Here’s a ranked list of the top 5 most-stolen muscle/high-performance vehicles (or vehicles with that flavor) in recent U.S. data, along with notes & context. The data comes largely from the Highway Loss Data Institute (HLDI).
| Rank | Model | Period & Notes | Relative Theft Risk / Key Figures |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat | Model years 2020-22. HLDI found this one topped their list for “whole-vehicle theft claims per insured vehicle year”. GlobeNewswire+2IIHS Crash Testing+2 | Theft claims were more than 60× the average for all passenger cars. GlobeNewswire+1 |
| 2 | Dodge Charger HEMI | Same report (2020-22) from HLDI. GlobeNewswire+1 | More than 20× the average theft‐claim frequency. GlobeNewswire+1 |
| 3 | Dodge Challenger | Also included in HLDI’s top area of “muscle car” theft risk for that period. WardsAuto+1 | Relative risk around 766 (with 100 being average) per Motor1 summary. Motor1.com |
| 4 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 | More recent model years (2022-24) are showing very high theft risk. CBS News+1 | The Camaro ZL1 reportedly has the highest theft rate-rank for its period. CBS News+1 |
| 5 | Chevrolet Camaro (non‐ZL1) | Same recent data set where the ZL1 variant is ranked first; the regular Camaro appears high on the list too. CBS News+1 | Theft rate significantly elevated (~13× average in one report) for certain years. Road & Track |
Additional Context & Why These Cars Are Targeted
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The muscle cars with large powerful V8s (Chargers, Challengers) have consistently appeared among the top 5 most-stolen vehicles since about model year 2011. WardsAuto+1
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High theft rates are attributed to a combination of desirability (high performance, valuable parts) + vulnerabilities(less advanced anti-theft security historically). For example, for the Camaro, one cause is the key-fob/OBD port vulnerability. Facebook+1
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While these are “muscle car” or high-performance examples, note that some other models (luxury SUVs, certain Kias/Hyundais) also appear in “most stolen” lists — the distinction is that our list above focuses on the muscle/performance segment. Newsweek+1
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For insured vehicles, HLDI uses “claims per 1,000 insured vehicle-years” or “relative claim frequency” metrics to normalize for how many of each vehicle are insured. So a car that’s less common might have a high “relative risk” despite fewer total thefts. Kbb.com+1
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