The Chevrolet Camaro has been fighting the Ford Mustang for over half a century now, to the point where the two nameplates are pretty much synonymous with each other. It’s like Batman and The Joker; you can’t have one without the other.
It was Chevy, however, which launched the Camaro as a direct response to the Mustang back in 1966. During its unveiling, when journalists asked Chevrolet officials what a Camaro is, they were told that it’s a “small, vicious animal that eats Mustangs,” and so the rivalry was born.
To this day, you’ll hear people argue for both sides as to which nameplate is better. In reality, they’ve always been neck and neck, constantly grabbing the lead from each other in terms of sales for various model years, although overall, the Mustang has sold far more units throughout its history.
The fact that this rivalry is stronger than it’s ever been to this day is nothing short of a treat, much like seeing the two muscle cars give everything they’ve got in a straight line trying to outduel each other.
On this particular occasion, we have a 2019 Mustang GT with a manual gearbox and a Camaro SS 1LE, both sipping E85 and both putting down more power than stock. The Mustang is said to make anywhere between 460 to 470 whp (so roughly 535-545 hp at the crank), while the Camaro puts down 550 whp, or about 650 hp at the crank.
While the Mustang only makes about 100 hp more than stock, the Camaro’s mods are definitely more extensive. A stock sixth-gen Camaro SS packs 455 hp out the gate, so a 200-hp bump like we have here is nothing to laugh at. Also, the Chevy features the 1LE “track package”, but that shouldn’t give it any advantage in the straights.
In the end, even though both cars put up a good fight, one of them really impressed us with its performance.
To this day, you’ll hear people argue for both sides as to which nameplate is better. In reality, they’ve always been neck and neck, constantly grabbing the lead from each other in terms of sales for various model years, although overall, the Mustang has sold far more units throughout its history.
The fact that this rivalry is stronger than it’s ever been to this day is nothing short of a treat, much like seeing the two muscle cars give everything they’ve got in a straight line trying to outduel each other.
On this particular occasion, we have a 2019 Mustang GT with a manual gearbox and a Camaro SS 1LE, both sipping E85 and both putting down more power than stock. The Mustang is said to make anywhere between 460 to 470 whp (so roughly 535-545 hp at the crank), while the Camaro puts down 550 whp, or about 650 hp at the crank.
While the Mustang only makes about 100 hp more than stock, the Camaro’s mods are definitely more extensive. A stock sixth-gen Camaro SS packs 455 hp out the gate, so a 200-hp bump like we have here is nothing to laugh at. Also, the Chevy features the 1LE “track package”, but that shouldn’t give it any advantage in the straights.
In the end, even though both cars put up a good fight, one of them really impressed us with its performance.