As far as muscle car enthusiasts are concerned, the (immediate) future is already set in stone, with ICE, EV, and oblivion variants. As for 'America's sports car,' well, that's a different story altogether.
It's not hard to understand why passenger car sales are declining – the hype surrounding crossovers, SUVs, and trucks is basically ginormous. That means every passenger car sector is in jeopardy, and some segments are more endangered than others. Luckily, a few of them also know how to morph into something novel to make sure they have a chance of survival. Or, at least, they are not going down without a proper fight.
The 2024 Ford Mustang will arrive at nationwide dealerships later this year (during summer) to pave the way forward for a potential last ICE-powered hurrah of the EcoBoost and Coyote V8 variety. Until then, the S550 current generation still rules 'undefeated' on most occasions. Meanwhile, the Dodge story will open a completely novel EV chapter after the 2023 model year production concludes and all seven 'Last Call' special editions reach their collectors, including the tasty Demon 170.
As for Chevrolet, well, that is a tale of the two-headed dragon, frankly. One of them is going to bite the dust, though, as the 2024 model year Camaro will cease production in January next year and go down in history as the last hurrah for the sixth generation, complete with a singular Collector's Edition that was recently teased. The other one is alive and more than well, given that it's the placeholder for the C8 Chevy Corvette series.
Remastered as a mid-engine hero, it has wiped clean the C1 through C7 slate and now lives a crazy 'Ferrari killer' life by way of Stingray and Z06 FPC (flat plane crankshaft) craziness. Alas, no one should underestimate the C7 predecessor, as we are about to show you courtesy of the videographer behind the Wheels channel on YouTube.
He or she is a major fan of 'Thunder Mountain' - aka the Bandimere Speedway quarter-mile dragstrip in Colorado – and never misses a chance to check out the local brawls. Just recently, a couple of S550 Ford Mustang GTs, one orange and the other dressed in white thought they could fool around with the C7 Corvette according to their quarter-mile dragstrip desires. Well, they were sorely mistaken.
That was only logical, as the initial skirmish opposed the orange Mustang GT against the 650-hp C7 Chevy Corvette Z06, which is still a force to be reckoned with – to the tune of a massive 11.91s to 14.7s victory! Next up, from the 1:10 mark, the white Ford tried to wipe away the Blue Oval shame while duking it out with the C7 Corvette Stingray – and even jumped the gun before the green light came out. Still, it was to no avail, as the Chevy roared to catch the laurels and another massive gap based on the 12.33 to 14.22s ETs.
By the way, if you also think this could be the very end of yet another marvelous era for pony and muscle cars – including in terms of quarter-mile dragstrip shenanigans, the second video feature embedded below is a collection of more than 12 minutes of "modern muscle cars drag racing." And, of course, there is something for everyone tucked neatly in there – from the Big Detroit Three to shaggy little hatchbacks! So, enjoy!
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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