Let’s be honest; nobody envisions classic muscle cars of the 60’s and 70’s as nimble, agile vehicles. They were about brute strength and roaring V8 engines. But America is fast approaching half a century since muscle cars first appeared, allowing both technology and the popularity of classic muscle to allow the market to fill quite a few needs. That is why muscle cars are now represented in a vast range of motorsports…including hill climbing.

This rip-roaring ‘71 Pontiac Trans Am is owned by Roger Bolliger, who is a truly brave man to strap himself into this 700 horsepower hill climbing monster. Would you ever expect an old Firechicken to handle like this?

Neither did we, and we can only imagine the amount of work and money that went into turning this old dinosaur into a corner carver. We do know that under the hood is a 496 cubic-inch V8 producing a stump-pulling 700 horsepower.  This big-block spins to 7,000 RPM, allowing it to virtually fly up the hills of Austria, where this video comes from.

Yes, even the Europeans appreciate a beastly American muscle car, and the sport of hill climbing is a decidedly European adventure. Who else would decide that, yes, we should race uphill because racing on a level, flat track makes too much sense. Se la vie. At least they’re using the right kind of car for the job.