 2009 Muscle Car Challenge at Calabogie Motorsports Park. Click image to enlarge |
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Fall Muscle Car Challenge
Calabogie, Ontario — Camaro SS vs Challenger R/T vs Mustang GT: most readers know that all the big U.S. publications have done it, as have all the TV shows, magazines and web sites. They all have their winner and their loser and they all have different reasons for their choices. So why bother doing something just to be another “me too”? Let’s be honest here: given the opportunity of a few hours on a racetrack with free reign of three of the most influential cars in the history of the American automobile, who the heck WOULDN’T want to do this test?
This challenge fell into place rather quickly: Paul Williams, Senior Editor at CanadianDriver, sent me an e-mail mentioning that he and Managing Editor, Grant Yoxon were in possession of a Camaro SS and a Challenger R/T for a series they were doing called Made in Canada.
It couldn’t have been more than a few seconds after my phone buzzed with Paul’s e-mail that the right side of my brain started to really stir and e-mails started flying in an attempt to put together the ultimate in comparison tests for 2009, the “Fall Muscle Car Challenge.”
 2009 Muscle Car Challenge at Calabogie Motorsports Park. Click image to enlarge |
One problem though – the lack of a Mustang! Fortunately, it just so happens the President of Kanata Ford (near Ottawa) not only sells cars but also loves everything about them. It didn’t take much convincing for him to make a 2010 Ford Mustang GT with Track Pack available for the test. Heck, he pretty much volunteered the car before the request was even made!
The location was the key: to do this comparison, a venue was required that would allow these cars to really push the limits of handling and braking. Ottawa is lucky that it has a world-class racetrack facility only an hour away, known as Calabogie Motorsports Park (CMP). The track’s owners not only agreed to the use of their incredible track, but were extremely accommodating and friendly. Designed by world-renowned race track designer Alan Wilson, this 5.05-km road course features 20 turns, two long straights, 65 feet of elevation change and beautiful scenery — not that you really have time to look while driving!
In no particular order, the three competitors for this challenge are: the 2010 Chevrolet Camaro SS, weighing in at 1,746 kg (3,849 lbs), producing 426 hp and 420 lb.-ft of torque with a power-to-weight ratio of 9 lb/hp and a price-tag of $44,865. The Dodge Challenger R/T weighs in at 1,832 kg (4,041 lbs), has 376 hp and 410 lb.-ft of torque with a power-to-weight ratio of 10.7 lb/hp and a price tag of $43,470; and the Ford Mustang GT with factory Track Pack, which weighs 1,602 kg (3,533 lbs), produces 315 hp and 325 lb.-ft of torque with a power-to-weight ratio of 11.2 lb/hp and a price tag of $43,349.
Using a GPS-based data logger, each vehicle was driven around the track “blind.” This means no practice laps, no getting a feel for limits, just go out and drive. Each car had half a lap to warm up and to allow the driver to get comfortable: then the clock started. Two laps were recorded and the car was returned to the pits. Factored into the test are also subjective measures such as comfort, driving position, interior and on-road manners.
 2009 Muscle Car Challenge at Calabogie Motorsports Park. Click image to enlarge |
Picking a winner from these three vehicles in a road test is kind of like picking which of your three children you love the most; all three do the road thing rather well.
The Challenger R/T provides the best highway ride of the three with a soft suspension set-up and a very quiet interior devoid of nearly all wind noise; tire noise is also minimal. Driving in bumper-to-bumper traffic may cause your left leg muscles to grow slightly over time, but clutch take-up is easy. On the highway, the Challenger cruises at 100 km/h at 1,500 rpm in sixth gear and is the epitome of big American iron when cruising down the freeway.
The Mustang is quiet on the road as well, but you do get more engine noise piped to the interior – not that this is a bad thing. It is “missing” a gear with only five, but still manages to turn approximately 1,800 rpm. The Mustang is a good highway car, although I found elbow comfort a little lacking and the ride a little firmer than the Challenger. As well, there is a little more road and wind noise, which may attract a different type of buyer.
The Camaro SS is a cross between the Challenger and the Mustang on the highway, with little to no wind noise, some tire noise and a smooth ride. The Camaro’s independent rear suspension tends to do better than the Mustang’s solid axle over choppy pavement. On the highway in sixth gear, the Camaro’s engine turns at 1,400 rpm, a little lower than both the Mustang and Challenger.
 2009 Muscle Car Challenge at Calabogie Motorsports Park. Click image to enlarge |
All three cars are equally capable of pulling off a pass with no issues, though the advantage goes to the Challenger in terms of low-end grunt without the need to shift, and for highway comfort as well. The visibility advantage goes to the Mustang, with the Challenger second and the Camaro, with its gun slit windows, a distant third.
While the on-road performance of the three cars may be similar in many respects, the interiors of these three competitors are far from it.
The Camaro is the big loser here with an interior full with hard plastics and a design that is just plain wrong, from the “bubbly” dash to the steering wheel that is weirdly-angled and uncomfortable, down to the seat belt buckles that are placed in such a way to create a void between the hips and belt when buckled in.
Also, there is far too much “retro” about it: the stack of gauges by the shifter is a cool throw-back look, but not usefully located. The seats are like park benches and headroom is very tight as is overall interior volume. Sorry Camaro fans, but this needs to be addressed.
The Mustang, on the other hand, does nearly everything right on the inside. Ford’s Sync system provides the goods in terms of navigation and audio control, and the mix of retro and modern is nearly perfect with ergonomically-placed controls and easy to read gauges that are customizable. The smallest of the three cars on the outside, the Mustang does not feel as cramped as the Camaro on the inside and trunk space is adequate for daily use.
 2009 Muscle Car Challenge at Calabogie Motorsports Park. Click image to enlarge |
The Challenger falls between the two cars. Perhaps it does not have the best interior but it combines modern and retro fairly well, especially with the pistol grip shifter and styling. The interior is the roomiest of the three, the most comfortable for long highway trips and offers tons of cargo space. The navigation system is a let-down, as it is not very intuitive; in fact, it’s probably one of the least intuitive systems I have ever used.
The advantage in interiors clearly goes to the Mustang with the Challenger coming up just shy of the mark. The Camaro needs a serious re-jig to fix its interior woes.
Here is where we separate the modern from the traditional: when the original versions of these three competed against each other, going around corners was not on the menu, but to compete in today’s market consumers demand more than straight-line performance from their cars.
Up first, the Dodge Challenger R/T is the most true to its roots of the three vehicles tested – it simply was not designed to live life at the track. With a weight disadvantage of approximately 227 kg (500 lbs) over its competitors, the Challenger would be better off on a track with fewer corners. The 20 turns at CMP revealed the handling limits of the Challenger soon after it left the pit area.
 2009 Muscle Car Challenge at Calabogie Motorsports Park. Click image to enlarge |
Although its torque and power are intoxicating on the street, on the track the Challenger has so little front-end grip that no amount of prodding with the throttle can make it turn. In both turn 15 and turn 4 the Challenger’s front-end washed out so badly it felt as though the front wheels were no longer touching the road.
The brakes became soft very quickly and began to fade after only one lap resulting in some interesting moments in the braking areas for lap number two.
Maximum speed down the straight was the lowest of the three cars at 173.4 km/h, and maximum corner entry speed was also lowest at only 128.6 km/h. The driving position is good but the seats are not supportive enough for the track, resulting in some banged up knees from the centre console and a lap-time 14 seconds slower than its closest competitor.
Torque and power are the Camaro’s advantage and it proved it on the main straight with a maximum speed 16 km/h faster down the main straight than the Challenger and 13 km/h faster than the Mustang. Of course, that doesn’t tell the entire story behind the Camaro SS; handling is night and day better than that of the Challenger R/T, resulting in faster corner entry speeds and exit speeds onto the straight.
In fact, the Camaro boasted the fastest corner entry speed at 143 km/h. One area where the numbers tell a different story than what the driver feels is in braking. The Camaro feels heavy under braking but the numbers prove that the brakes work well, with an impressive 0.91g of braking force from the four-pot Brembos up front.
 2009 Muscle Car Challenge at Calabogie Motorsports Park. Click image to enlarge |
The Camaro also was capable of the most g-forces on acceleration, offering up 0.73 gs compared to the Challenger’s 0.65 gs and the Mustang’s 0.67.
Despite all this great news, the Camaro falls down when it comes to driver comfort. Like the Challenger, the seat is not supportive. The pedals are spaced nicely for heel-toe downshifting but the most important part of the equation, the steering wheel, is very uncomfortable because of its odd shape, and the driving position quickly becomes tiring on the track. The Camaro is predictable, with great balance and only mild understeer at the limit.
With more corners than straights at Calabogie Motorsports Park, the Mustang’s 136 kg (300 lb) weight advantage over the Camaro came into play. Despite only reaching a maximum speed of 175 km/h down the straight the ‘stang was able to eek out a faster lap time than the Camaro by carrying slightly more speed through the corners. It offered the most driver-oriented experience of the three with the best driving position and road feel by far. Although the seat in the Mustang is still not as supportive as most track goers would want, it is the best of the three. The Track Pack option adds front and rear stabilizer bars from the GT500; combine this with stiffer springs and the results are a Mustang that is flatter in the corners and provides the most neutral handling of the three.
 2009 Muscle Car Challenge at Calabogie Motorsports Park. Click image to enlarge |
It is a wash on the track between the Camaro and Mustang. Driver feel, fun factor and all around track worthiness go to the Mustang. On a track with fewer corners, the Camaro would be ahead by a mile, although the Mustang may catch up when the Camaro driver gets fatigued. The Challenger should wait in the paddock for the drive home.
So in the end, is there winner? Yes, of course there is, but the real question is: does it matter? At the end of the day, the Ford guy or girl is going to buy the ‘Stang, the Mopar person is going to step into the Challenger and turn heads at the shopping mall and the Chevy guy or girl will crawl behind the wheel of the Camaro and cruise into the night.
On the track, the Challenger is a disappointment, feeling like a Chrysler 300C with pretty bodywork – very pretty bodywork, in fact. But as a highway runner and boulevard cruiser, the Challenger R/T is one of the best.
The fact is that Ford has been improving the Mustang GT for years, while Dodge and Chevrolet have been focusing on minivans and SUVs. The major changes to the Mustang came in 2005, but 2010 marks another year where the engineers stepped up their game, especially on the interior and the handling with the Track Pack. The Camaro is close but it is the first revision in eight years. Give Chevrolet a little more time and watch out!
Special thanks to Calabogie Motorsports Park and Kanata Ford.
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