When talking about sports cars, it's pretty easy to say that the Ford Mustang is an unrivaled icon of power, muscle-car style, and American automotive heritage. But here's the catch - GM fans could say the same thing about the Chevy Camaro rival, and so might think Mopar enthusiasts about a couple of Dodge's nameplates - Charger and Challenger. So, how do we settle the conundrum of which one is best?
Certainly not through the ICE-powered horsepower wars. Those are set to get muted from the 2024 model year when the all-new seventh-gen S650 Ford Mustang will reign supreme across a deserted landscape. By then, the 2024 Chevy Camaro will be no more after the Collector's Edition series and 56 units of the Garage 56 ZL1, while the ICE-powered Dodge Charger and Challenger will also look from their place in car Valhalla at the nine levels of Banshee EV lifestyle of the production version of Dodge's Charger Daytona SRT Concept.
As such, maybe it's best to get down to the local quarter-mile dragstrip to get to the bottom of the issue. Or should I say, get up and reach the summit since we will deal with the mile-high racetrack called 'Thunder Mountain?' Known as Bandimere Speedway and beloved by Mopar purists around the world because it hosts the NHRA Dodge/SRT Mile-High Nationals, this facility is also a darling of various Youtubers.
The videographer behind the Wheels channel on YouTube usually dangles between The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and MRP (Mission Raceway Park – aka Thunder by the River) in Canada, but sure has a soft spot for Bandimere, too. As such, he usually circles back to see which brawls are most interesting and fresh – or at least worthy of our attention. For example, he knew to keep an eye on the feisty Chevy Camaro ZL1 rocking a stormy, thunder-and-lightning livery because it not only looked good but was also a hoot at the racetrack.
For this feature, the menacing 'Maro prepared to line up with a crimson S550 Ford Mustang GT that's very proud of its 5.0-liter Coyote V8 mill, even if the OEM version does not compare to ZL1's 650 ponies from under the hood. Even worse, the driver of the rig felt like easy prey when he didn't even know how to restart the engine following a hiccup during the pre-race tire (heat-up) burnout. When the 'Stang finally got in its lane, probably even the spectators were expecting a pretty lame pass from the Blue Oval muscle car.
Alas, haven't we talked about always expecting the unexpected at the local quarter-mile dragstrip – which is a big part of watching these short and feisty races unfolding in the first place? As such, the crimson 'Stang shot out of its lane at the green light like a personal rocket machine and took command of the race early on. In the end, it never relinquished its advantage, and the spectacular ZL1 found itself gapped beyond appeal – victory for the Coyote Mustang came in eleven seconds flat (at almost 132 mph/212 kph) as opposed to its adversary's 11.72s at 120 mph/193 kph evolution.
So, in the end, it turns out that the Ford was jam-packed with aftermarket upgrades and, even in the rarefied atmosphere, delivered a surprise victory to remember. Too bad there wasn't a feisty Mopar lying around to compare the Mustang to it and see which Big Detroit Three would come out victorious that day. Oh, well, you can't always have everything as you please.
Aurel has aimed high all his life (literally, at 16 he was flying gliders all by himself) so in 2006 he switched careers and got hired as a writer at his favorite magazine. Since then, his work has been published both by print and online outlets, most recently right here, on autoevolution. Full profile
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