Detroit produced some truly amazing street machines in the classic muscle car era, but none finer than the 1970 Plymouth Hemi 'Cuda. The third-gen Barracuda was bestowed a special 'Cuda designation for the top performance models, and, obviously, the 426 Hemi-equipped ones were the baddest of the bad. The '70 Hemi 'Cuda wasn't just a star car in the Mopar stable, but among all other Golden Age rides too, with an unbeatable 13.1-second quarter-mile time straight from the dealer lot. While the Hemi 'Cuda ruled the streets, the drag strip was a different story, as there were some unruly monsters that feasted on the Plymouth Bad Fish.Drag racing was taking off, literally, in the early 1960s, so Chevy, Ford, and Mother Mopar got in on the action by creating a series of limited edition track-ready cars to feed the mania. These factory drag cars were technically street legal, but purpose-built for blowing off doors and ripping off insane ETs. The coolest thing about these dragsters is that they were distributed through the dealer networks, so anyone could have conceivably bought one as a daily driver. Most ended up on the track, but more than a few landed on the street and maybe took a Hemi 'Cuda driver, who thought he or she had the fastest thing in town, by complete surprise. 1963 Pontiac Catalina Super Duty Quarter-mile: 12.27 Seconds MecumPontiac created a special race version of the Catalina known simply as the "Super Duty," named for its 421ci SD V-8. Its official 405-horsepower rating was likely a ploy to get buyers a better insurance rate, because the engine could move the full-size Pontiac in ways that required substantially more ponies. According to Hot Rod, a '63 Super Duty could run "the quarter-mile in the low-to-mid 12-second range," with rumors of a sub-12-second ET. This car wasn't just a regular Super Duty, but the lightweight version known as the "Swiss Cheese" Pontiac because of the holes drilled in its frame.Mecum In addition to aluminum hoods, fenders, and bumpers, Pontiac shed pounds from the Super Duty by drilling 120 holes in the frame rails, making it kind of an Erector Set car. Pontiac only made 177 of these drag cars, with a mere 14 Swiss Cheese versions, because GM banned its division from factory-supported racing activities in 1963. GM actually sent a cease and desist letter to Pontiac regarding the Super Duty, and it's possible that some or all of the Swiss Cheese cars were built after they had been forbidden, making them rebel cars as well. 1964 Mercury Comet A/FX Quarter-mile: 12.0 Seconds MecumAs the counterpart to the Ford Fairlane Thunderbolt, the 1964 Mercury Comet A/FX was a serious factory drag car that dominated the strips back in the day. With a 427ci "High Riser" FE V-8 engine, it was rated at 425 horsepower but was probably more like 500. Dragzine claims it was a car that could run a quarter-mile in 11 seconds flat with no tuning or prepping, but we think that's a little too quick. There is no authoritative source for this car's acceleration stats, but the general consensus is that it was a twelve-second car straight from the factory, and that's backed up by the Thunderbolt's ETs.Mecum In what seems like a no-brainer, which nobody has ever copied, the Comet A/FX's air intake is actually the holes where the high-beams should be. Hood scoops are scientifically proven to be badass, but it kind of makes more sense to ram the air in at the front-most part of the car. While many factory drag cars lightened the load with aluminum parts, the Comet A/FX went on a diet with fiberglass body panels and hood. With only 21 units produced, although some sources claim 22, Mercury's killer app is exceedingly rare and worth upwards of $300,000, which aint too shabby for a ride that originally listed for $2,375. 1964 Ford Fairlane Thunderbolt Quarter-mile: 11.61 Seconds MecumAs was always the case, Mercury would be tossed a bone, but the Ford was the meat. The Comet A/FX was sort of an afterthought of the Fairlane Thunderbolt, which, while similar, was the superior ride. With the same basic sheet metal, or fiberglass as the case may be, and identical 427ci V-8s, the Ford was a little bit quicker off the hop. Hot Rod magazine documented an 11.61-second quarter-mile pass, which is better than the Comet A/FX, but also more or less confirms the Mercury's 12-second ET. Both are pretty damn good, but, as usual, the Ford is better.Mecum The Ford Fairlane was a full-sized car, since its inception in 1955, and was a very cool cruiser, but for the fourth generation, produced between 1962 and 1965, it went intermediate for the perfect muscle car and dragster.Ford built only 100 of these to meet the NHRA homologation requirements, and the first 11 off the line were painted in Vintage Burgundy, with the rest going off as Wimbledon White. 49 of them were equipped with the four-speed manual transmission, while the remainder came with the Cruise-O-Matic three-speed automatic. In more proof that the Mercury is the Fairlane's redheaded stepchild, a Thunderbolt has a Hagerty Concours value of $288,000, while the top-selling auction price for the rarer Comet AF/X is just $116,000. 1965 Dodge Coronet A990 Quarter-mile: 11.02 Seconds MecumSaying the 1965 Dodge Coronet A990 is a funny-looking muscle car isn't just an observation, or maybe even a dig, but an actual reality. The altered wheelbase Mopar was the car that eventually led to the NHRA funny car class. To achieve a better center of gravity, both the rear and front wheels were moved forward, which gave the car a superior launch.There are no credible sources for an official quarter-mile ET on this funky ride, but tons of outlets like AutoEvolution and The Bridge Hamptons say it's in the low 11s, and we have encountered many uncited ETs at 11.02. Since this number can't be proven or disputed, the A990 Hemi gets the benefit of the doubt.Mecum The truth of the matter is that the Coronet A990 was an early adopter of the 426ci Hemi V8, which was awesome on the streets and the track. Rated at 425 horsepower and 490 pound-feet of torque, the Hemi engine was a beast, but when tuned for the track, it was likely well over 500 ponies. While other factory drag cars reduced weight with either aluminum or fiberglass body panels, the Coronet A990 was acid-dipped to lose around sixty percent of its bulk. With a lightweight body and a killer V8, there's no reason to doubt the ferocity of this car. 1963 Chevrolet Impala Z11 Quarter-mile: 10.8 Seconds MecumNowadays, people tend to look at the third-generation Chevrolet Impala as a slow-rollin' lowrider, given its massive presence in the car sub-culture, but in the early 1960s, it was actually a high-performance burner. The 1962 Impala SS with a 409ci V-8 was so kickass that the Beach Boys wrote a song about it, but they should have held off a year because, in 1963, that engine got a dual-quad version that took the ponies from 409 to 425, making it the fastest thing on the streets. Also in '63, Chevy created a limited-edition factory drag car variant known as the Impala Z11, with a 427ci V-8 fed by dual Carter AFB carburetors, that was severely underrated at 430 horsepower.Mecum The reason why we know the Z11 was underrated is because it was a 10-second car, and to move a full-size ride like that, there had to be way more oomph under the hood. The 10.8-second ET of the Z11 is widely reported in many automotive circles. There are no published online test dives or track reports though, so it may come from a printed article that has never been digitized. We feel confident in that number because the '63 Impala Z11 was a winner with legends like Ronnie Sox, “Dyno” Don Nicholson, and Dave Strickler all crushing it behind the wheel of one. 1968 Dodge Hemi Dart L023 Quarter-mile: 10.4 Seconds MecumThe 426ci Hemi V-8 was the most awesome engine of the classic muscle car era and made Mopars the Kings of the Golden Age as Ford and GM simply had no answer for it. Unleashed in 1966, the Street Hemi was made available to all Dodge and Plymouth intermediate cars, but sadly, the compact Dart was left out of the wondermill sweepstakes. Chrysler was, and rightfully so, uncomfortable with putting an engine that powerful into such a small vehicle, but, as is often the case with performance rides, that thing you shouldn't do is exactly what should be done. In 1968, Dodge partnered with Hurst Performance to create a limited run on a Hemi-powered Dart, and it was even better than anyone could have expected.Mecum Because of Chrysler's aforementioned apprehension, the '68 Hemi Darts were built by Dodge, but then Hurst was the one who actually shoehorned the 426 Hemis into them. The factory drag cars were rated at the same 425 horsepower and 490 pound-feet of torque as the Street Hemis, but there's no way that was accurate, as they were so damn quick.The widely reported ET of 10.4 seconds is another one that doesn't seem to have a source, but as you'll see in the next entry on this list, it's probably a rock-solid number. Hot Rod reported on 9.8 and 9.9-second ETs for the '68 Hemi Dart, but that was for a race-prepped car and not the stock version anyone could have bought from a Dodge dealer. While the exact number may not be clear, it's easy to surmise that this is one seriously fast muscle car and most likely clocks the 1/4 mile faster than a 'Cuda, and that's saying something. 1968 Plymouth Hemi Barracuda B029 Quarter-mile: 10.22 Seconds MecumSince the most furious street ride of the Golden Age of American Muscle was the 1970-1971 Plymouth Hemi 'Cuda, it seems fitting that the factory drag car that could smoke it the best was also a Barracuda. Actually, even more so, as the second-gen Barracuda never got nearly the same amount of respect as its third-gen successor. Much like the Dodge Hemi Dart, the 1968 Barracuda received a Hurst-built 426ci V-8 special edition track monster. The '68 Hemi Barracuda was a street-legal ride, sold through Plymouth dealers, but it was meant for the track and came with both a disclaimer warning buyers that it was for the drag strip only, and a nullified warranty.Mecum According to Dodge Garage, Ronnie Sox scorched a 10.22-second quarter-mile at 134.32 MPH, which is as confirmed as it gets. It also points to the similar Dodge Hemi Dart's 10.4-second quarter-mile as being legit. At the time, the NHRA record for a Super Stock/B pass was 11.05 @ 127.29, so the '68 Hemi Baracuda was significantly faster. This car was so badass that special rules were put in place to try to slow it down. Because of the fiberglass and acid-dipped body parts, the Hemi Barracuda was extremely light and had a killer power-to-weight ratio. To remedy this, the NHRA required that the car had to carry around 200 extra pounds, just to make things fair.Sources: Dodge Garage, Hagerty, and Hot Rod