If you ever find yourself fretting about a possibly diminished future for America’s superb musclecar pack, fear not; at this moment, the competition is stronger – and more competent in the corners – than ever.
Automobile gave us our latest fix of well-muscled mano a mano contest. Spoiler: they don’t name a champion. But the author does take us vicariously on a lap around Gingerman Raceway in each car, and then out on the open road.
Of course, we’re not entirely sure the lineup is entirely fair to Ford; the SRT Hellcat and Camaro Z/28 are about $20,000 and $30,000 more expensive (respectively) as-tested than the Mustang GT. But then, if Automobile had waited for a high-performance Mustang variant, we wouldn’t be reading this story at present, and you’d probably be at some other website.
We know you have your options when it comes to automotive news, and we just want to say: thank you.
Interestingly, Automobile doesn’t go into detail about the performance of the new Mustang‘s independent rear-axle as compared to the solid axle that the car has rolled on since before mankind claimed the moon. But they do acknowledge that it’s quite planted and confident on the track – much more so than the hard-to-contain, dance-fevered SRT Hellcat. The Ford posted a better time around Gingerman by a full second.
And then the Camaro Z/28 took a few laps. It beat the Hellcat around Gingerman Raceway by an astounding four seconds. But really, who can be surprised that the car which saves weight with no A/C and a single audio speaker dominates the racetrack?
Of course, it’s not all about the track performance, so Automobile took the muscle trio out on the open road. This is the Camaro’s weak-point, as (logically) the firm, controlled ride which proves invaluable on the track leads to harsh vibrations over less-perfect pavement. The Challenger, says the mag, is superb in this regard. The Mustang is the best compromise.
It’ll be a more interesting contest of strength and agility when the Mustang GT350 launches sometime next year. For now, it seems the Camaro Z/28 maintains its corner on performance, by a mile.
For the full article, visit the Automobile website.
Comments
So, I’d like to be the first to say this is a terrible test/comparison. The Z/28 doesn’t even have the most powerful motor for a Camaro. Why not test with the ZL1 or the SS 1LE? Is anyone confused about the purpose of the Z/28? No! It is a track car…period. SMH
Motor Trend did a test that compared the 2015 Camaro SS 1LE with the 2015 Mustang GT Performance Pack. Apples to Apples in specs and price. Camaro wins.
The impression that I got was that Automobile wanted the top-spec of each of the big three musclecars. But that’s a great point; you’re absolutely right. The ZL1 is much more “Saturday night light-to-light” racer than the Z/28 – like the Hellcat. That would have been a much more direct comparison.