Last year, Ford came out to play with the S650 seventh generation 2024 Ford Mustang in EcoBoost, GT, and Dark Horse form, the latter two packing the mighty 5.0-liter Coyote V8 under the hood. This year, Dodge is giving them something EV to think about: the 496-hp and 670-hp eighth-generation Charger Daytona R/T or Scat Pack.
They are no longer direct rivals because the two-door Charger fastback coupe is much larger and way heavier than a Ford Mustang. Of course, owners will pit them one against the other when the Charger Daytonas will make it out of nationwide dealerships. Also, starting in 2025, there will be a Charger Sixpack with two and four doors and up to 550 hp rocking 3.0-liter Hurricane inline-six twin-turbo mills.
But we are not going to be preoccupied about any of that right now because the 'older' Ford Mustangs and Dodge Challenger coupe plus Charger sedans are still around us and ready to show us they are not obsolete – at least when it comes to the traditional venue, the local quarter-mile dragstrip. So, the videographer behind the Drag Racing and Car Stuff channel on YouTube is back to Bradenton Motorsports Park with feisty Blue Oval vs Mopar action.
Out on the lookout for great BMP things, he encountered a quartet of Dodges and Fords trying to ascertain their dominance over the track. First, a white S550 Ford Mustang GT knight in shiny armor raced against a red-and-black Mopar devil, the Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat Widebody, and judging by the ETs, these two drivers knew exactly what they were up against. However, thanks to a great start, the feisty Mopar took control of the race and nailed team Mopar's first win (10.31s versus 10.79s).
Secondly, later during the night, another crimson Hellcat raced a burgundy-shaded Ford Mustang GT and nailed another perfect start (Hellcats are notoriously tricky off the line) to make Blue Oval fans cry their hearts out because of scoring the second point for Dodges (10.91s versus 11.85s). Thirdly, it was about time a Charger also joined the fight, right? A black example came out during the late hours to brawl with a burgundy-shaded SN95 New Edge Mustang that looked like it had some turbo tricks under its bulging hood.
Well, unfortunately for Blue Oval aficionados, even the better start off the line wasn't enough to ascertain victory, and the night was looking more and more like a Dodge-only fest with the third straight win filmed for the feature video embedded below – 10.45s versus 11.17s were the ETs, by the way. Last but not least, a blue Dodge Charger faced off with a black S-197 II fifth-generation Ford Mustang and dropped the best victory ET of the night: 10.04s versus 11.09s. Cool, right?
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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