The American pony and muscle car landscape will look significantly different in 2024. But until then, let us enjoy a traditional Blue Oval versus Mopar brawl. Or two, or even three!
Starting next year, the S650 seventh-generation Ford Mustang will be left alone – at least in the field of V8-powered sports cars with pony and muscle car DNA. That's because the sixth generation Chevy Camaro production just ended with no successor in sight, and the Dodge Challenger plus Charger are embarking on novel journeys of their own.
No one really knows what will happen with the mighty Challenger because the Charger will surely revert to its original two-door coupe body style and also embrace the novel EV lifestyle triggered by the new Banshee EV powertrains. There's also a chance that it will have Hurricane inline-six turbo options, according to the rumor mill – but no one knows for sure at the moment.
However, it's not all roses for the Mustang either – the 500-hp Dark Horse is currently the most powerful offering in the lineup. Then, even when the Mustang GTD arrives with more than 800 horsepower on tap, it will be a very exclusive supercar-like offering rather than an accessible Shelby. No worries, the GT500 still lives on – at the local quarter-mile dragstrip facility.
Over there, after the most recent hiatus, the videographer behind the Drag Racing and Car Stuff channel on YouTube is back with feisty action from Orlando Speed World Dragway, and after seeing a couple of Genesis G70 premium sedans teach a BMW and Corvette a lesson or two, now it's time to focus on a white and black-striped S550 Ford Mustang Shelby GT500.
The night's first victim was a Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat, also dressed in white and black attire. This skirmish was one for the ages, as the mighty supercharged Mustang dropped a 10.67s ET and 133-mph trap speed on top of the Hellcat's 11.45s and 121 mph performance, furiously obliterating it. That's not great news for the Mopar fans, right? It wasn't even the most logical outcome because we can clearly see both drivers had great reaction times, and their vehicles were well prepared with appropriate tires and wheels to handle the particularities of drag racing.
The same Shelby GT500 came out for some night brawls, too, at Orlando – and this time, its opponent was a subtle Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat with the same mods – wheels and tires. This skirmish and the subsequent rematch were a lot closer, though – the nasty Shelby GT500 won by very narrow margins of .2s and .3s on both occasions! Still, it retained the lead – and gave its Blue Oval fans even more reasons to rejoice.
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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