2010 Ford Shelby GT500 vs. 2010 Hennessey Performance HPE550 Camaro [Archive] - Prowl Talk

kat hunter

07-09-2009, 11:49 AM

FwCFIk0xH_s

http://www.edmunds.com/insideline/do/Drives/Comparos/articleId=151466

Living Large
Ford did a shockingly thorough job of improving the whole Mustang lineup for 2010. What seems at first to be a minor midcycle update of the 2005 car has, in fact, resulted in a much better-driving, much easier-to-live-with machine across the range. But no Mustang is more improved than the GT500.
The wizardry performed on the 2010 Ford Shelby GT500's suspension is simply amazing. That's still a big iron lump of an engine up front, but somehow the suspension tuning (mostly) compensates for that weight. Pressed hard on our favorite mountain road, the GT500 will still plow its nose, but nowhere near as drastically as it did before. And with some precise throttle modulation (and the traction control system turned off), that understeer can be balanced with additional power. Could the 2010 GT500 be better? Sure. But as it stands, this is the best Mustang ever. And it's not even close.
The 2010 Hennessey Performance HPE550 Camaro is a hot rod; more severely compromised in the pursuit of performance than any OEM would dare unleash on the public. Given some time, Hennessey should clear up the suspension issues and fine-tune the engine so it's easier to manage. But it's also a 2010 Camaro, and while there are advantages to that, there are disadvantages, too. You know, like the restricted visibility and a shallow trunk that's accessed by what amounts to a mail slot. This car's performance is almost religiously transcendent, but it's performance that is best appreciated by true believers willing to put up with hassles in exchange.
Everyone here loves power. But all of us would give up the Hennessey's rocketry in exchange for the GT500's much better handling, easygoing livability and overall civility.
Ka-Ching!
Done up in Grabber Blue with race stripes across the seats and on the shift knob and wearing 19-inch wheels, the 2010 Ford Shelby GT500 looks good and thoroughly American. No Mustang looks like a $50,000 car, but this one comes closest. As it should, since it is a $50,000 car.
Wearing Yenko drag and lowered over its 20-inch wheels, the 2010 Hennessey Performance HPE550 Camaro is both more dramatic and more sinister-looking. It attracts attention the way tall bridges attract suicide attempts. But at $62,500 through the doors of Hennessey Performance in Houston, it's dang expensive. And as intoxicatingly explosive as its performance is, the regular Camaro SS would be easier to live with.
So it's the GT500 that gets the love here, even though the HPE550's thrust has a grip on our gonads. Brute force, it seems, is best when served in a more civilized container.

Tuner car vs factory production car, I'm sure they could have found a tuner GT500 to play with.
For the additional 12,500 there are alot of parts one could add to the GT500. :mrgreen::mrgreen: