Comparison Tests
A lot of people think the Ford Mustang and Chevy Camaro duel has been the most exciting rivalry in the history of cars. Others think of it as the automotive equivalent of a People magazine cover story on Jessica Simpson — it's a worn-out story, but you give it a look anyway.
By now you know that GM no longer makes Camaros, so our ritual is in limbo. (The Camaro's obvious stand-in, the Aussie-born Pontiac GTO, is about to join the Oldsmobile lineup on the discontinued heap.) But Ford has not called it quits in the muscle-car department and has in fact produced the 2007 Shelby GT500, which is not only the most powerful Mustang ever made — 500 horsepower — but also the most expensive at $41,950, including destination. So without a Camaro, the Corvette, which lists at $44,490 and comes packed with 400 horsepower, becomes the obvious crosstown challenger.
A major difference between this Ford and Chevy is that the Mustang has a pair of back seats and the Corvette doesn't. The similarities are many and important: Both have front-mounted V-8s, rear-wheel drive, and Motown reputations a quarter-mile long. Plus, their base prices are close.
For this comparison, we wrangled an early-build GT500 from Ford. We're guessing that options such as satellite radio, an in-dash CD changer, and a 10-speaker sound system will add about three grand to that base price.
On the other hand, the Corvette is a known quantity: It's a great sports car at a great price. A two-time 10Best winner since the C6 version was introduced in 2004, the Vette is a fantastic performer that can outrun cars that cost tens of thousands more dollars.
We requested a no-options test vehicle but nonetheless wound up with a loaded $56,070 Corvette — it came with a navigation system, polished aluminum wheels, heated seats, satellite radio, a $750 transparent roof, and the $1695 Z51 Performance package. Only the Z51 package alters the Vette's performance, with its stiffer suspension, larger brakes, and revised gear ratios. So a Vette with the Z51 package that performs like the one we've tested here can be had for $46,185.
In addition to the GT500's as-tested price advantage — it's more than 10 grand less than the Vette, so in the price category it was awarded 20 points to the Corvette's 15 — the Ford also prevailed in the back-seat category, earning five points to the Vette's goose egg. So before a wheel was turned, the Vette was burdened by a 10-point disadvantage.
As always we put both cars through our battery of performance tests. We also spent a day lapping the 2.0-mile Grattan Raceway, a hilly road course that's about 120 miles northwest of our Ann Arbor headquarters. So can the GT500 really hang with the Corvette?
