Mustang Vs Challenger Vs Camaro: Muscle’s Holy Trinity Drag Race
In Europe we had the so-called holy trinity; the LaFerrari, The McLaren P1 and the Porsche 918 Spyder. All were legends in their own time. The story is the same in the USA for three muscle-bound V8 heavyweights: the Ford Mustang Shelby GT500, the Dodge Challenger Hellcat Redeye and the Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE.
Until now no one has been able to bring the top-spec, fastest automatic versions of each of them together in a formal drag race. On a cold morning, with a private piece of asphalt to play with, Edmunds presenters Carlos Lago, Elana Scherr and Kurt Niebuhr have run a race we’ve been waiting for.
The Camaro is the lightest and least powerful of the three. In ZL1 1LE guise the Camaro packs 650bhp and 650lb ft from a 6.2-litre supercharged engine, pushing 1765kg (3892lb). The Challenger, in Redeye Widebody spec, matches the Camaro’s 6.2 litres but hits with 797bhp and 707lb ft. On the other hand, it’s chubbier at 2053kg (4527lb).
Third on the list is the 1841kg Shelby GT500 with its Carbonfibre Track Pack. It sits in the middle both in weight and power, developing 760bhp and 625lb ft – but from a ‘mere’ 5.2 supercharged litres. Which one is your money on?
Comments
My money was on the GT500 before I watched it. I’m not surprised it won. Frankly, the Camaro is too weak and the Hellcat is too heavy.
It’s not that the Hellcat is too heavy, the problem is it can’t put all the power down.
Imagine a world where 650 horsepower is considered too weak lol
honestly quite surprised the GT500 won, I would think the challenger would of destroyed all of them but I’m happy the Stang is now on top, I think it deserved it
The problem with the Hellcat is that it’s so difficult to put all the 700+ power down
That’s actually hilarious, I always see Dodge guys talking about how Slow and Garbage the Mustang and Camaros are, and they just got beat by both of them 😂😂
Dodge is tuned for Drag racing not street racing. It’s also a red eye
But… they ran a drag race?
What do you want them to use
I dont think any manufacturer tunes a car with ‘street racing’ in mind. Track racing yes. Street racing no.
Definitely, balance is everything.
That’s the point of a muscle car, it’s not balanced, it’s heavy, sloppy, and has a stupid powerfigure. The Challenger is the only one that truely lives up to that term.
When the least powerful car has 650bhp, you know it’s going to be a badass race
Repeat after me: “the mustang is NOT a muscle car”
Pony cars are a subtype of muscle car.
2 doors, rear wheel drive, front mounted V8, 4 seats, coupe body. It’s a muscle car…
Thank you, Ford themselves even called the Mustang “The Best Selling Sports Car of the Year”
Thank you, Ford themselves even called the Mustang “The Best Selling Sports Car of the Year”
Thank you, Ford themselves even called the Mustang “The Best Selling Sports Car of the Year”
How is the Hellcat having trouble putting power down? Its weight should put more than enough force on those back tires, the only issue I see here is the temperature of everything..