When Ford introduced the Mustang in 1964, they ushered in a new era of the muscle car. Muscle cars were engineered to provide more performance than comfort. The market exploded with other car manufacturers jumping on the bandwagon with their own aggressive powerful machines, but none of the challengers caught the public imagination like the Chevy Camaro. The Camaro's debut in 1967 set the stage for one of automotive history's greatest rivalries.
The powerful engine and sporty looks of the Ford Mustang made it a runaway success when it was introduced as a 1964 ½. Chevrolet executives were concerned that they were losing out on a valuable market by not having an answer to Ford's hit. The Camaro was designed with the same front engine design as the Mustang after Chevy failed with the rear engine design of the earlier Corvair. The Camaro was an instant hit as well and the Mustang versus Camaro rivalry was born. Ford and Chevy trade blows by adding features and every more powerful engines until the fuel crisis of the 70s took its toll on the performance car market.
While the Mustang came first, the Chevy Camaro won the power race every year from 1970 onwards with more horsepower in the flagship V8 engines. In 1979, the Mustang's V8 engine generated 140 hp while the Camaro boasted 170hp. As the fuel crisis of the 70s receded and people were more willing to pay the gas costs associated with larger engines, horsepower again crept upwards, but Chevy's Camaro maintained its power lead, with the 1993 Camaro V8 generating 275 hp to the Mustang's 235 hp V8.
In spite of Camaro's horsepower lead, it hasn't always been the car that offered a significant speed advantage. In 1987, the Camaro IROC-Z with a V8 generated 230 hp while Mustang's 5.0 liter GT had 225 hp, but the Mustang id the quarter mile in 15.1 seconds to 15.2 for the Camaro. The closeness of the results shows just how closely these two cars remained throughout their history both in terms of performance an features.
In the mid 1990s. Chevy started to pull away from the Mustang, as For concentrated more on comfort and features and less on raw performance. The 1994 models showed a big difference in spped and power between the two competitors. The Ford Mustang GT's 0-60 mph time of 6.1 paled beside the Camaro Z28's time of 5.4. The Camaro Z28 ran the ¼ mile in 14.1 seconds with a top speed of 101 mph. The Ford Mustang lagged behind with a 14.9 second ¼ mile with a top speed of just 93 mph.
Chevy discontinued the Camaro in 2002, but recently announced the beginning of the fifth generation beginning in 2009. Not by coincidence, Ford will introduce a retooled Mustang for 2009 to compete with the resurrected Camaro. The Mustang is rumored to be offering a GT with up to 350 hp. Not to be outdone, the 2009 Camaro promises a 400 hp 6.0 liter V8 engine. With the new designs of the classic muscle cars the rivalry will continue into the future.
