1971 was effectively the last year of the Golden Age of American Muscle before the Malaise Era set in, when these once mighty street machines were robbed of their ferocity because of government emissions mandates and consumer demand for better fuel economy. In reality, the shameless detunning had already begun in '71, with the Chevy 454, as well as the Chrysler 440 Six-Pack and 383 big-blocks taking a power downgrade. 1970, on the other hand, was not only the last great year of the classic era but the most amazing time, period, with the fastest, most aggressive rides the streets had ever seen.Back in the day, a 13-second ride was the ultimate goal, but besides the Hemi-equipped Mopars, very few cars came with that kind of acceleration straight from the factory. In 1970, however, the stars, or maybe the timing belts, aligned and suddenly every manufacturer had muscle cars with ETs in the 13s, making for a truly glorious time for speed freaks and traffic cops with quotas. '70 also saw the introduction of a couple of new street assassins, the unleashing of iconic lethal big-blocks, as well as some of the best trim and body style refreshes, cementing the year as the fastest, baddest, and most memorable of the classic era. 1970 Pontiac Firebird Trans Am Ram Air IV Quarter-Mile: 13.9 Seconds MecumFor 1970, the Pontiac Firebird got a radical restyling that was so delicious it rocked that sheet metal all the way into the 1980s. The other big news of the year was that GM finally lifted its ban on engines over 400 cubic inches, which handicapped its muscle cars against the 440 and Hemi Mopars for most of the Golden Age. The 455 wasn't available for the '70 Trans Am, but that was okay, because the 400 Ram Air IV was up to 370 ponies and made the second-gen Firebird a 13-second ride for the first time in its history. The '70 Trans Am Ram Air IV was actually a special order that never appeared in the catalogs, so most people were unaware of it, but 88 savvy buyers took one home, and it is now one of the most collectible cars from the classic era. 1970 Oldsmobile 442 W-30 Quarter-Mile: 13.7 Seconds MecumThe Oldsmobile 442 was pretty cool when it was introduced in 1964, but with a 310-horsepower 330 V8, it wasn't the baddest muscle car on the street. Even after upgrading to a 345-hp 400 V8 in '65, it was still a second place ride. In 1968, the Hurst/Olds collaboration, which skirted GM's big engine ban and dropped 455s under the hoods, showed the potential of the 442, but it was a limited edition car and wasn't widely known. Finally, in 1970, everything came together with the 442 W-30, featuring a 370-hp and 500 launch-worthy pound-feet of torque 455 V8. This was the first 442 to run a quarter-mile in the 13s, as well as one that could at least compete with the Mighty Mopars. It also had some great striping and decals that helped make it look like a potent street machine. 1970 Pontiac GTO Judge Ram Air IV Quarter-Mile: 13.6 Seconds MecumUnlike with the Trans Am, the Pontiac 455 was available for the 1970 GTO Judge, but it was actually the second-best engine option that year. The somewhat misnamed 455 High Output V8 was rated 10 ponies less than the 400 Ram Air IV, and was considerably heavier, giving it a distinct power-to-weight ratio disadvantage. A GTO Judge 455 HO was regressive with a sluggish 14.5-second quarter-mile, when it should have been built to challenge the Dodge Challenger R/T. The '70 GTO Judge Ram Air IV, however, with its 370-hp V8, was well within Mopar range, blazing the quarter-mile 13.6 seconds. The 455 was an extremely rare option in '70 with just 17 units, but then again, the 400 Ram Air IV wasn't exactly commonplace either, gracing only 379 Judges that year. 1970 Dodge Challenger R/T Six-Pack Quarter-Mile: 13.6 Seconds MecumChrysler's new E-Body platform provided the foundation for arguably Dodge's most lethal muscle car of the Golden Age. The 1970 Challenger R/T took the traditional pony car style of a long hood and short decklid, but made it hyper-aggressive rather than whimsical like the Ford Mustang. This was such an amazing-looking ride that producers chose it for the starring role in the 1971 car chase epic Vanishing Point. It also ran even better than it looked, with nothing but powerful big-block options, all of which were GM-killers. The 1970 Challenger R/T is mostly remembered as a Hemi car, but with a 390-hp 440 Six-Pack V8, it had Hemi-like performance for a nicer price. An R/T Six-Pack could sprint 1,320 feet in 13.6 seconds, which was only two tenths of a second slower than one equipped with a 425 hp 426 Hemi engine, and cost about a thousand bucks less. 1970 Dodge Charger Hemi R/T Quarter-Mile: 13.5 Seconds MecumThough it had other impressive engine options, the second-gen Dodge Charger was meant to be equipped with the 426 Street Hemi, as if it was fated by the Muscle Car Gods. The pairing of the Charger R/T and 426 Hemi V8, resulted in one of the most memorable cars of all time and the defining ride of the Golden Age of American Muscle. For reasons that make absolutely no sense, in 1970, only 122 Charger R/Ts received the glorious gift of Hemi power, making them among the rarest Mopar collectibles, and considering how many the Fast & Furious movies destroyed, they could be moving from Unicorn to Holy Grail status. Though there were credible adversaries from big-block GMs and Hemi Mopar E-Bodies, the '70 Charger Hemi R/T could still bring it by blistering a 13.5-second quarter-mile. Also, it would go on to become the most famous muscle car in history as Dominic Toretto's ride of choice. 1970 Ford Mustang Mach 1 SCJ Drag Pack Quarter-Mile: 13.5 Seconds MecumThe Mustang, introduced in 1964½, was never a muscle car until Ford unlocked the big-blocks in 1968, and even then they weren't competitive with Mopars. A '68 Mustang GT with a 428 was a 14-second ride, and even the '69 Boss 429 barely cracked the 13s. In 1969, the Mustang got its best-looking version with the completely badass fastback Mach 1, and in 1970, it got the power to match. A '70 Mach 1 with a 335-hp 428 Super Cobra Jet V8, plus Drag Pack upgrade, could rip ETs in the mid-13s, finally giving the Mustang its first true muscle car model. Ford probably shouldn't have waited until the classic era was almost over to throw the Mustang into the muscle car mosh pit, but they did sell millions of them without having to super-power them, so that's a pretty pointless observation. 1970 Plymouth Road Runner 6BBL Quarter-Mile: 13.5 Seconds MecumThough the Plymouth Road Runner was conceived as a cheap, bare-bones speed machine, it is the Mopar muscle car that was the most equipped with the expensive 426 Street Hemi. There's actually some science behind that, as the low price of the Road Runner, introduced in 1968 with a $2,870 sticker price, left plenty in the budget to upgrade to the 426 Hemi. While the Road Runner is the most Hemified Mopar, frugal speed junkies figured out they could get a car just as fast, but for less money, with a 440 6BBL, which was Plymouth's version of the Six-Pack, featuring a trio of two-barrel carburetors. The 1970 Road Runner 6BBL had 390 angry horses and just as much torque (490 lb-ft) as a Hemi, that launched to a 13.5-second quarter-mile, which is about the same ET as a 426 car. In 1970, the 440 6BBL option was $250, while the 426 Hemi ran $841, which, believe it or not, was a lot of money back then. 1970 Chevrolet Chevelle SS 454 LS6 Quarter-Mile: 13.4 Seconds MecumSince its introduction in 1964, the Chevrolet Chevelle has had a King of the Streets reputation, but the reality is, at least in stock form, it was never in the Royal Court until GM mercifully lifted its silly big engine ban in 1970. There were definitely some deadly Chevelle Street Assassins in the Golden Age, but those were souped up by their owners, while the best factory offering was a 375-hp 396 V8 that made for a 14.5-second ride, which was not good enough in the classic era. While the other divisions went 455 crazy in the post-ban environment, Chevy came up with a raging 454 and an LS6 variant that thundered with 450 hpand 500 lb-ft of torque. The 1970 Chevelle SS 454 LS6 was the car it should have been all along, and the first to cross the finish line without a view of a Mopar's bumper, with ETs in the low 13s. The only things that kept it from wearing the crown were the final two entries on this list. 1970 Buick GSX Stage 1 Quarter-Mile: 13.38 Seconds MecumThe Buick Gran Sport was the least likely ride to become GM's ultimate muscle car of the Golden Age, but in 1970 it sure as hell was. The Gran Sport was a late comer, hitting the streets in 1965 as a performance trim of the Skylark, with a modest 325-hp 401 V8 that was one pony over GM's limit. By 1970, it had been rebranded the GS, followed by its engine size, which was the Buick 455, that had radical thin-wall construction, and was much lighter than most big-blocks. Also in 1970, Buick came up with the ultra-cool GSX that was mostly an appearance package, but definitely had some performance upgrades in the suspension and brakes. A '70 GSX with the 455 Stage 1 V8, made a respectable 360 hp, but its tire-shredding 510 lb-ft of torque gave it an amazing 13.38-second quarter-mile time, which was even better than the Chevelle SS 454 LS6, and seated it on the Emperor of GM Muscle throne. 1970 Plymouth Hemi ‘Cuda Quarter-Mile: 13.1 Seconds MecumThe GSX would have been the ruler of the entire Golden Age if not for those meddling Mopars, and more specifically the E-Body Class of 1970. The Plymouth Barracuda actually beat the Mustang to market as the world's first pony car, but it was hideous and didn't have quite the impact as the iconic Ford. The second-gen Barracuda was much improved in the style department, but never got the attention like other Mopars, but when the 1970 third-gen rolled around, it was arguably the hottest-looking car of the entire classic era. This smoking set of wheels was custom-built for high performance and even got a nameplate to reflect that. The 1970 Hemi 'Cuda managed to use the 426 Hemi V8 and its 425 hp, 490 lb-ft of torque in a way that no other Mopar could. With a blink-of-an-eye 13.1 second quarter-mile, this was a track-ready factory drag car, straight from your local Plymouth dealer.Sources: Chrysler, Ford, GM