10 Awesome American Cars You Might Not Know About

Despite being awesome, the USA isn't really known for supercars. Muscle cars and face-kicking trucks, yes, but the Ford GT40 is pretty much the only mid-engined supercar from a major manufacturer in our history. However, there are a lot of awesome cars from small companies that you might not know about. These are the ten most awesome of these that you need to know about.

Yes, we know that this is an Irish car from the '80s. A company in Texas got the rights to produce the rest of the run of cars though and it's actually possible to buy a new DeLorean. They're even making an electric version for those of us who prefer to charge our stainless steel wedges.

Coachbuilding used to be a more common thing and a very cool one at that. Now it seems that custom bodies on cars are either cheap and ugly or looked down upon, because the makers didn't make a new car. The Anteros body for C6 Corvettes is awesome though. This is for the guy who loves the way his 'vette drives but would rather it look just a bit more classic. We'd like to see more of this.

The whole thing is made from carbon fiber, and while that's cool, that's not what the Mach7 Falcon is really about. This car is about a 620hp 7.0L V8 hooked up to a 6-speed manual transmission, because that's what we like here in 'merica.

435hp from a Chevy V8 in a mid-engined car that only weighs 2,200lbs? Yes please. Only a handful of these monsters have been built, but they are truly awesome cars. Due to the rarity, we won't be surprised to see these fetching massive sums at auction in 40 years.

Just look at the numbers: 1.1g on the skidpad, 3.1 second 0-60, and a 2,475lb weight. That, right there, is a kick ass car, and it's made right here in the USA. It's sold without an engine or drivetrain, but the given specs are for a 450hp 3.0L turbocharged Ford V6.

We think Bruce from Bruce Almighty clearly did what any new deity would do: turn his beat up old hooptie into a brand new Saleen S7 and go crazy on public roads. While this is certainly not something we will ever experience, we can dream... right?

Most police cars are designed as passenger cars and then modified to suit police work. The Carbon Motors E7 was designed from the ground up for patrolling the streets and chasing down the bad guys. It's powered by a torquey, reliable, and extremely efficient BMW diesel engine and has been designed with police in mind; the seats are designed with holsters in mind, the computers and radios are built into the dash (so they don't fly about in an accident), and the lightbars are integrated into the body work for the sake of aerodynamics. It's not ready yet, but the E7 is coming.

One of the greatest American cars ever made was the boattail Auburn Speedster. Sadly, the Cord-Auburn-Duesenberg trio of allied companies all went under a long time ago. Luckily for us, a small company called California Custom Coach has created a modern replica of the legendary Indiana-build sportscar. They went a little further though; the bloody thing might look like it was build in 1936, but it sprints to 60mph faster than any car that Maserati currently makes.

The Local Motors Rally Fighter isn't just a triumph of minimalist design, it's a proof that American ingenuity is still kicking. The car isn't just one of the best off-roaders out there right now, but it's proof of a weird new concept: the car was crowd sourced via a community of designers and engineers on the internet and built partly by the buyers. This is a new, and uniquely American business model, and it's working.

This isn't just a delicious looking hypercar, it's a delicious looking hypercar that was designed by the legendary Jason Castriota and will have a higher top speed than a Bugatti Veyron Super Sport. Yes, this sleek, futuristic arrow of a car will be the world's fastest production car, and it will be all American. U. S. A! U. S. A!