We pit the brand new 2011 Ford Mustang GT against its V-8 powered rivals from Chevrolet and Dodge in the ultimate battle for muscle car supremacy.
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00:00 It's spring 2010 and Ford is shaking up the pony car world by replacing its 15 year old
00:12 V8 engine with a spanking new 5.0 liter, 412 horsepower, 390 pound foot V8.
00:19 You know what that means, it's time to round up the usual suspects for a Motor Trend comparison
00:23 test.
00:24 Joining the new Mustang is the familiar Chevrolet Camaro SS and the Dodge Challenger SRT8.
00:28 But what should we do with these three cars?
00:31 Well, we could smoke 'em!
00:32 [Music]
00:34 [Music]
01:03 We could slide 'em!
01:05 [Music]
01:22 We probably ought to test 'em!
01:24 [Music]
01:46 [Music]
01:57 [Music]
02:18 But mainly, let's take 'em out on some good twisty roads and shake 'em down that way.
02:23 The Camaro SS has a lot to recommend it.
02:25 The chassis is quite good, the Zeta architecture gives it a 52% front, 48% rear weight balance,
02:30 it's almost ideal.
02:31 The 6.2 liter engine makes the most horsepower in the group, admittedly only by one at 426.
02:37 But you know, the styling, while it's really popular, a lot of people are snapping cell
02:41 phone pictures of it since it's in Transformers yellow and everything, but it exacts quite
02:46 a huge price on the interior.
02:48 The windows are very small, visibility out in all directions is poor, the pillars are
02:52 very wide, and there's other things like the steering wheel rim is very thick, and the
02:57 shifter knob is oversized.
02:59 All those kind of features make me feel small, and I don't want my muscle car to make me
03:03 feel small.
03:04 All these things combine to make most editors believe they would rather not own this car,
03:08 and that's what put it in third place.
03:10 Ah, the Challenger SRT8.
03:13 We all know this car is based on a full-size sedan, just like its predecessor was, so naturally
03:18 it's the largest and heaviest here by probably 300 to 500 pounds.
03:23 But up on the mountain, this chassis really shrinks the car.
03:26 It corners very flat with the same grip that the Camaro SS manages, .92 G.
03:31 Its heavy V8 also makes the most sweet, carmely V8 noise of any car here, if not any muscle
03:37 car ever.
03:38 We all just love it.
03:39 And of course, in between the heavy-duty running, it's the most comfortable and quiet car, too,
03:46 for highway running and so forth.
03:48 So even though it does cost about $12,000 more in the base price than the Camaro SS,
03:54 this is the car we'd all much rather own.
03:55 So it finishes in second place.
03:59 Well this test was basically the Mustangs to lose right from the beginning.
04:02 I mean, we fell in love with the chassis the last time we had these cars together, and
04:06 that's only been improved by the addition of this new Brembo performance package.
04:10 Then you throw in an engine that gives it the best weight-to-power ratio of 8.8 pounds
04:15 per horsepower, and what's not to love, especially considering it has the lowest base price and
04:19 the highest EPA fuel economy.
04:21 So we ran it up and down the mountain and fell in love with the light, nimble chassis,
04:25 the great visibility, the strong brakes, and this engine.
04:29 We just love this engine.
04:30 It sounds just like Frank Bullitt's car in the movie.
04:35 And so at the end of the test, we all agreed this was the car we'd most like to have.
04:41 So to recap the results in this battle in the ongoing Pony Car Wars, in third place
04:45 we had the Chevrolet Camaro SS.
04:47 In second, the Dodge Challenger SRT8.
04:50 And that means that until one of the other guys adds a few horsepower or tweaks their
04:54 chassis in some meaningful way, the king of the V8 Pony Car hill is the Ford Mustang GT5.0.
05:00 [TIRES SCREECHING]
05:04 [MUSIC PLAYING]
05:08 (upbeat music)
05:11 (cymbal crash)