Chevy Camaro ZL-1 vs. Ford Shelby GT500 Comparison & Specs

Championship Bout
Camaro ZL-1 vs. Shelby GT500
These super-ponies are stretching the envelope of our test assumptions, most of which are geared to the Mustang GT, so more grains of salt are to be taken with these results. Recall that we haven't stiffened the springs or dampers for this simulation, so a GT500 is unlikely to heel over as much as the one pictured below. We quadruple-checked all our known variables, but assumptions somewhere in the system have helped Ford beat the odds again. There's just no logical way to explain how the GT500, with a 30-horse power deficit, runs virtually neck-and-neck with the top-dog Camaro while carrying 300 extra pounds of iron block, cams, valves, and supercharger plumbing. That extra weight helps explain the drop in lateral grip from the Boss's 0.85 to the GT500's 0.83 g. Bigger tires increased the slalom speeds of both top dogs, but the 3.8-mph increment between them remains. All the Mustangs in our simulation permit more body roll than the Camaros do, which, along with the heavier Ford engines (limiting their eagerness to turn), conspires to keep slalom speeds low. And in the figure eight, traction limitations inherent in the suspension and tire assumptions prevent the increased power from paying off in lower lap times. Instead, the ZL-1 performs exactly like the Z28, and the GT500 improves on the Boss's time by 0.2 second. This was a close one.