The rise of the classic muscle car era brought forth a slew of engine-related innovations. For example, the first high-compression V8 built for road use came about in 1949. It was called the Rocket V8, produced by Oldsmobile, and it made just 135 horsepower. However, just about 15 years later, road-going V8s were capable of pumping out over 400 horsepower easily. Back then, there weren’t any environmental concerns to attend to, and automakers were free to make engines as powerful as possible without any bureaucratic red tape.
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