Modern Muscle: The Top 10 Most Sought-After American V8s of the Last 20 Years

Detroit's V8 muscle period is closing. The Challenger and Charger went out after 2023, the new Charger is electric, the Camaro paused after 2024 with no return date, the Mustang's V8 era continues but the GT350 and GT500 are gone, and the Viper has been dead since 2017. Whatever the next decade looks like, supercharged 6.2-litre Hemis built in Detroit are not part of it.

That's why this list matters now. Five years ago a clean Hellcat was just a fast used car. Today it's a future classic that's already moving. Here's how the modern-muscle Top 10 is shaping up, and what the EU collector market is actually paying.

I'm focused on 2005–2024 American performance V8s (with one V10 that earned its place). The criterion is collector pull — a mix of rarity, story, and which cars the auction houses are actively chasing.

1. Dodge Challenger SRT Demon (2018)

The car that broke the modern muscle ceiling. Supercharged 6.2-litre Hemi, 840 hp on race fuel, 808 hp on premium pump petrol. NHRA banned it from stock-class drag racing because it was too fast — 9.65 seconds at 140 mph from the factory, a manufacturer first.

Only 3,300 units total. Production was 2018 only. Detroit knew what it was building.

EU collector market in 2026: anything documented and clean trades €130,000–€180,000 depending on miles and provenance. A US-titled, low-mileage Demon in Europe is a quiet conversation at any cars-and-coffee.

2. Chevrolet Corvette C8 Z06 (2023+)

The first American mid-engine V8 you can actually call exotic. The 5.5-litre LT6 is a flat-plane-crank naturally-aspirated V8 that spins to 8,600 rpm and makes 670 hp without a turbo or supercharger anywhere on the engine. It sounds like a Ferrari 458 because it was engineered to. People who've driven both struggle to pick.

This is the rare entry on the list that's still in production. But the early Z06s, especially Z07 Package cars, have crossed straight into collector territory. EU pricing is roughly €165,000–€220,000 for a Z07.

3. Cadillac CT5-V Blackwing (2022+)

The last great American super-sedan with a manual gearbox. Supercharged 6.2-litre LT4 V8, 668 hp, six-speed standard, automatic optional. Cadillac confirmed the next CT5-V Blackwing will be electric, which means this V8 / manual combination doesn't have a successor.

EU buyers caught onto this one slowly. They're catching on now. Imported Blackwings in Europe sit in the €95,000–€130,000 range, and the manual-equipped cars carry a premium that's growing.

4. Ford Mustang Shelby GT500 (2020–2022)

The most powerful production Mustang Ford has ever built. The Predator V8 — supercharged 5.2-litre — makes 760 hp. Seven-speed Tremec dual-clutch, no manual option. The Carbon Fiber Track Pack added carbon-fibre wheels and proper aero.

Production ended after 2022. The S650-generation Mustang that replaced the S550 doesn't get a GT500 successor — Ford has confirmed the V8 GT and Dark Horse are it. So a 2020–2022 GT500 is the final supercharged factory Mustang. EU pricing: €85,000–€140,000, with CFTP cars at the top.

5. Ford Mustang Shelby GT350R (2016–2020)

The GT500's quieter, more focused sibling, and arguably the better driver's car. The 5.2-litre Voodoo V8 is a flat-plane-crank, naturally aspirated unit that spins to 8,250 rpm — the highest-revving production V8 Ford has ever made. 526 hp. Six-speed manual only. The R adds carbon-fibre wheels (yes, on a Mustang, before McLaren popularised them on road cars), MagneRide suspension, and stripped interior.

The GT350R is the one the analog-driving crowd quietly puts above almost everything else on this list. EU prices are climbing: €70,000–€105,000 depending on miles.

6. Dodge Challenger Hellcat Redeye Widebody

The Demon's affordable younger brother and probably the smartest collector buy on the list. Same 6.2-litre supercharged Hemi as the Demon, retuned to 797 hp. Widebody fenders, four-piston Brembos, an automatic only — and crucially, far more of them got built than the Demon, which keeps them in reach.

The Hellcat Redeye Jailbreak and the final-year Last Call editions are the ones to find. EU market in 2026 sees Redeyes in the €60,000–€90,000 band. Compared to anything German with similar power, the value proposition is hard to argue with.

7. Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE (2017–2024)

The track-spec Camaro that out-cornered cars twice its price. Supercharged 6.2-litre LT4, 650 hp. Six-speed manual standard, no other option. Multimatic DSSV spool-valve dampers — the same tech as the Ford GT and Aston Martin One-77. Carbon-fibre aero. Forged wheels.

The Camaro is on indefinite hiatus from 2024 with no announced replacement. The ZL1 1LE was the apex of the sixth-generation car and the most focused front-engine American V8 since the Viper ACR. EU pricing: €75,000–€110,000.

8. Jeep Grand Cherokee Trackhawk (2018–2021)

The Hellcat-powered family SUV. 6.2-litre supercharged Hemi, 707 hp, all-wheel drive, 0–60 in 3.5 seconds. The Trackhawk's combination of school-run practicality and supercar acceleration was unique then and is impossible now — the new WL Grand Cherokee dropped the V8 entirely in favour of a Hurricane inline-six.

Trackhawks are the most underrated entry on this list. EU pricing has been hovering around €55,000–€80,000, but inventory is tightening fast. Three years ago you could find one for €45k. Today the floor has moved.

9. Dodge Viper ACR (2016)

Not a V8 — a 8.4-litre, naturally aspirated V10, 645 hp, six-speed manual only. I'm including it because the Viper is American muscle's track-killer wing, and the 2016 ACR set 13 production-car lap records on its way out the door. Laguna Seca, Road Atlanta, NJMP — it took them all. Some still stand.

The Viper was discontinued in 2017 and won't return. Production was small to start with; ACRs were smaller still. EU pricing: €180,000–€280,000. This car's appreciation curve is the steepest on the list and shows no sign of slowing.

10. Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Redeye Widebody

The four-door Hellcat. 797 hp out of the same supercharged 6.2 Hemi, but now you can fit five people and a family worth of luggage. The Charger SRT was the last new-production rear-drive V8 sedan in the world, and Stellantis killed it after 2023.

The replacement — the new electric Charger — is genuinely good, fast, and well-engineered. It is also not this. The Charger Hellcat Redeye Widebody Jailbreak from 2023 is the final form of the four-door American muscle sedan, and that's a category that's now closed forever. EU market: €55,000–€85,000.

Quick comparison

What to actually buy

If I had to pick three from this list to put down money on right now:

1. Mustang Shelby GT350R — the analog-driving prize of the list and still undervalued versus comparable German metal
2. Grand Cherokee Trackhawk — useable every day, appreciating quietly, no replacement coming
3. Cadillac CT5-V Blackwing with a manual — Detroit's last great manual super-sedan, and Europeans haven't priced it yet the way Americans have

The Demon and the Viper ACR are the showpieces; everything else above is genuinely drivable.

If you're shopping a US import from any of these, the import math piece covers what the conversion will actually cost you. And the analyzer will give you a model-specific reliability + price band before you commit:

Image credits: All images sourced from Wikimedia Commons under Creative Commons licensing. File pages: Demon, C8 Z06, CT5-V Blackwing, Mustang Shelby (S550) GT500, Ford Mustang Shelby GT350R, Hellcat Redeye, Camaro at 2017 NYAS, Jeep Grand Cherokee Trackhawk Genf 2018, 2016 Dodge SRT Viper ACR, 2023 Dodge Charger Hellcat.