Motor Trend Puts The ZL1 & GT500 to The Test!
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Sounds like the ZL1 is a better all around car.... Able to hold consistent times around the track while the Ford begins to break down. Either way both are bad *** cars. Hopefully GM makes a 6th gen Camaro ZL1 & ups the hp since it will weigh less ![Engarde](https://ls1tech.com/forums/images/smilies3/engarde.gif)
More info from the article here:
http://www.motortrend.com/roadtests/...#ixzz1yzdT5oQm
http://www.camaro5.com/forums/showthread.php?t=233542
2012 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 vs. 2013 Ford Shelby GT500
![](https://image.motortrend.com/f/38134673+w569+h356+ar1/2013-Ford-Shelby-Mustang-GT500-2012-Chevrolet-Camaro-ZL1-front-end.jpg)
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More info from the article here:
http://www.motortrend.com/roadtests/...#ixzz1yzdT5oQm
http://www.camaro5.com/forums/showthread.php?t=233542
2012 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 vs. 2013 Ford Shelby GT500
![](https://image.motortrend.com/f/38134673+w569+h356+ar1/2013-Ford-Shelby-Mustang-GT500-2012-Chevrolet-Camaro-ZL1-front-end.jpg)
THE STREET
"Be it a back road or the daily commute, the Camaro ZL1 is the better street car. Its magnetorheological shock absorbers offer an impressive performance range, smoothing the impacts of rough pavement in Tour mode and keeping the heavy chassis under control in Sport mode. Senior features editor Jonny Lieberman described it to me as "basically a sportier CTS-V," balancing ride and handling beautifully. The GT500, by contrast, suffers from a stiffer ride and too much vertical motion. Every bump gets your head bobbing up and down as the big Shelby bucks like an unbroken colt. Its two-mode Bilstein shocks are simply too stiff for everyday driving, even in Normal mode."
THE STRIP
"Drag racing, though, is not as cut-and-dry as it sounds. Timing is vitally important, as is traction. Cut a bad 60-foot time, and you might as well abort the race and try again. Still, it's usually a fair bet that all other things being equal, the more powerful car will win. That's certainly the case here. The 662-horsepower GT500 hits 60 mph in 3.5 seconds to the 580-horsepower ZL1's 3.8 seconds. The gap only widens from there, with the GT500 finishing the quarter-mile in 11.6 seconds at a blazing 125.7 mph, trailed by the Camaro at 12.1 seconds and 117.4 mph."
THE TRACK
"While the Mustang was a half-second faster around the track than the ZL1 on its best lap, it couldn't repeat the performance. By the end of the first lap, the brakes had already begun to heat up so badly, we could smell them from the pits as the car passed by on the front straight. By the end of the second lap, the Shelby had lost more than half of its advantage over the ZL1, turning a 1:39.03. By the third lap, the Mustang was behind the Camaro, turning a 1:39.30. The ZL1, meanwhile, never deviated by more than two-tenths of a second."
"Be it a back road or the daily commute, the Camaro ZL1 is the better street car. Its magnetorheological shock absorbers offer an impressive performance range, smoothing the impacts of rough pavement in Tour mode and keeping the heavy chassis under control in Sport mode. Senior features editor Jonny Lieberman described it to me as "basically a sportier CTS-V," balancing ride and handling beautifully. The GT500, by contrast, suffers from a stiffer ride and too much vertical motion. Every bump gets your head bobbing up and down as the big Shelby bucks like an unbroken colt. Its two-mode Bilstein shocks are simply too stiff for everyday driving, even in Normal mode."
THE STRIP
"Drag racing, though, is not as cut-and-dry as it sounds. Timing is vitally important, as is traction. Cut a bad 60-foot time, and you might as well abort the race and try again. Still, it's usually a fair bet that all other things being equal, the more powerful car will win. That's certainly the case here. The 662-horsepower GT500 hits 60 mph in 3.5 seconds to the 580-horsepower ZL1's 3.8 seconds. The gap only widens from there, with the GT500 finishing the quarter-mile in 11.6 seconds at a blazing 125.7 mph, trailed by the Camaro at 12.1 seconds and 117.4 mph."
THE TRACK
"While the Mustang was a half-second faster around the track than the ZL1 on its best lap, it couldn't repeat the performance. By the end of the first lap, the brakes had already begun to heat up so badly, we could smell them from the pits as the car passed by on the front straight. By the end of the second lap, the Shelby had lost more than half of its advantage over the ZL1, turning a 1:39.03. By the third lap, the Mustang was behind the Camaro, turning a 1:39.30. The ZL1, meanwhile, never deviated by more than two-tenths of a second."
![](https://image.motortrend.com/f/roadtests/coupes/1206_2012_chevrolet_camaro_zl1_vs_2013_shelby_gt500/38139473+pinline_block/2012-Chevrolet-Camaro-ZL1-2013-Ford-Shelby-GT500-Laguna-Seca-Lap-Map.jpg)
#2
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They summed it up pretty well:
"It won't end here, though. Many of you probably jumped here to the end to find out who won, and you've already fired up your e-mail, Facebook, Twitter, and MotorTrend.com accounts. You'll dissect this story and all the data and conclusions, looking to support your case. You'll defend or defame us; you'll quote other sources and you'll cancel subscriptions. The musclecar war will continue to rage no matter what we say, and not a single die-hard Mustang or Camaro fan will change camps. Then, when the next-generation Mustang and its long-awaited independent rear suspension debuts, followed by the next-generation, Alpha-platform Camaro, we'll do it all over again. We can't wait."
Read more: http://www.motortrend.com/roadtests/...#ixzz1z5T4Cki7
"It won't end here, though. Many of you probably jumped here to the end to find out who won, and you've already fired up your e-mail, Facebook, Twitter, and MotorTrend.com accounts. You'll dissect this story and all the data and conclusions, looking to support your case. You'll defend or defame us; you'll quote other sources and you'll cancel subscriptions. The musclecar war will continue to rage no matter what we say, and not a single die-hard Mustang or Camaro fan will change camps. Then, when the next-generation Mustang and its long-awaited independent rear suspension debuts, followed by the next-generation, Alpha-platform Camaro, we'll do it all over again. We can't wait."
Read more: http://www.motortrend.com/roadtests/...#ixzz1z5T4Cki7
#3
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They picked the ZL1!?!?!?!?
![](http://www2.picturepush.com/photo/a/7722455/480/lulz/impossibru.png?v0)
the mustang fanboys have been alerted and are going to log into a GM site to engage a 10 page long thread of excuses, butthurtness and strait up crying over nothing.
![](http://www2.picturepush.com/photo/a/7722455/480/lulz/impossibru.png?v0)
the mustang fanboys have been alerted and are going to log into a GM site to engage a 10 page long thread of excuses, butthurtness and strait up crying over nothing.
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#7
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Then again I guess thats what 20+ years of pent up anger of being owned can do that to ya
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All I see are Camaro guys trying to say that all of the sudden horsepower doesn't mean ****, it's how fast a car is in the twistys. Where have we ALL heard that from before? Oh yes, the FWD shitbox econocar owners
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#10
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x2.
All the Z needs is less weight from the factory to be a decent force in the 1/4. I know it wasnt designed for the 1/4, but that seems to be where everyone is taking them (ironic eh). Regardless, to be down 80+rwhp (in most cases), it holds its own in the corners. I have much respect in that regard. The issue is most people dont auto x or corner carve...
By the way, the GT500 still ran faster times around the track even though the 3rd lap was slightly slower than the fastest ZL1 lap. I hate losing, but it seems the Z is the better (better being more comfortable) car for DDing. All else... well, the times speak for themselves.
![Nod](https://ls1tech.com/forums/images/smilies/LS1Tech/gr_nod.gif)
By the way, the GT500 still ran faster times around the track even though the 3rd lap was slightly slower than the fastest ZL1 lap. I hate losing, but it seems the Z is the better (better being more comfortable) car for DDing. All else... well, the times speak for themselves.
Last edited by evolve; 06-28-2012 at 06:43 PM.
#11
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x2.
All the Z needs is less weight from the factory to be a decent force in the 1/4. I know it wasnt designed for the 1/4, but that seems to be where everyone is taking them (ironic eh). Regardless, to be down 80+rwhp (in most cases), it holds its own in the corners. I have much respect in that regard. The issue is most people dont auto x or corner carve...
By the way, the GT500 still ran faster times around the track even though the 3rd lap was slightly slower than the fastest ZL1 lap. I hate losing, but it seems the Z is the better (better being more comfortable) car for DDing. All else... well, the times speak for themselves.
![Nod](https://ls1tech.com/forums/images/smilies/LS1Tech/gr_nod.gif)
By the way, the GT500 still ran faster times around the track even though the 3rd lap was slightly slower than the fastest ZL1 lap. I hate losing, but it seems the Z is the better (better being more comfortable) car for DDing. All else... well, the times speak for themselves.
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The Ford GT is on a totally different level than the whole Corvette/Camaro comparison. The ZL1 is already more expensive than a base Corvette, while the GT500 is still almost $100k shy of what the GT was new, about $150k shy of what they are selling for used!
#14
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know what really sucks??? historically, all magazines have complained about the mustangs brakes. even the brembos.
when i saw that ford equipped the shelby with 6 piston brembos, i figured that they'd at least be equal to the camaros.
******* way to **** up an otherwise fabulous car ford. #$%
when i saw that ford equipped the shelby with 6 piston brembos, i figured that they'd at least be equal to the camaros.
******* way to **** up an otherwise fabulous car ford. #$%
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x2.
All the Z needs is less weight from the factory to be a decent force in the 1/4. I know it wasnt designed for the 1/4, but that seems to be where everyone is taking them (ironic eh). Regardless, to be down 80+rwhp (in most cases), it holds its own in the corners. I have much respect in that regard. The issue is most people dont auto x or corner carve...
By the way, the GT500 still ran faster times around the track even though the 3rd lap was slightly slower than the fastest ZL1 lap. I hate losing, but it seems the Z is the better (better being more comfortable) car for DDing. All else... well, the times speak for themselves.
![Nod](https://ls1tech.com/forums/images/smilies/LS1Tech/gr_nod.gif)
By the way, the GT500 still ran faster times around the track even though the 3rd lap was slightly slower than the fastest ZL1 lap. I hate losing, but it seems the Z is the better (better being more comfortable) car for DDing. All else... well, the times speak for themselves.
![Nod](https://ls1tech.com/forums/images/smilies/LS1Tech/gr_nod.gif)
#17
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It seems like it only won due to the superior brakes. Upgrading brakes is one thing, upgrading 100hp while trying to shed over 200lbs is another. And they start at 2 grand difference of one another? I think the Shelby is the real winner, I mean how much do upgraded brakes cost? I got chills when the shelby pulled out of the garage.
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know what really sucks??? historically, all magazines have complained about the mustangs brakes. even the brembos.
when i saw that ford equipped the shelby with 6 piston brembos, i figured that they'd at least be equal to the camaros.
******* way to **** up an otherwise fabulous car ford. #$%
when i saw that ford equipped the shelby with 6 piston brembos, i figured that they'd at least be equal to the camaros.
******* way to **** up an otherwise fabulous car ford. #$%
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It's not about dollars it's about performance and the gt would limit the ability of the gt500 to go as fast as its wants.
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The old Ford GT was about even with this new GT500, so if they do make a new one my guess is it's going to have a huge gap in between itself and this GT500. It's not like the Corvette where you have the base, GS, Z06, and ZR1 all coming in at different prices and levels of performance. Aside from that, nobody is cross shopping a $150k+ exotic sports car and a Mustang, two totally different cars, while the Corvette is kind of like a high-end Camaro.