car at an affordable price; despite the impracticalities of many of them only having two doors. However the boom years of the muscle car industry couldn't last forever and, in the late-70s, the Automotive Safety Lobby forced the car insurance companies to start raising the prices on such powerful cars - in the name of public safety. Naturally the car manufacturers followed suit, making considerably lower performance cars once again in a bid to keep their customers in pocket.

However, these huge icons of the era have now become not only collectible but, in the case of the new Ford Mustang and Ford GT, recreated for the modern driver, using state-of-the-art technology to reproduce incredible performance with a retro style. However, a growing number of fanatics choose instead to buy and restore an original, by maybe re-spraying the model and adding replacement car windows and, in clubs, organise several 'cruises' across America and the rest of the world. One of the largest muscle car cruises is the Chelsea Cruise in London. Long-running since the 70s, the Chelsea Cruise was resurrected again in 2003 and runs on the last Saturday of each month; taking its name from the Chelsea Bridge, where drivers meet.