It looks to be a close race with the manuel vs manuel as the Mustang looks to put down 350rwhp compared to Camaro's 360rwhp. The auto will be a different outcome with the Mustang having a hp and weight advantage. 330rwhp Mustang and 320rwhp Camaro.

 

It will obviously be a much anticipated comparison between the '11 GT and the ('10) SS (not sure what changes '11 will hold for the SS).

I would surmise that, bench racing, the two will be very close in a straight line with the Camaro's slightly greater power being negated by its somewhat greater weight. In terms of power characteristics, the 5.0's smaller displacement will be made up by 4V heads and its power band broadened by the VVT. The 7K redline will allow it to hold onto lower gears longer too.

Handling prowess too will be a bit of give and take with the Camaro's more sophisticated and presumably more capable IRS design giving way to the Stang's lighter weight and better chassis tuning. Probably, as now, the Mustang will do better on track and smooth road 10/10th rampaging with a more nimble, connected feel while the Camaro will have a more resilient handling capability and better ride/handling ratio for sub-9/10ths driving and the daily grind.

But which is better? Well, that may really come down to individual wants and needs more than one ride dominating the other. At least though, Ford and the Mustang are quickly shedding the "good enough" ethos that has constrained it for so long. It's good to see them aiming for overall excellence than good enoughness.

Braking, looooong a Mustang weak point, may now be a Mustang strong point given the standard systems size upgrades and especially when the Brembo option comes down the assembly line.

 

Acceleration....This could be close or it could indeed get a little ugly since the Mustang has a pretty mean power to weight ratio. I think it's all going to depend on what Ford does with what they have here.

Handling....Unless GM performs some upgrades to the Camaro this comparison probably will get ugly. The Camaro has been accused of being an understeering handful more than a few times, and speaking strictly in terms of handling it typically doesn't fare well against even the existing 2010 Mustang GT. Take the known 2011 Mustang GT suspension/chassis improvements, and the new cars better brakes, into consideration and I think this is the area where the Camaro is going to take a serious beating unless GM does something significant with the 2011's chassis and suspension.

 

Y'know something else favoring acceleration with the GT is that nifty single OD Getrag M6.

 

If it takes a 300hp 05-10 GT 30 extra HP to outrun a 426 HP camaro at the present time, what do you think a GT with 412HP would do?

 

what are you basing this on? It would take more then 30hp to get a 05-10 into the 12's so I don't see how it could out run the 426hp Camaro with that.

 

I have friends in real life that run 12.7-12.8's with bolt on's you can youtube for reference, but i have seen a bunch of it in real life, it doesn't take much to get an 05-10 in the 12's and that's starting from 300-315hp.

the camaro's are struggling to break 13.0 on the norm.

Hell I ran a 13.3 @ 105 with my mods... DR's and better shifting will knock that .2 off, and i don't even have my 4.10's in yet :/

 

And the outcome if the camaro has the same mods? A stall and DR's put the new camaro's in the mid to low 12's without adding any hp and they have 4.10's available now as well. When you get into the mod war it fuzzes things up a bit.

Aside from that I think Rhumb and Jsaylor sum it up. It'll be close I don't doubt but the hp/weight advantage is leaning towards the mustang. In the handling dept, Zeta is a superb platform for strength but the trade off is its weight. Despite its IRS it is sprung a little softer as well.

 

I know the mod war thing is never going to get anywhere but just stating that a 300hp GT needs 30hp to beat a 426 camaro, so anyone thinking a 412 mustang will lag behind is obviously not looking at the specs close enough.

short n sweet: if one can beat a camaro in a bolt-on mustang with around 330 hp why would anyone think 412hp would not?

 

How many will you really see running the times the mags post? Most will be running high 13's with average driver just like you see 05-10's GT's and SS's running in the 14's. You better be able to drive and hook to hit 12's in either car.

 

Sure makes sense to me! 330 hp to get a winning time ticket versus 412 hp to make it a done deal! It kinda makes ya wonder if the 426 hp Chevy advertizes is really not more like 360 hp, but I guess that's what extra weight can do!

 

of course the real world factor changes things but the point i am trying to make is simple, if a 330hp s197 CAN BEAT a 426hp camaro at the present time.
WHY WOULDN'T a 412hp s197 beat a 426hp camaro? it just doesn't make any sense what some people are thinking.

 

Im sure it will do the job. But who knows who will have the upper hand with basic bolt-ons.

 

I think you are transposing flywheel numbers with wheel hp numbers. If you are talking 330-345 wheel hp, what an average bolt on(headers, cai, tune), mustang will produce, then you are talking alot more than a 30 hp bump (more like 350-370 hp or a 50 hp or more jump and I think that is conservative). From what I've seen/read amongst this and other forums and on the track, that's about norm for cars hitting 12's. Again though you can't yardstick modded cars to new ones especially when you add mods such as gears, DR's, and the like. I can make a 05-09 GT hit 12's without adding any hp, yet I can't use that to say all I need is a 300 hp mustang to beat a 426 hp car. If that were the case, then I can say all it takes to beat a pullied Terminator is a 360 hp Fbody when (in my case at least) it's 360 wheel hp and a whole lot of other mods.

I don't recall anyone suggesting the new mustang will lag in anything, most agree it should be quicker. What many including myself are saying it's not going to be a blowout. Taking what we know on hand the 20-25 hp advantage for the Camaro vs the 400 lb or so advantage of the Mustang gives a potential 15-20 hp racing advantage or 1.5 to 2 tenths advantage on hp alone. Of course other factors come into play, engine power curves, trans and final gearing, and ability to put it to the ground as well, but most agree that the Mustang should pull it off.

 

All the Camaro's I've seen that can't break 12's are on stock rubber. They trap a bit higher than me, which means they should be in the mid 12's.

 

EXACTLY. What are these guys thinking? It won't even be close.

 

I remember reading in the mustang vs. Camaro vs. Challenger and the mustang was the overall winner despite it being slower that not being to much of a surprise with it being the the lowest in hp but it for the most part did much better than the rest in other fields. it wasn't much slower than the rest of the pack but the new 5.0 is going to dominate!...given chevy doesn't have any tricks up it's sleeve for '11

 

good points...keep in mind that the '11GT was as quick as the 09-10 BMW M3 in that one road test..so that right there should give everyone an idea of what the '11GT will act like on a road course and its handling prowess.

 

Where are you getting 350rwhp for the Mustang figure,just wondering?

 

Thats if you do the x .85 calculation. Im sure i am off some but if most SS's are putting down 360 stock then that is the .85 calculation. Do the same with the stang its 350 at 412.