2014 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray Z51 vs. 2014 Ford Mustang Shelby GT500 Comparison Test

About a year ago we found ourselves barreling across the United States in a 2013 Ford Shelby GT500. Along the way we shot hundreds of pictures of the Shelby GT500 along a meandering 3,300-mile route from Atlanta to Los Angeles.

The end game was a meeting with the 2012 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, a contest between a 662-horsepower 5.8-liter supercharged V8 Mustang and a 580-hp 6.2-liter supercharged V8 Camaro.

Despite an 82-hp advantage, the Shelby did not prevail. The ZL1 Camaro came out on top on the strength of its superior chassis and, to a lesser extent, a lower price.

Now we've got a 2014 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray Z51 lined up against a similar 2014 Ford Shelby GT500. The Stingray's revised 6.2-liter V8 sports a new direct-injection fuel delivery system, but there's nary a supercharger in sight. On any other day its 460 hp and 465 pound-feet of torque would be impressive indeed.

The question comes down to this: Is the new 2014 C7 Corvette good enough to overcome a monstrous power and torque deficit of 202 hp and 166 lb-ft, the approximate output of an entire Scion FR-S?

Two of America's Most Expensive Cars
Today's 2014 Ford Shelby GT500 is essentially the same as last year. The 2014 edition carries a base price of $55,595, but our test car has the $3,495 SVT Performance package for the Torsen limited-slip diff, Bilstein two-mode dampers, uprated springs, stabilizer bars and forged wheels. Another $2,995 went for the SVT Track package and its engine, diff and transmission coolers.

Tack on $2,340 for navigation and dual-zone climate control, $1,595 for leather Recaro sport seats and $395 for Ruby Red metallic paint. It adds up to $66,415.

Our 2014 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray Z51 has the Performance Traction Management system and the electronically regulated "eLSD" limited-slip differential. At $54,795 it starts out cheaper than a GT500. The performance exhaust ($1,195) is good for racy sounds and the last 5 hp and 5 lb-ft of torque. Magnetic Selective Ride Control ($1,795) is GM's version of two-mode adaptive damping.

Chevy wants $8,005 for the Preferred Equipment package that adds navigation, an upgraded stereo, head-up display, heated and cooled seats and leather everywhere. Our car also sported $3,090 worth of carbon-fiber dress-up options.

Total damage: $69,375. But if we subtract the superfluous carbon baubles the price falls to $66,285, some $130 cheaper than the Shelby GT500.

One Area Where the Mustang Dominates
How's this going to work? At the drag strip, it doesn't. The 2014 Shelby GT500 hustles to 60 mph in 4.1 seconds (3.8 seconds with 1 foot of rollout as on a drag strip) and finishes the quarter-mile in 12.1 seconds. Our 2014 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray hits those marks in 4.3 and 12.4 seconds on the same 91-octane gas.

It's a narrower margin of victory than expected, but the GT500 is on stride at the line, streaking away at 120.6 mph while the Corvette loses ground at 113.7 mph.

We wonder if the Mustang would be more dominant if it wasn't so beefy. At 3,870 pounds, it weighs 427 pounds more than the svelte Corvette. It's also saddled with a tall 3.21 rear end. We suspect the Stingray kept it close on the strength of its trim physique and 3.42 final-drive ratio.

The Corvette gets away with the racier final-drive gearing because it's equipped with a new seven-speed manual transmission, one cog more than the six-speed in the Shelby GT500.

And One Area Where the Mustang Falters
In the real world, the Shelby's tall rear end and the six-speed make it a pain to drive slowly in a parking lot. The 'Stang creeps too fast when idling in 1st, and we find ourselves dipping the clutch often to stay out of the shopping carts.

It's also ridiculously easy to stall when motoring away from stop signs. And every press of the clutch is like a membership-free nautilus machine workout. But for just one leg: The GT500 limp we brought home from our cross-country road trip is a real thing.

The Corvette's seven-speed allows for closer gear spacing but it also makes 1st gear more livable. There's no take-off issue, no problem with parking lot creep. And the Stingray's shifter has a lighter and more precise feel than the Ford which, despite the retro-cool shift knob, delivers the sort of wrist workout that only an arm wrestler could love.

The Stingray's fuel economy is far superior, too. There's no doubt that direct injection and a diet loom large here, but the seven-speed doesn't hurt either. The EPA rates the Corvette at 21 mpg combined (17 city/29 highway) and the Shelby GT500 at 18 mpg combined (15 city/24 highway).

Here's One Reason Why the Corvette Is Better
We're as tired of harping about the Mustang's solid rear axle as you are of hearing about it, but that vintage hunk of suspension hardware factored in to last year's defeat by the Camaro ZL1. And this time there's a double-whammy in play, because the 2014 Corvette is so damn good in its own right.

Our first drive in Michigan on the Lutzring told us it was something special, and our Corvette Stingray suspension walkaround showed us that some real thought and craft went into its construction. And while the Mustang's Torsen limited-slip differential deserves respect, it can't compete with the eLSD in this new Z51 Corvette.

And the Corvette's outright lightness isn't its only mass advantage; it also has superior balance. The Stingray has 50/50 weight distribution, while 57 percent of the Mustang's mass rides on its front tires, some 2,214 pounds. The Corvette's front end only has to deal with 1,715 pounds, almost exactly 500 less.

You can feel the difference on regular roads at civilian speeds. The Stingray turns with an eagerness that hints at what it is capable of, but it isn't twitchy and it never feels as if it's going to bite if you up the pace. The Mustang will oblige in corners, but it always feels as if it'd be happier if you were in Texas on, say, a cross-country road trip, where corners are bends and they're fewer and farther between.

These impressions come into sharp focus at the track. The Corvette dominates our slalom test: 73.5 mph versus 67.4 mph. It crushes the Mustang around the skid pad, too, 1.05g versus 0.97g. And the Corvette's 99-foot stop is a full 11 feet shorter.

Flat-Out on a Racetrack
But single-focus tests don't always tell the whole story, especially since the GT500's acceleration and raw speed advantage (and 202 extra horses) must be factored in. For a more comprehensive test, we head to the Streets of Willow Springs road course.

On the longest straightaway, the Shelby GT500 does indeed outpace the Corvette with a terminal speed of 113.1 mph. But the Stingray is close behind at 112.5 mph.

Turn the steering wheel, however, and it's over. Imagine our skid pad, slalom and braking results and sprinkle them to varying degrees onto the corners of the Streets long course. The Corvette Z51 completes a lap in 1 minute, 24.6 seconds. The Shelby GT500 does it in 1 minute, 27.3 seconds, a drubbing of 2.7 seconds: an eternity for a single lap.

The Stingray is in its element here. It gobbles up apexes and moves on to the next with an eager ease that makes it a joy to drive lap after lap. Test pilot Josh Jacquot put it this way: "There's no need to qualify the Corvette's performance now. It lacks bad manners. It's fast. It makes the right sounds. It turns, stops and goes like crazy."

The Shelby GT500 is fun, too, but for completely different reasons. Get in the gas too early or too hard with the ESC off and it can get out of shape in a big way. Jacquot had this to say: "You're either tiptoeing or drifting in the GT500, which makes it remarkably rewarding in a slow, Cro-Magnon kinda way. This car isn't about lap times."

Unfortunately, the GT500 isn't about consecutive lap times either, because the extra cooling of the Track Pack option didn't prevent it from going into a reduced power mode one lap after its timed run. Parked with the hood up is not a good look.

Corvette Cabin Puts the Mustang to Shame
Other more mundane considerations come to light on the way home. The interior of the Corvette has been vastly improved for 2014, and the cockpit now feels like a true sports car. It's got a well-sorted driving position and supportive seats that don't feel over-bolstered for daily use. The passenger side climate controls are especially clever.

The Shelby GT500, on the other hand, feels like most other Mustangs inside, with a few nicer materials here and there. That's not necessarily bad, but it's clear the money you're spending is being put to use elsewhere. The leather Recaro seats are the best upgrade, and they're an optional extra even at this price.

Either machine is a great choice for the long haul, but the Corvette has the bigger cargo capacity by 1.6 cubic feet. And the Stingray's rigid roof can be removed easily for open-air motoring. You'd have to buy a dedicated GT500 convertible and live with a cloth top all year long if you wanted that capability in the Ford.

Shelby Name Only Goes So Far
The GT500 does wear the Shelby name, and it's the last one that was on the drawing board while Carroll Shelby was with us. It'll always be special. The new 2014 Corvette Z51 is the base model. It'll be commonplace within months. Even the Z06 or ZR1 variants to come won't have the cachet of the Shelby name or heritage.

At the end of the day, though, the 2014 Ford Shelby GT500 can't make up for what it lacks with mere horsepower. It's a one-of-a-kind machine, a throwback to the hot-rodder's approach to going fast. It hauls ass, but isn't entirely comfortable when the road assumes the shape of its own snake logo.

The 2014 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray Z51 walks away with this one. Coordination, balance and solid engineering really can erase a 202-hp deficit and make us wonder why we'd ever need any more.

The manufactures provided Edmunds these vehicles for the purposes of evaluation.