Looking back at automotive history, no decade captures the raw excitement of muscle cars quite like the 1960s. Icons like the 1964 Pontiac GTO and Chevrolet Chevelle SS 454 dominated streets and racetracks, their massive V8 engines growing increasingly powerful year after year. But as the calendar flipped to the 1970s, the party was winding down.New emissions rules, skyrocketing insurance premiums, and fuel costs that made drivers wince at gas stations spelled trouble for high-performance muscle cars. Despite these mounting challenges, Ford refused to give up without a fight, creating some truly remarkable machines during this transitional period. We've dug through production records to uncover the rarest Ford muscle cars that rolled off assembly lines throughout the 1970s, ranking them purely by how few actually made it to showrooms. Only Three 1970 Ford Torino King Cobras Were Ever Made Mecum AuctionsThe prize for the rarest muscle car to come out of Ford's doors during the 1970s goes to a car right from the start of the decade. The Ford Torino King Cobra was a vehicle built specifically to take on Mopar in NASCAR, though just three were ever produced before the program was canceled.Mecum Auctions The two marques were locked in a battle to exceed 200 mph on superspeedway oval tracks like Daytona and Talladega. Ford had won the war in 1969 with its sleek and valuable Torino Talladega model, though Mopar looked set to rip away Ford's crown the following year with its Super Bird creation. Ford Looks To Plymouth For Inspiration Mecum Auctions Best known for its huge rear wing, the Super Bird was able to reach 200 mph on the superspeedways, leaving Ford scratching its head on how to prevent its fierce rival from running away with the title. Following in Mopar's tracks, Ford tasked its lead race engineers with finding a way to make the Torino more aerodynamic.Mecum Auctions Their jobs were made more difficult by the inefficient design of the 1970 Torino, primarily due to its wide front grille. Each manufacturer had to build one road car for every two dealerships it had across the US, so they couldn't just build a track-only special. With Plymouth implementing the ultra-slippery nose cone from its racer onto the Super Bird road car, Ford needed to find a way to make the Torino superior in this area.According to Mecum Auctions, Larry Shinoda, Ford Special Design boss at the time, wanted to shape the nose of the Torino like the GT40 that had carried the brand to victory at the 24 Hours of Le Mans between 1966 and '69. 1970 Ford Torino King Cobra Specs The new nose, which lengthened the Torino by around six inches, was swiftly developed and fitted to the car for testing. The rocker panels were also rolled to allow the NASCAR version of the Torino to be lowered by another inch compared to the road-going example, allowing it to cut through the air even more cleanly. The Ford Torino King Cobra Had Serious Stability Problems Mecum AuctionsThe redesigned Torino looked absolutely menacing with its sleek King Cobra nose, appearing ready to devour anything in its path. Under the hood sat a beast of an engine – a 429 cubic inch Cobra Jet V8 pumping out 370 horsepower, more than enough muscle to meet Ford's performance goals. Yet this promising machine harbored a dangerous secret that would ultimately seal its fate. Test drivers who pushed the King Cobra to its limits discovered a terrifying flaw: the front end wanted to take flight at high speeds.via: Reddit The car's aerodynamics had gone seriously wrong, creating a situation reminiscent of Ford's legendary GT40 racer from years earlier, though for completely different reasons. The King Cobra's sleek nose generated around 200 pounds of downforce, which should have kept the front planted firmly on the pavement. Unfortunately, Ford's engineers hadn't accounted for what happened at the rear of the car. Air flowing over the body found its way into the concave rear light assembly, creating massive downforce that far exceeded what the front end was producing, causing the nose to lift dangerously as speeds climbed.Ford could have solved these aerodynamic headaches with design modifications, but the company never got the chance. Nobody from Ford has ever officially explained why the King Cobra got the axe, but industry insiders point to two likely culprits: the company had slashed funding for its racing division, and NASCAR chief Jim France reportedly bumped the minimum homologation requirement up to 3,000 vehicles, turning an already costly project into a financial nightmare.Whatever combination of factors killed the King Cobra, only three prototypes ever saw daylight. Two of these rare machines packed the 429 Cobra Jet powerplant, while the third received the even more exotic 429 Boss engine that had powered the legendary 1969 Mustang Boss 429. Today, all three survivors rest in private collections, forever representing what might have been in Ford's muscle car legacy. The Torino Twister Special Is The Rarest Ford Production Muscle Car Of The 1970s Mecum Auctions 1970 Ford Torino Twister Special Details Interestingly, the rarest Ford muscle car to actually reach production during the 1970s was another version of the 1970 Torino. On this occasion, the car was left completely stock from a performance perspective, with no sleek aerodynamic noses to be seen. The Torino Twister Special was essentially created as a limited-run exhibition car sold exclusively by Ford dealers around the Kansas City area.In a similar vein to cereal makers offering time-limited toys to help move product, Ford did the same with its muscle cars. The brand had already done something similar with the Mustang California and High Country models, which were built exclusively for the California and Colorado markets, respectively. What Made The Torino Twister Spcial So Unique Mecum The Torino Twister Special was a Kansas-only version, with just 90 cars made during the 1970 model year. There was also a Twister version of the Mustang Mach 1 for the same market, though 96 of these were produced. Every Torino Twister was shipped with either the 360 hp 429 ci Cobra or 370 hp Cobra Jet V8s, the latter making more grunt courtesy of a large hood scoop that increased airflow to the mighty powerplant.MecumThe most obvious change compared to standard Torinos was the striking paint scheme, with each model painted in Vermilion Red with small Twister decals on the rear fenders. As per Mecum, 30 of the vehicles featured a four-speed manual gearbox, while the remaining 60 had three-speed automatic units. Offered purely as a marketing exercise and not as a special performance model, none of the Torinos were available with power steering or power brakes. These Rare Torinos Don't Come Cheap Mecum Due to the exclusivity of both Torino models, gearheads interested in adding one to their garage better reach deep into their wallets. The King Cobra demands prices of well over $500,000, while the Twister can fetch around $250,000. Fortunately, they don't just look great but also have the performance figures to back up their distinctive looks.Sources: Mecum Auctions, Ford.