Another week, another drag racing video from the muscle car-obsessed guys over at YouTube channel Cars and Zebras. In this clip, one of the most famous and celebrated General Motors muscle cars, a 1970 Buick GSX Stage 1, lines up against one of the wilder creations to come out of Dearborn in the 1960s, the 1969 Mercury Cougar 428 Cobra Jet.
Before you place your proverbial bets, let’s go over what each of our challengers has hidden under the hood. The 1970 Buick GSX Stage 1 left the factory with a huge 455 cubic-inch V8 engine, which is good for an estimated 360 horsepower at 4,600 RPM and 510 pound-feet of torque at 2,800 RPM. The model in this video also features a three-speed TH400 automatic transmission, which sends power to the rear wheels through a set of factory 3.64 rear gears. Cars and Zebras says this car tips the scales at 3,998 pounds with the driver included, so while the Buick 455 V8 has plenty of power and torque on tap, it has a considerable amount of weight to lug around as well.
Now let’s move over to the competitor’s corner and have a closer look at the 1969 Mercury Cougar 428 Cobra Jet. As the name suggests, this American pony car came equipped with a 428 cubic-inch V8 engine producing a stout 335 horsepower and 440 pound-feet of torque. This model also features the Select-Shift three-speed automatic transmission and 3.50 rear gears. It comes in at 3,820 pounds including the driver, undercutting the Buick GSX by nearly 200 pounds. The Mercury may be lighter than the Buick, but it’s also less powerful, so it seems as though we have a pretty close race on our hands here.
There’s not much between these two on paper, so it’s hard to predict a winner. Scroll down and press play to watch the video and find out which of these Detroit performance specials comes out on top.
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Comments
Great race!
Next time put a wind sock on the Camera mic. The sound of the wind across the mic is so annoying I turned off the sound. If you want to be a professional then start paying attention to things like this. Yes it is a deal breaker.
What a boomer. Complain, complain, complain… if you were actually there that day you’d realize the wind was over 22mph and gusts were over 50mph….good luck with that “wind sock.” Ever heard of the mute button?
I am a 40 year independent Cameraman. I have shot everything there is in the industry. Wind socks do work and the attenuation of the mic can also be adjusted in the sound menu to lower the dynamic range and the the of sound being recorded. You could also have hired a professional sound recordist with a field mixer to properly deal with the quality of what is being recorded. You have blamed me for complaining, you have blamed the weather and you claimed that wind socks don’t work. How about you just admitting that you messed up and that the sound did suck. We all learn by mistakes. Maybe next time hire a pro.
First off, I’m not sure why you keep giving me feedback. I didn’t record this, post it, or write the article. Second, my point is that you are obviously a bitter man with a spoiled child mentality who can’t even watch a simple YouTube video without complaining. It’s really sad.
Kim the fact that you expect studio professional quality shows how disconnected you are from reality. THIS IS YOUTUBE. Over 99.99% of people on there are amateur and honestly that’s what makes it so great. They do it simply because they are passionate about the subject. You are a shining example why the muscle car era is dead.
Who won the race between the Buick and the Mercury Cougar? The sound and visuals didn’t determine the winner. The Buick looked to be leading at least half way.