TriShield

Dyno-Tested: 2013 Ford Mustang Shelby GT500 vs 2013 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1



By Jason Kavanagh | June 4, 2012

It's still a shock, this 2013 Ford Shelby GT500. The thought that anyone with $55-ish grand can plop into a Ford dealer and drive out in a 200-ish-mph car... it's just batty, in the best way possible.

Dan took his sweet time driving the GT500 cross-country, and now it's time to get busy with it. First off, we visited our usual dyno haunt, MD Automotive in Westminster, CA, to get a better idea of its fortitude. All in the name of science, of course. Click the jump to see our results.



The 2013 GT500 isn't a supercar per se, but its 5.8-liter supercharged V8 engine's stats have officially put the supercar establishment on notice. Factory ratings of 662 horsepower and 631 lb-ft of torque at the flywheel. In a Mustang. America is awesome.

Its mill has roots in the original "Modular" engine that debuted in the 1991 Lincoln Town Car with 190 hp, but for the GT500 the unit has been so comprehensively overhauled that there's little beyond bore spacing common among the dental records. Let's take a looksee at what 22 years hath wrought:



It's just a monster of a torque curve, that. On the Dynojet 248 chassis dyno, we measured a peak of 603 lb-ft at the wheels arriving at 3900 rpm. There's more than 500 lb-ft (at the wheels) on tap between 2200 and 6000 rpm, which is just a juicy, dirty mound of torque in a production pony car engine.

Peak power at the wheels of 595 hp was recorded at 6600 rpm. The peak here was amongst some noise in the data that was present in all runs, so go ahead and mentally scribe a line through the peaks and valleys if you like. There were a couple of runs that eked out a bit more peak power. As always, the run shown here is a statistical average that I compute using a pair of organic ocular sensors and an elaborate posterior-scratching process.



And as always, the run displayed here entailed a fully-warmed -- but not heat-soaked -- engine, obtained with a cooldown period between runs. Speaking of dyno runs, judging by the engine note this mill is a mite pissed-off, even more so than the 2010 GT500 we dyno-tested.

Full disclosure: we didn't fill this car's fuel tank ourselves, as the GT500 came straight from Ford's local vehicle prep company immediately prior to our test (they gave it fresh tires and brake pads after Dan's roadtrip). We can only assume there was the usual local "premium" 91 octane in the tank, but it's a pretty safe assumption.



Here's a fun one. Below is a dyno chart of the GT500 and our longterm 2011 Mustang GT 5.0. Think the latter is strong? Consider this:



When the GT500 is generating its peak torque of 603 lb-ft, the 5.0 is piddling out 330 lb-ft, or a bit more than half that of the GT500.

It took some time, but the Modular engine has hit its stride in a way nobody could ever have conceived even just a few years ago. But how does it stack up to its crosstown rival, the Camaro ZL1? Glad you asked.

TriShield

Decades of rivalry between Ford and Chevy have culminated into the quite-loony 2013 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 and 2013 Ford Shelby GT500. They're the two biggest-gun pony cars ever turned loose by their respective manufacturers, collectively blowing clean past the 1000-horsepower threshold like it was wet tissue paper, amassing a grand total of 1,242 horsepower.

You already know that the GT500 is the stouter of the two, but have their manufacturers padded their numbers at all? And what about the shapes of their respective torque cuves? Plus, um, gurgly V8s are fun.

We aimed to learn the score, so we tested the 2013 GT500 and 2013 Camaro ZL1 on the same dyno on the same day by the same operator using the same methodology. Even if you don't give a whit about any of that, dyno testing allows us to capture all the snorts and sounds from these two leviathans, which alone is worth the visit.

Click the jump for the video and dyno results.


Elimination of variables produces the best results when it comes to dyno-testing. And with our same-times-four environment, we've eliminated the hell out of some variables.

We'll focus on the ZL1 since we've already shared the GT500's dyno result. The ZL1 borrows the supercharged pushrod 6.2-liter "LSA" V8 from the Cadillac CTS-V and gains some 24 hp in the process thanks to revisions to the intake and exhaust. It's an engine architecture that debuted in 1997 as the LS1; variants went on to find homes in countless GM vehicles from trucks to the Corvette ZR1 and everything in between. Today, GM's got the LS architecture dialed.

In total the ZL1's factory ratings are 580 horsepower and 556 lb-ft of torque as measured at the flywheel. One would expect the 580-hp Camaro ZL1 to produce 82 fewer peak horsepower than the 662-hp Shelby GT500 when tested on an engine dyno.



When you factor in drivetrain loss, the gap between the two cars should shrink slightly. So in terms of chassis dyno results, really we'd expect the ZL1 to produce something closer to 75 fewer horsepower than the GT500.

Reality doesn't care about your freaking algebra. Here's what we found when we tested these cars on MD Automotive's Dynojet chassis dyno:



There's a lot going on here. First off, peak numbers for the ZL1 -- it kicked out a nice round 497 horsepower and 497 lb-ft at the wheels with that classic dome of a torque curve we've come to expect from this engine architecture. It was terrific on the dyno in terms of staving off heat, each run liberating a few more ponies than the last. Even a dozen runs in, the ZL1 exhibited no signs of power-sapping heat soak and just settled into a groove. It's a real-world, near-as-dammit 500 rwhp pony car right from the factory. You just can't help but be impressed.

Impressed, that is, until you see that the GT500 produced 105 lb-ft and 98 horsepower more power than the ZL1.



But back to the ZL1 for a moment. Around 3400 rpm the butterflies in its exhaust open, uncorking the LSA's sound signature in a big way. Then at 6200 the LSA V8 reaches an abrupt fuel cut, in stark contrast to the GT500's "soft" rev limiter.

To our ears the GT500 has the better-sounding engine. But such things are subjective, so we won't dwell on that except to reiterate that the GT500 has the better-sounding engine.



One factor in the larger-than-expected gap in peak power between the two cars pertains to that drivetrain loss -- the ZL1's independent rear suspension just might have more drivetrain loss than the GT500's live rear axle. See, the ZL1's power takes a more tortured path to the ground as it passes through the u-joints that support the two axles at each end.

This explanation assumes the transmissions, driveshafts, differentials and tires of the two cars exhibit similar loss characteristics. Your guess is as good as mine, unless you're a Ford or Chevy drivetrain engineer, in which case your guess is about a million times better than mine.



Although the GT500 revs some 800 rpm higher, note that the GT500's power advantage does not come solely via revs -- at 6000 rpm where the ZL1 is generating its peak 497 rwhp, the GT500 churns out 575 rwhp. In fact, to match the ZL1's peak power, the GT500 requires just 4500 revs on the tach.

Clearly, the GT500 breathes more deeply than the ZL1 despite giving nearly a half-liter of displacement to the Camaro. Notable advantages for the Shelby include four-valve heads and a larger Eaton blower (the GT500 gets a TVS 2300; the ZL1 a TVS 1900).

But technical reasons are not at the root of GM's power deficiency (as if any ~500 rhwp car could ever be described as "power deficient") as the LS9 in the ZR1 proves there's additional potential lurking in the LS-series engine. And there's the rub. Nobody at GM would willingly allow any car in their stable to out-power the ZR1, their flagship sports car, so they're dealing with a pecking order situation. It's an artificial power cap that the GT500 simply does not have to contend with.

Sticky situation for GM, then. Still, there's that reality thing we talked about earlier, and laying right there is the gauntlet that Ford threw down, waiting to be picked up. It's your move, GM.

Tainted

iTrader: (9)

gm has flat out fucked up and been outdone 100x over. dont worry about your precious zr1 having less power!!

MasterTomos

iTrader: (15)

They created the 2012 ZL1 to compete with the 2012 GT500...and it destroyed it to the point where people dont even look at it...maybe GM will step it up a bit for the 2013 model, only time will tell.

Also, with the 6th gen coming up, and rumors of using the much lighter ATS chassis, I'm sure we're not done going back and fourth here.

1ltcap

the problem with that, is that they were then making the zl1 to compete with a car that's been on the road for nearly a year. personally, i think it's stupid that ford releases the next model year so early, but they do it. so if the 012 was on the road since last april or so, and they've only just now put out a car to wipe it out.....then they're going after a year old car. they should've aimed at the 013, which was in testing at least since 2011....so they should've known about it, and been able to adapt.

TriShield

It should have bowed with the LS9 which I posted repeatedly before it even debuted. I'm still surprised they went with anything less.

88blackgt

Since when did the ZL1 "destroy" the 12? 12s are still a huge bargain

ULTIMATEORANGESS

iTrader: (4)

thats a serious power gap.



it wouldve been even better to race them. and test each cars handling.

NW-99SS

iTrader: (6)

So much disdain for GMs first attempt at this type of car. Let's keep it in focus that Ford has been working the Shelby since 2005.

I can't honestly believe the bashing that goes on for a first attempt car. Is it on par with the '13 GT500 - not in a straight line, and not for power. Has it had over 8 years of development - NO!

Just to be honest, I think the new GT500 is a world-class kick in the butt from Ford. Amazingly executed as well. This not only forces GM's hand, but many other brands making supercars for well over 100K without this kind of power and performance.

The good news is that GM is on the verge of a new lineup of engines....so we can only hope that the next gen Camaro receives a diet and a healthy dose of power to remain competitive in the showroom stock situations.

It absolutely astounds me that you can buy a Vette, Viper, Mustang, and well....not quite a Camaro (yet) with 600+ HP right of the showroom floor. In 20 years, our children will be getting around in electric automated scooters, constantly jealous of our "glory days of HP back around the 2010s." These are great times to be a car enthusiast.

1ltcap

first attempt?

shelby since 2005?

both incredible monster

Z Fury

iTrader: (1)

GM engineers all but called out the '13 GT500, so I believe the comparisons are valid. I still think the Camaro would be the better performer if it had equal power as the GT500, but that power gap has the Camaro staring at tail lights in every drag racing scenario and more-than-expected road course scenarios. I still think both cars could benefit tremendously from a wider tire...

Agreed. We live in great times. If only we could have the gas prices of the '90s back...

Theblacknightls1

iTrader: (1)

Ikr both right there should have race each other

1ltcap

i'd sooooo love to see that.

venom ws7

iTrader: (13)

Both cars are amazing
Is it me or does ZL1 hit the limiter at the peak power RPM 6000-6100rpm? Looks like the HP is still raising..

I wish GM gave ZL1 a LS9 520-540rwhp will be atleast close to 590rwhp G500.

Any numbers from GT500 at the Ring?

-Ross-

iTrader: (2)

Not quite.

The ZL1 makes about 10-15 more rwhp and traps about the same mph in the 1/4 as a 2012 GT500. I wouldn't call that "destroying" it. I think it just adds to the embarrassment GM is probably feeling.

Cosmos

iTrader: (15)

Your an idiot.

Theblacknightls1

iTrader: (1)

I agree. I thought the new gt500 was a 351 turns out to be a 355 I may be wrong? Also the gt500 is clearly the faster car but still going to be interesting when both are modded going heads up.

Beave

They just dyno'd an auto ZL1 at EPS and it made 548whp with a intake and pulley. I know the GT500 is still the king but it shouldnt be too hard for the Camaro guys to keep up with the stock 500's. Now once the Gt500 starts modding then yeah they will have to do that much more. An auto 5th gen with 550whp should be good for 10's on drag radials.

92SilverSHO

iTrader: (3)

The big thing that does stand out is the guy is right. Same when the vette LS1 was rated at 350 and our cars were rated at 305hp. It can't have more or similar power than a ZR1. They did cap the power, lets get real. With that said the GT500 is an awesome ride and something to be proud of.

D3VIL

Ford wins this round and this year

But I can't wait till the next gen camaro when it goes on a major diet, cause the lb is what's killing these cars.

I mean a 150hp less vette that's now 7yrs old is slightly faster than the gt500.

As Mr. Lotus once said "if you want your car to go fast add a bigger engine. But if you want your car to go faster, brake better, handle better and last longer subtract weight" which is something I totally look forward to as far as next gen camaro. But once again, good job to ford for their awesome car.