Recently Top Gear took three late-model American muscle cars out to Thermal Raceway in Southern California with one mission: To prove American cars don’t just make noise, burn rubber, go in a straight line, no… They can tackle corners too.
To expel this misconception, Top Gear Deputy Editor Jack Rix used a Dodge Demon, Corvette ZR1 and Camaro ZL1 1LE – arguably some of the most potent track focused cars around. With a combined 2,213 horsepower, 2,175 pound-feet of torque, and an average zero to 60 time of 3-seconds, I know what you’re thinking, how do they stack up and which one performs the best?
The first car eliminated during testing was the ZR1 as the “whiff of midlife crisis” was too much to bear.
Unsurprisingly the Dodge Demon was eliminated after that because it was legitimately made to go in a straight line – oh and burn rubber, and make noise.
The last one standing was the Camaro ZL1 1LE, the least-powerful car of the trio. In the video Rix says it’s the “only car I can actually imagine using in Europe,” and he compares it to a Porsche 911 GT3 RS.
Did Top Gear disprove the assumption American cars can only “go-straight?” In my opinion, no.
Let’s be real, the Dodge Demon should have been a non-starter or eliminated first as it was literally purpose-built for drag racing. The car even comes with a free class at the Bondurant School of High-Performance Driving to learn how to control it on a drag strip
The other glaring issue with this is that Top Gear apparently forgot to include the track-focused Mustang Shelby GT350 / GT350R. The only logical reason for this is that the car is truly in a class of its own and undoubtedly would destroy the competition.
Drop us a comment with your thoughts. Did Top Gear prove American cars can tackle corners too?