Ford Mustang 2016 Shelby GT350R vs. Chevrolet Camaro 2015 Z/28

The Camaro Z/28 actually made more torque than the Shelby GT350R at low RPM, yet lost the head-to-head anyway. Motor Trends track test of these two track-focused muscle cars came down to 165 pounds and a lot more than a horsepower number. Here is what really separated them at Chuckwalla Valley Raceway.

So… the Mustang or the Camaro? What’s your choice?

On paper, the 2016 Shelby GT350Rs 526 horsepower should have made the fight with Chevrolets 505-horsepower Z/28 a formality. But dig into the dyno numbers and something strange shows up: at low RPM, the supposedly weaker Camaro was actually putting down more torque than the flat-plane-crank Mustang. That contradiction is exactly why Motor Trend put both cars on a real track instead of trusting the spec sheet, and the result was not as simple as more horsepower wins.

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The Torque Paradox

The GT350Rs flat-plane-crank 5.2-liter V8 made its peak 526 horsepower high in the rev range, but down around 1,500 rpm it was producing just 239 lb-ft of torque, well short of the Z/28s 341 lb-ft at the same engine speed, thanks to the Camaros naturally aspirated 7.0-liter LS7 V8. That meant the Mustang needed to be worked harder and kept higher in its rev range to make the most of its power advantage, while the Z/28 could lean on low-end grunt right off a corner.

165 Pounds That Changed Everything

Where the GT350R pulled ahead was everywhere else: it weighed roughly 165 pounds less than the Z/28, ran carbon fiber wheels, and used advanced dampers to control body motion through corners. At Chuckwalla Valley Raceway, driver Randy Pobst found the lighter, more track-focused Mustang faster and more composed overall, and Motor Trends Head 2 Head shootout ultimately crowned the GT350R the more track-capable car, dethroning the Z/28 from the title it had held.

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