<\/p>\n
ZL1 shares DNA with sibling Corvette (behind). (Henry Payne \/ The Detroit News)<\/p>\n
The lower, wider, sleeker 2015 Mustang debuted this week to broaden its appeal to European and Chinese markets. \u201cWe\u2019ve benchmarked it to the BMW M3 and the Porsche Cayman,\u201d says Frank Davis, Executive Director of Ford North American Product Programs. But it\u2019s not just foreign-born stallions that the iconic pony will be chasing.<\/p>\n
It will also be hoofing after the Chevy Camaro.<\/p>\n
Since the latest evolution of the Camaro in 2010, the chiseled sports\u00a0sedan But Camaro doesn\u2019t succeed on good looks alone. Its independent suspension-induced athleticism has forced Mustang to abandon its solid rear axle for the first time in 50 years. Where the powerful Mustang made its name pulverizing the competition into submission, the Camaro floats like a butterfly and stings like a behemoth.<\/p>\n \u201cIf it were only about straight-line acceleration, we would take our fallout-shelter time machine back to the \u201960s and stay there,\u201d\u00a0wrote Car & Driver<\/a>\u00a0in crowning Camaro best muscle car in 2012. \u201cThe Camaro does almost everything with more refinement and with more empathy for its driver. One\u2019s a gorilla, the other\u2019s a racehorse. Which one would you rather ride?\u201d<\/p>\n A ride in the two bloodline\u2019s top performers, the Mustang Shelby GT500 and Camaro ZL1 confirms that conclusion. The awesome, 662 HP GT500 is a ball in a straight line, but turn the wheel and the adventure begins. Thanks to electronic stability\u00a0control Not so Camaro\u2019s ZL1 which I drove in Palm Spring\u2019s intimidating San Bernardino Mountains recently.<\/p>\n With 580 HP and 556 lbs-ft of torque at its disposal from a 6.2 liter, supercharged V-8 (getting goose bumps, aren\u2019t you?), the ZL1 can gobble up plenty of road, but throw it into a corner and you won\u2019t be reaching for the ejector seat button. Thanks to magnetic ride shocks and supple suspension, the Camaro shares more DNA with its Corvette sibling than just an engine. The result is behavior more akin to a sports car than a bucking bronco. With the first rule of torque in mind \u2014 modulate, don\u2019t floor, the pedal on a car with more than 3 liters out of corners \u2014 the big ZL1 blasted nimbly through the hills of California.<\/p>\n There are flaws, sure. For drive-in lovers the big Camaro\u2019s tight back seat is not much of an option, and rear visibility is compromised by the car\u2019s high window sills and big corner pillars. And the hand brake is on the passenger side of the center console. Huh? But even Arnold Schwarzenegger had gapped front teeth.<\/p>\n Competition lifts all boats \u2014 er, horses \u2014 and the Camaro-Mustang rivalry has delivered a class of muscle car almost unrecognizable 40 years ago. My $61,140 ZL1 came with accessories like leather Recaro sports seats, a grippy suede steering wheel, smoldering ring-white LED lights, and huge Brembo brakes hiding behind wide, 20-inch wheels front and rear.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/images.intellitxt.com\/ast\/adTypes\/icon1.png\")
<\/a>\u00a0has displaced the mighty Mustang<\/a>\u00a0as America\u2019s muscle car of choice. The Camaro appears poised to retain its title in 2013 with 77,000 in sales so far this year, a healthy 4,000 more than its rival. Just as significantly, the Camaro has carved out its own pop culture niche as star of Hollywood\u2019s \u201cTransformer\u201d movies to counter Mustang\u2019s celebrity status as a star of screen (\u201cBullitt\u201d) and song (\u201cMustang Sally\u201d). \u201cThe Transformers movie has made Camaro very popular in China,\u201d says David Leone, GM Executive Chief Engineer for Performance Programs. High import duties keep sales low at 500 units a year, but the car\u2019s celebrity gets new Chinese buyers inside showrooms.<\/p>\n<\/a>, you can do lurid things in the $55K Shelby and never lose control. But I still wouldn\u2019t recommend riding that wild horse on a country road without lessons first.<\/p>\n