Australia developed its own muscle car tradition around the same period, with the big three manufacturers Ford Australia, Holden or Holden Dealer Team (by then part of General Motors), and Chrysler Australia. The cars were specifically developed to run in the Armstrong 500 (miles) race and later the Hardie Ferodo 500 (the race's current 1,000 kilometre format was adopted in 1973). The demise of these cars was brought about by a change in racing rules requiring that 200 examples had to be sold to the general public before the car could qualify (homologation). In 1972, the government stepped in to ban supercars from the streets after two notable cases. The first instance was a Wheels magazine journalist driving at 150 mph (240 km/h) in a 1971 Ford Falcon GTHO Phase III XY 351.  Whilst the car was getting exposure in the press, the second incident occurred in George Street, Sydney, when a young male was caught driving at an estimated 150 mph (240 km/h) through the busy street, in a 1971 Ford Falcon GTHO Phase III, drag racing a Holden Monaro GTS 350. This was known in Australia as "The Supercar Scare".

 Holden produced the famous Holden Monaro with 307 cu in (5 L), 327 cu in (5.4 L), and 350 cu in (5.7 L) Chevrolet small blocks or 253 cu in (4.1 L) and 308 cu in (5 L) Holden V8s, followed by the release of four high-performance Toranas, the GTR-XU1 (1970–1973), SL/R 5000 (1974–1977), L34 (1974) and the A9X (1977).

1972 Valiant Charger SE E55 340 V8
The Australian muscle car era is considered to have ended with the release of the Australian Design Rule regarding emissions in ADR27a in 1976. An exception to this rule was the small number of factory-built Bathurst 1000 homologation specials that were constructed after 1976: they are considered to be muscle cars. Examples of these homologation specials include the Torana A9X and the Bathurst Cobras.

450 bhp Cosworth V6-powered Ford Capri race car
In the United Kingdom, the muscle car never gained a significant market, but it certainly influenced British manufacturers, with models such as the Ford Capri and Vauxhall Firenza directly inspired by American designs. Later, both Ford and Vauxhall continued the tradition of producing high performance variants of its family cars, though often these had more subtle styling than the traditional muscle car, but with some notable exceptions. The more European influenced hot hatch has largely occupied this segment of the market since the early 1980s.

  America and Australia

1994-1996 Chevrolet Impala SS
In the U.S., the full-size, 4-door Chevrolet Impala SS had a short but popular production run from 1994–1996 as a high-performance limited-edition version of the Caprice equipped with a Corvette-derived 5.7 L V8 LT1 engine and other specific performance features and body styling using the options found on the Caprice 9C1 police package. The revived Impala SS was no match for the rising sport utility market; some analysts would consider GM's phasing out rear-wheel drive luxury sedans as a fatal mistake.

2003-2004 Mercury Marauder
For 2003 and 2004 Mercury revived its old Marauder nameplate, as a modified 300 hp (220 kW) Mercury Grand Marquis (based on the Ford Crown Victoria Police Interceptor). The Marauder failed to attract a market share unlike GM's Impala SS revival. In 2005 a "retro-inspired" version of the pony car Ford Mustang went on sale, which drew various design cues from Mustangs of the mid to late 1960s and early-1970s. In 2007 Ford and Shelby also re-released a new and modern version of the G.T. 500, with Super Snake and King of the Road editions following closely behind in 2008. Saleen has introduced a special edition based on the classic BOSS Mustangs of 1970 called the "PJ" after a famous Trans-Am series driver from the 1960s and 1970s, Parnelli Jones.

Fuel economy standards forced GM to delay the Zeta platform when the Oshawa production facility had already been retooled for its production. The 2010 Chevrolet Camaro is one of GM's Zeta platform vehicles.

Ford Performance Vehicles (FPV) turns out similarly uprated special versions of the Ford Falcon Sedan, the major difference being Ford offer a 360 hp (270 kW) turbocharged 4.0 litre I6 as well as their V8s. FPV are producing the GT 4-door Falcons—both Boss V8 and turbocharged sixes; the premier Fords are currently the BOSS V8 and F6 turbocharged inline 6.

PERFORMANCE MUSCLE CARS