The Big Three have always been trying to out do each other. It has become somewhat of an American tradition and for the enthusiast, it doesn’t really matter your preference in cars cause really when the manufacturers compete we all win. That being said Chevy needs to get their head in the game.
Stock for stock Dodge has been pulverizing the track with its 800-horse Demons and Ford’s been keeping up with the Shelby GT500, but the ZL1’s blown large displacement engine puts it in dead last with just 650 horsepower. That’s comparing apples to apples though and when it comes to racing, the driver is not bound by the same rules as the manufacturer and the Camaro’s supercharged 6.2-liter responds very well to modification.
As seen in this video of a head to head between a 2020 Shelby GT500 and a Camaro ZL1. The video starts at a roll with the ZL1 easily walking away from the GT500 with an unmistakable scream of the supercharger. The two slow to a 40-mph roll and slowly climb to 60 for round two.
Both cars are clearly well built but the GT500 gets the jump on the Camaro this time. Although, not for long and by 140-mph the two are neck and neck. It appears the race was to around 170-ish-mph and when all was said and done the ZL1 had come out on top again. The video ends with a third round that seems to finish with the same results as viewed from a chaser car with an out of focus camera.
The Camaro ZL1 is modded with a pulley, intake, and meth injection and it is also running on E85. This is obviously a winning combination and affords it a snake-stomping boost of horsepower that in the end the GT500 can just not compete with.
However, the 2020 Shelby GT500 is completely how it came from the factory and is a car that has been proven to respond equally as well to modifications. While the ZL1 is clearly the winner in this street-race, the effort that it took to get the car to a competing level with the GT500 speaks miles to Fords efforts to create a factory built winner.
Elizabeth is a hardcore horsepower enthusiast with unmatched intensity for making things faster and louder. She wakes up for power and performance and only sleeps to charge up for the next project that’s heading to the track. From autocross to drag racing, Elizabeth is there with you, so stay tuned for her unique perspective on horsepower news, builds, tech info, and installs — with her, it’ll never be boring!
