GT350 vs Camaro 1LE

[Katastrophe]

This thread is heating up nicely...

The amount of performance coming from this new 1LE is sure to impress on the road course. Most people (unbiased I might add) see this as a direct competitor to the GT350...with or without the TP. I have no doubt, that both cars will run within a few tenths of each other...it will probably swing in either cars favour depending on the track(s), too.

There are, IMHO, only a few REAL differences to sway someone either way.

Price is the first and the main one. The 1LE will be the better bang/buck hands down. It's obviously all speculation at this point what the option will cost and I'm going to base this off of funds I pay north of the border (in Canada), but...

MSRP GT350 - $64,849 + taxes...w/TP - $72,949 taxes
MSRP Camaro 1SS - $44,250 + taxes

Even if the 1LE package cost $10K...which I HIGHLY doubt it will...that's still more than $10K cheaper than a base GT350. Even more insane is a whopping $18K+ cheaper than a GT350 TP. Salt in the wound: You'll get a 1LE for much less than MSRP...

But...

What you do get in the GT350 is that GLORIOUS engine! A N/A screamer that will unquestionably go out as one of the last great N/A engines...domestic or otherwise. The driving feel is also akin to some of the greatest driving cars in the world...more so in the R, of course, but the DNA is still there on the "lesser" GT350(TP).

I can best sum it up as this:

If given the choice of either car (for free), I'd take the 350TP. No question. The engine alone sells me the car.

However, since I don't live in fantasy land ( LOL ) and have to write my own cheques...the 1LE, hands down. If going fast is what you want to do, the bang/buck can't be beat.

My 0.02 of course...

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[5.0 435]

Billy Johnson and Scott Maxwell drove the Ford Shelby GT350R-C to its first win at Daytona International Speedway on Friday in the Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge race.

So what.... The only other cars in the race was a couple of caymans. 8 cars only and NO Camaro Z/28, BMW ,Nissan and etc. This series used to have 50 cars in the GS class now it's 8 with two makes. Total boring race not worth watching and I was there. But for the Rolex 24.
Your picture was from last year not the Daytona race.
If Porsche drops out the Shelby win all the races this year. Duh

 

[Bullitt2065]

So what.... The only other cars in the race was a couple of caymans. 8 cars only and NO Camaro Z/28, BMW ,Nissan and etc. This series used to have 50 cars in the GS class now it's 8 with two makes. Total boring race not worth watching and I was there. But for the Rolex 24.
Your picture was from last year not the Daytona race.
If Porsche drops out the Shelby win all the races this year. Duh

Yea, the class is definitely a far cry from what it used to be. We were joking about GS being the "Cayman Cup" at Daytona.

 

[Spacebird]

By all accounts the new Camaro is a great car. It's just ugly to me, however. The 6th generation is far more attractive than the 5th, but I feel like there hasn't been a truly pretty Camaro since 1969.

The S550 looks much better IMO.

 

[Sasuketr]

New 1LE looks good so far. I personally feel it won't replace the GT350 but a good start for Chevy Maybe the next Z/28 will be more of a contender.

In the eyes of an enthusiest it will never replace a gt350, nothing will! For people who wants best bang for the buck might be a different story!

With the current gen even if they swap the lt1 with the ls7, the z28 might be faster than the gt350r but we all know the time of ls7 is over!

 

[Bullitt2065]

By all accounts the new Camaro is a great car. It's just ugly to me, however. The 6th generation is far more attractive than the 5th, but I feel like there hasn't been a truly pretty Camaro since 1969.

The S550 looks much better IMO.

I will agree with you. The Mustang is a much better looking car, and I like the interior better, but the Camaro is a better driving car.

 

[Hack]

It should be interesting in 6-8 months when they are available seeing how they drive.

Frankly I'm irritated that Chevy is still doing the stupid matte black hood. That would get so scratched up so fast that it would bother me way too much. That's a big part of the reason I didn't buy the last generation 1LE (plus I heard about the Voodoo).




Other reasons I didn't buy the last gen:

• It cost more than the Mustang GT (I wouldn't really compare it to the GT350, because that is a limited production vehicle and there really is no comparison to the Voodoo that we do).
• The power delivery of Ford's Coyote engine is much better in my opinion for a fun, performance vehicle. The pushrod engines feel like truck engines to me.
• I didn't like the cost of some of the "must have" options. GM's options are expensive!
• Rims were too expensive and there weren't enough cheap aftermarket options for snow tires.
• Visibility
• Stereo sucked
• Bad interior
• I didn't like the shifter feel
• Fat butt

Seems to me like many of those things will not have changed. Internet bragging rights are one thing, but in real life you have to live with the car. The magazine numbers don't come into play during my daily commute to work, or even the time I spend at the road course.

 

[garagelogic]

Mods, can we move this to the versus section?

 

[5.0 435]

Yes the 69 was a great design that stood the test of time. That's why the 5th gen copied it. Now the 6th gen.

 

[PP0001]

AHHH, okay now I understand your point, and it is a very valid one. I misunderstood, but thanks for explaining it to me.

Edit: I too would buy an M2 in a heartbeat!!!

Each to his own but I have owned and driven numerous M3 coupes and convertibles and although I enjoyed them I personally would never buy another M car.

I am sure that the M2 will be a nice car but keep in mind that this car is a compact coupe with the MSRP starting at ~$53,000. Add some nice options of which typically BMW has many for these M cars including options such as upgraded paint, upgraded wheels/tires, DCT, competition package and a whole host of many other options I suggest that this car will sticker between $65,000 and $70,000 depending how optioned.

Certainly should be a nice car but it is still a 6 cylinder vehicle that has the sound to go with it and knowing BMW it will come in some very plain paint colors schemes as in the past.

I had one M with the DCT and what a mistake that was. The 6 speed is by far the best transmission to go with from an enthusiasts standpoint.

Personally I think that the M cars are much over priced for what a person is getting and it took me a number of M cars to finally figure it out.

:cheers:

 

[markham51]

Wow. That didn't take long for the Chebby lovers to show up.:lol:

 

[Spa2k]

I'm just happy to be alive during the time we have things like this to argue about.

If I had a flag handy, I'd wave it!

 

[Sasuketr]

I don't know if people would agree with me but the current mustang gt should have been where the gt350 is now in performance wise! Gt350 should have been in the performance league of the vette and beyond! We need a balance in the force! What the new gen camaro did to the old gen is almost same as what Boss 302 did to mustang gt back in the day and even better!

 

[Trackaholic]

The new 1LE package really does look impressive. I think it will be similar in performance to the GT350TP, and will get better fuel economy, but not double like someone said.

The handling of the GT350 is very good, with a little push at the limit. The car feels very light because it is so buttoned down and reacts well to steering inputs. The big thing on the GT350 is revving that engine out. You can't really do it much on the street, but when you get the chance it is pretty fantastic.

I think the SS 1LE will have similar handling traits, but the engine is more of a low-end torque monster than a high-end screamer. On the street that can really help since you aren't at the top of the RPM range, but on the track you can feel the torque fall-off up top. So the experience behind the wheel is a bit different.

I suspect that a next-gen Z/28 will (like the C7 vette) combine the intent of the ZL1 and Z/28, and will end up basically being a 1LE with a supercharger and maybe CCB's and fancy leather options, plus the availability of the 8-speed auto.

For Ford to compete with that they will need the GT500, which would be a supercharged 5.2 (cross-plane crank), with the luxury items from the tech pack GT350 and optional Recaros.

For Ford to compete with the 1LE, I think they need to make the GT350 Mag Ride suspension setup an option on the regular GT. Putting the GT350 suspension as well as weight reduction on the regular GT would shave a few pounds and show that the S550 platform is just fine. It would still be down on power to the Camaro, but I don't think it would be giving up much in the handling department at that point. The GT350 afterall is no slouch. Of course any power bumps to the 5.0 would be appreciated as well.

I realize the Camaro is a better car in some ways than the Mustang, but the Mustang has its own set of advantages, so I don't think Ford is as far behind as some are stating. A suspension update and slight power bump would put them right back in the running IMO.

-T

 

[Trackaholic]

I don't know if people would agree with me but the current mustang gt should have been where the gt350 is now in performance wise! Gt350 should have been in the performance league of the vette and beyond! We need a balance in the force! What the new gen camaro did to the old gen is almost same as what Boss 302 did to mustang gt back in the day and even better!

I don't know about power, but totally agree that the GT should have the same handling as the GT350 (at least as an option). Hopefully Ford is planning for that.

-T

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