Camaro ZL1s Drag Hellcats and Shelby GT500s, Defunct Muscle Cars Show How It's Done in 9s

Meanwhile, the sixth-generation Chevrolet Camaro bowed out quite ungracefully late last year, and they say that dealers are down to dozens of cars left in stock after just a few months. Also, General Motors doesn't seem keen on bringing to life a successor, and they're only making declarations of intent about the future of the iconic nameplate.

The L-bodied Dodge Charger sedan and Challenger coupe have also stopped production late last year, and the Stellantis brand has sold its excess inventory during the first ten months of 2024 in preparation for the postponed introduction of the eighth-generation Dodge Charger with an all-new STLA Large architecture, classic two-door fastback coupe, and modern four-door sedan body styles, as well as brand-new powertrains: EV for Daytona models and the 3.0-liter twin-turbo inline-six Hurricane mill for the fresh Sixpack models.

Even the mighty Ford Mustang lost some of its panache – the S650 model has 500-hp Dark Horse and ultra-expensive 815-hp Mustang GTD models, but there's no Shelby between them. Or at least not yet, that is. No worries, though, if you're fond of the ZL1s, Hellcats, or Shelby GT500s, there's still one last refuge – the local quarter-mile dragstrips and the compilations made by passionate YouTubers about them.

For example, the videographer behind the Drag Racing and Car Stuff channel on YouTube loves quarter-mile action, and he brings us a feisty compilation featuring these defunct 'heroes' from places like the Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway, the Palm Beach International Raceway, or Bradenton Motorsports Park. The appetizer is a green Chevy Camaro ZL1 featuring red rings around the aftermarket wheels and a black hood. At the same time, it goes all out against a greener Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat that also has a black hood and aftermarket wheels.

Actually, it's not safe to say this is the appetizer – these two historic rivals duke it out like there's no tomorrow, and it's all over in 9.5s at 150 mph versus 10.2s at 135 mph! It's hard to top that performance, right? Exactly, but that doesn't mean people shouldn't try that - as next up, a blue Ford Mustang Shelby GT500 meets with a white Chevy Camaro ZL1, and both wrap it up in exactly 10.48s! In the end, the ZL1 won, as per the track's lights, most likely thanks to the only slightly better reaction time.

Moving on from that heart-stopping race, it's time to 'cool' down with a silver and blue-striped Dodge Charger fighting a yellow Camaro and massacring it with a 10.23s versus 11.93s pass. A black Camaro also plays with a white Chevy truck, and the yin versus yang theme comes to a halt with another astounding performance from the GM muscle car: 9.42s versus 11.23s! Last but not least, another Shelby GT500 comes out to play, and this time around, the nine-second wonders are reversed: 9.92s for the Ford competitor and 10.86s for the Chevy rival.

So, what do you think? Was General Motors right to end production of the sixth generation Chevrolet Camaro with no eager successor in sight, and should Stellantis have waited a little longer before reinventing the Dodge Charger as an inline-six and EV large coupe and sedan?