Road and Driver

Putting a Track pack on the popular pony.

BY AARON ROBINSON

A Mustang with a Track pack? Corvettes and Vipers grab the glory for Old Glory at temples of speed such as Le Mans. The lumbering, log-axle Mustang is just a quarter-miler for the tattoo-and-tobacco crowd, right?

Actually,mes amis, the Mustang is America’s other road-racing workhorse. It has its own pro series, the eight-race Mustang Challenge. And there were more than a dozen Mustangs on the grid at Daytona this past January when a Roush-prepared Mustang finished second in the three-hour Koni Challenge race. It made all its rights and lefts better than Porsche 911s and BMW M3s. [Turnkey Mustang drag cars are featured in this month’s Sport, page 110].

No, we wouldn’t expect that hierarchy to hold on the street, even if the 2010 Track-pack Mustang GT is billed as the hairpin-and-carousel king of the newly reskinned Mustang lineup. Still, Ford’s old pony has a long history of making incremental improvements as it ages, and the Track package shows that the late-night lights still burn in some windows at Ford.

Building a Track-pack Mustang on the order form starts with a GT Premium and its 315-hp, 4.6-liter V-8 and five-speed manual, for $31,845. The $1495 Track package swaps out the 3.31 or 3.55 axle for a 3.73 limited-slip rear end with carbon friction plates. The shocks are less forgiving in both compression and rebound, the anti-roll bars are thicker, and dual-piston front brake calipers with performance pads from the 2009 Bullitt model do the stopping. Also, the stability-control system is retuned to tolerate more sideways play.

We strap our test gear to GM’s latest high-performance jewel.

BY MIKE SUTTON

Well, the wait is over. After some hands-on quality time with Chevrolet’s new 2010 Camaro—to which we finally were able to strap test gear—we can report that GM’s latest muscle car is indeed one quick machine. How quick depends on if you opt for the base model and its 304-hp, 3.6-liter V-6 or the SS version, which features a 6.2-liter V-8 that makes 400 hp when mated to the optional six-speed automatic transmission and 426 hp when backed by the standard six-speed manual. Either way, Camaro buyers will be getting one seriously capable performance car.

So, How Fast is It?

The quickest of the new Camaros is the SS model with the automatic gearbox, which sprints to 60 mph in 4.6 seconds. While this is 0.2 second better than the more powerful, manual-equipped car’s time of 4.8, the off-the-line advantage quickly fades, with the manual tripping the quarter-mile lights in 13 seconds flat at 111 mph versus the auto’s 13.1 at 109. As the arrival of the Camaro brings the modern pony car wars into full swing, it only makes sense to compare the SS to the 315-hp 2010 Mustang GT and the 376-hp Dodge Challenger R/T, both of which manage the 0-to-60-mph run in 5.1 seconds. The 425-hp Challenger SRT8 is a better match for the SS at 4.8 seconds, yet is considerably more expensive than the Camaro.

Keep Reading: 2010 Chevrolet Camaro V6 and V8 Performance Test Results - Car News

The arrival of the Chevy Camaro finally completes Detroit’s pony-car trifecta. But did Motown save the best for last?

BY STEVE SILER

Click here to read our test of the V-6 Camaro.

Click here for full test numbers on all Camaro powertrains.

Since the last pill-shaped F-body Camaro rolled off the line in 2002, the long-fought, often contentious pony-car game has been one of solitaire, played solely by the Ford Mustang. The Mustang went all retro in 2005, and the ensuing craze prompted Dodge and Chevy to rouse their own dormant nameplates (and fans) to take on the foe-less leader. Dodge was first in 2008 with its resurrected Challenger, and now—just as Ford is launching its significantly updated 2010 Mustang—Chevrolet has finally commenced production of its reborn Camaro, completing the new-age pony-car trifecta.

While we will save the official comparison test for later, we can aver that the neo Camaro offers the freshest and most modern package of the three. Built as it is on GM’s superb Zeta full-size platform, it sports a fully independent suspension, along with evocative, contemporary styling that thankfully misses being totally retro. We entered into this first test of the long-awaited 2010 Camaro with high expectations. Indeed, with a 304-hp, 3.6-liter V-6, thebase Camaro is nearly as powerful as the Mustang GT, and so we were champing at the bit to see what the Camaro could do in SS form, with a 6.2-liter V-8 stuffed under its hood.

How Quick Is It?

With the six-speed automatic, the Camaro SS can hit 60 mph in a scant 4.6 seconds, with the quarter-mile arriving in 13.1 at 109 mph. At 4.8 seconds, the Camaro with the six-speed manual takes 0.2 second longer to hit 60, but overtakes the automatic by the quarter-mile mark, clocking 13 seconds flat at 111 mph. (The L99 V-8 hooked to the automatic is rated for 400 hp and 410 lb-ft of torque, while the LS3/manual combo is good for 426 hp and 420 lb-ft.) For comparison, both the 315-hp 2010 Ford Mustang GT and the 376-hp, 5.7-liter Hemi-powered Dodge Challenger R/T do the trick in 5.1 seconds. The better-matched but pricier Challenger SRT8—with a 425-horse, 6.1-liter Hemi—hits 60 in 4.8 seconds. So until Ford gets the Mustang GT into the gym and stuffs more power under its hood, Chevy has earned bragging rights in the segment where burliness arguably counts the most.

Keep Reading: 2010 Chevrolet Camaro SS V8 - Short Take Road Test