pascal

That's exactly what the absence of competition will do...
You slack off when you're coasting.

Glad that GM came back with the Camaro because I'm not sure that the new 5.0 engine be out still, lol. Ford still be coasting and the competition would be 4cyl import that would eventually be faster. Ouch!
I rather have a Maro beating a Mustang, sorry.

JayyVee

Very good point, indeed.

A little in-house domestic rivalry (minus the knives and brass knuckles) is always good to keep folks on their toes.

Red-GT500

I like all of the changes that are coming down the pipes. The 2013 Stang in any format will be a great car. The only thing i do not like is the copying of the shelby front end with minor changes to the lower ducts and it being placed on a GT. Dont get me wrong it looks good, but the way to identify a shelby has always been by the front end. Now with the similar front clip it just seems to take away a little from the 500. Either way its not a huge deal, and its a great idea to keep the design fresh.

joshsund

Agreed!

Derf00

The ZL1 though was purpose built in the handling department in that GM had tons of track time to address just that point (handling dynamics)? I'm still curious to see how it will do against the Z06 at least.

The Boss is definitely a poster child for how tweaks in the overall power delivery curve (not necessarily just higher output) and how minor upgrades in the the suspension can really improve an already good platform.

I'm waiting for a ZL1/2013 Shelby shootout

This reminds me of two people that have a baseball bat with one grabbing the handle above the other to see who ends up on top. The only difference is that there is not "top". They just keep one-upping each other Lets see how high they get!

JIM5.0

Here is my take on the new GT500 vs ZL1 shootout: Right now, my mind is only on straight-line drag racing.
Sure, the GT500 has another dimension, handling, but I know very little of the Bilstien adjustable suspension. The ZL1 has the magneto-rhesotatic suspension with at least 5 different settings. And the ZL1 has already set the bar, high at that, on the Nuremburg course with a time of 7mn41sec. So we know the GT500 will have to top that with excellent handling, if such can be squeezed out of the S197 chassis without the aid of IRS and all-wheel steering and AWD.

Hands down, the the new 5.8L GT500 has the ZL1 beat, and the lighter weight of the new GT500 as compared to the ZL1 is only an additional bonus.
If a comparison metric were to include off -the-line drag racing as one of the categories, the new GT500 will have the advantage just from power and weight alone.
Both the ZL1 and '13GT500 look like they have the exact same TR6060 tranny, both having the same 2.66:1 1st gear (I do not know if their overdrives are different).
The GT500 will have 3.31:1 rear gear (IIRC), but I have no idea what the ZL1 rear gear is.
Off the line, the ZL1 will actually have an advantage with its larger tires, 305/35/20 for the ZL1 and only 285/35/20 for the GT500. To compensate for the heavier weight and weaker torque, the ZL1 could go with a deeper rear gear to take advantage of that 40mm additional total linear tire width. The GT500 will no doubt have way too much torque for only 2x285mm width, so the launch control will feather back the gas. You will not have the full 650 BHP at your disposal. But then again, depending on the ZL1 rear gear, it too will have to feather back on its gas too because even at 2x305mm tire width on the ground, 570 BHP will overpower that very easily too.
I do not know if this has any bearing, but the ZL1 IRS and magneto-rheostatic suspension, if not stout enough and set to hard enough a setting, can also hobble the Camaro's launch.
The traditional solid rear axle on the GT500 will no doubt be stout, such is the inherent benefit of this.