2010 Ford Shelby GT500 vs. 2010 Chevrolet Camaro SS Horsepower

First, we corralled a 2SS Camaro manual with the optional RS package (the giveaway is the red SS badging). It's mechanically identical to the $30,995 1SS we tested earlier, but a bunch of appearance and luxury extras, including a sunroof, boost the price tag to $37,250. We've covered the new GT500 in detail already. Base price is $48,175, but our tester came equipped with Ford's Electronics Package -- essentially nav and dual-zone air-conditioning -- plus HID headlights, pushing the sticker to $50,985.

You want bang-for-buck barroom bragging rights? The Camaro SS nails it. There isn't a car on the planet that delivers as much sheer grunt for the money. It easily outpoints the GT500 -- you'll spend 55 percent more to buy the Shelby, and only get 27 percent more mumbo. But this isn't about bar talk. Let's head out to the track.

The Camaro is a porky car, a legacy of its Australian-developed Zeta platform, which was deliberately over-engineered to ensure the Holden Commodore gained five-star ratings in the Australian NCAP crash tests. At 3888 pounds, it has a weight to power ratio of 9.12 pounds/horsepower. The GT500 is no lightweight, either -- at 3903 pounds, it weighs a surprising 331 pounds more than a regular Mustang GT. But those 540 horses under the hood help compensate, delivering a weight to power ratio of 7.22 pounds/horsepower.

No surprise, then, that the GT500 is quicker over the quarter mile, nailing the distance in 12.8 seconds. What is a surprise is the Ford's winning margin, as the Camaro is a mere tenth of a second slower, despite its 114-horsepower handicap. In fact, the big Chevy is actually quicker off the line than the GT500 and only starts to get reeled in by the more powerful supercharged Shelby mid-track. The trap speeds -- 115.3 mph versus 110.7 mph -- show the Ford's power advantage at work at the top end.