Look at the lead photo. There isn’t a gearhead among us who doesn’t aspire to own a lineup of cars such as that pictured above. As muscle car fans, we tend to desire the most coveted examples of classic Detroit iron that ruled the streets in the ‘60s and ‘70s, but the cruel irony is that most of us couldn’t afford to own even a single one of them. So what are we to do, mope? Build plastic models? Buy a poster of our dream cars?

Nah, no thanks. Other than trying to unearth a rusty derelict from a farmer’s barn or field of weeds, build a clone from a lesser model, or spend roughly $15k for a re-pop body shell, we’re pretty much screwed. Or are we? Mercifully, Detroit has finally decided to pull its head out of its rear end (pun intended) to bring us modern interpretations of the classic muscle machines of yore. Better still, those minivan wheeling guys over at Motor Trend had recently decided to pit the hottest variants of the current models against the throwback versions in which they were based off of.

The results may (or may not) surprise you. But in comparing the two different eras of cars, it is important to remember that the cars are just that; a representation of their respective times. Whereas the classics came from a time when styling, sound, and [gross] horsepower ruled over safety, fuel economy, and emissions –the modern models are the complete opposite of that thinking, at least up to a certain point. So watch the below video and draw your own conclusion.