2017 GT350R vs. 2017 Chevy Camaro ZL1

Just being a faster car doesn't automatically make it the winner. The GT350R wasn't the fastest car, yet won Road & Track's Performance Car Of The Year. Again it wasn't the fastest, but came in second place only to the McLaren in MT's Best Driver's Car shoot out.

I think this KBB video was pretty fair in pointing out the pros and cons of each car, and again, the faster car wasn't necessarily the one that was picked at the end.

Redline8250 said:

I'm tired of people saying this is a fair comparison...

When ford comes out with the next halo mustang ( and it'll be FI ) GM fans will cry and say their cars are a year or more older and all the excuses will fly.

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Isn't this exactly what you're doing right now...?

Chevy just realease the 1LE package price for ZL1 which cost $7500. So a ZL1 1LE would cost merely $70,990 with manual shifter only and it should be faster than normal ZL1.
Hope Ford will figure out a solution for this. I like this competition.

zzj said:

Chevy just realease the 1LE package price for ZL1 which cost $7500. So a ZL1 1LE would cost merely $70,990 with manual shifter only and it should be faster than normal ZL1.
Hope Ford will figure out a solution for this. I like this competition.

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Eh, it's not like when the GT500 comes around or next FI Mustang that it's going to be over 70K. It'll be the same price or marginally (less than 1-2K IMO) more than the GT350/R that is on market now. We are paying as much as we are primarily due to the R&D behind the Voodoo engine, and next for the GT350 nameplate.

The GT500 will have more performance certainly in a straight line, perhaps as good handling, but will have a less special engine with most likely a supercharger, which is much cheaper in terms of R&D and manufacturing.

zzj said:

Chevy just realease the 1LE package price for ZL1 which cost $7500. So a ZL1 1LE would cost merely $70,990 with manual shifter only and it should be faster than normal ZL1.
Hope Ford will figure out a solution for this. I like this competition.

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Redline8250 said:

I'm tired of people saying this is a fair comparison
1) NA vs FI
2) so what the MSRP is similar.
3) if the R had a blower the zl 1le wouldn't stand a chance.
4) could you imagine the GM guys if the media compared a gt500 vs z28 in 1/4 mile? 505 hp vs 662hp.

When ford comes out with the next halo mustang ( and it'll be FI ) GM fans will cry and say their cars are a year or more older and all the excuses will fly.
That's a apple to apple comparison.
A 1st grader could tell you a car with 124 additional hp and equal weight is going to be faster.
Imagine the R at 400/ 500 pounds lighter with no other changes. The r would win and still be less hp.

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People compare different cars at certain price points all the time man. Sure, if the GT500 were out right now, it would make 0 sense to compare GT350R vs ZL1, but it isn't. Right now, the top mustang and top Camaro are as seen in the video, and are in the same ballpark price wise.

Ford chose to sell a car a price point that focused on fun track-capabilities, whereas GM went for all out performance. Complaining about one car not having FI in comparison to another honestly IMO is an insult to the Ford team who made the GT350. They knew darn well of course it wasn't going to be a 662hp monster like the last GT500, they focused on what matters.

I have full confidence that if they remain unbiased and focus on what matters most regarding sports car, i.e how much fun it is, or which car makes you want to drive it more, the GT350R will come out on top regardless of how much slower it is at the strip or on track

Anyone know if the ZL1's are selling with ADM's? I was under the impression that they weren't.

96cobra said:

Anyone know if the ZL1's are selling with ADM's? I was under the impression that they weren't.

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They probably will here in Canada, because they're only sending 50 here for the first model year... LOL look at the price differences though, GM loses a ton of cash on every Canadian car, only ~10% price difference between US and CAD cars with nearly a 40% exchange rate difference.

In contrast... GT350R is $66K US and a little over $90K CAD... :frusty:

i thought it was a very fair comparison and like that they didnt cite 1/4 times or hot laps. they are both amazing cars and the one that speaks to you is the right one for you regardless of what anyone else thinks. i am not brand loyal but i cant remember when a car was so universally adored as the gt350 and at the price is nothing short of amazing. i do believe it is going to go down as an all time great and cant wait to get my hands on my 18

sublime1996525 said:

Isn't this exactly what you're doing right now...?

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Do you honestly believe these two cars are equally comparable?

Ford guys will buy Ford. Chevy guys will buy Chevy. I was neither, but I went with Ford because they made an incredible engine first, and made the handling match its looks: Great.

Now if Chevy moved away from pushrod engines(I dont care how advanced their pushrod is, pushrod is still pushrod), Id definitely be interested in the Corvette. The Camaro however, is just not doing anything for me in the looks department. Looks bland next to a GT350.

96cobra said:

Anyone know if the ZL1's are selling with ADM's? I was under the impression that they weren't.

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Quick search on cars . com and I found a few selling for under msrp. The Zl1 is a steal right now and Im sure the ZL1 1le package is going to be insane.

Wait and get the zl1 L1E. That's the one I'd get but even with the sharp price cuts (why do you think that is?) expect a good loss right after it's rolled off the lot.

96cobra said:

Anyone know if the ZL1's are selling with ADM's? I was under the impression that they weren't.

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A few dealers are trying to get adm. I just bought one at supplier price because of my job and got a few more rebates. I got about $4k off. Some of the guys here really need to loosen up on this brand loyalty crap. The ZL1 is a hell if a car and the Motortrend test will be the one to look for. It will prove what most of us already know. The ZL1 will sweep every category vs the GT350R. I love the competition. Each of the big 3 has an awesome halo muscle/pony car to offer right now. The 350 is not the beast that the ZL1 and hellcats are in a straight line, but it has its own appeal obviously. Why can't we just celebrate that? I also respect GM dealers for not trying to bend people over on every single halo car. The Z06 and ZL1 are world class cars and fast than any version in the GT350, but you don't see dealers holding cars hostage with $40k markups. Not because they couldn't, just because that's not their strategy. They don't exclude hardly any cars from employee or supplier pricing and that's a win for the customer in my opinion.

Shift said:

Ford guys will buy Ford. Chevy guys will buy Chevy. I was neither, but I went with Ford because they made an incredible engine first, and made the handling match its looks: Great.

Now if Chevy moved away from pushrod engines(I dont care how advanced their pushrod is, pushrod is still pushrod), Id definitely be interested in the Corvette. The Camaro however, is just not doing anything for me in the looks department. Looks bland next to a GT350.

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I'm assuming you've never seen a ZL1 in person.

I have and believe his statement to be true. It doesn't look as nice as a 350R and if I were to drive a zl1 I'm sure I'd like to drive the 350R more. The zl1 will hand it to the 350R performance wise, I'm not questioning that. It's 125 HP shy of it and gobs of torque less.
The apples to apples will be when the FI mustang comes out. When it rolls off the line it will more than likely take every category against a zl1. I still think the 350R will be a nicer driving experience than the next FI mustang but we'll see about that. I have patience and confidence in the next SE mustang, they are testing it and it will be an ass kicker.