2015 Yenko Camaro
Today's war among American performance cars easily rivals the one waged so fiercely during the 1960s and early '70s. In addition to the factory muscle car offerings, you had upgraded versions offered by certain dealerships. Owned by rapid enthusiasts, these dealerships were hell bent on giving their customers (and themselves) a reputation for street battle supremacy.
These dealers -- such as Yenko Chevrolet, Mr. Norm's Grand Spaulding Dodge and Tasca Ford -- would gladly build up your Camaro, Challenger or Mustang to a performance level seemingly limited only by your nerve and financial status. Pavement burners such as a Yenko Camaro sporting a 427-cubic inch big block gave acceleration junkies serious one-upmanship on their buddies who had "settled" for a stock SS396 Camaro. Likewise for Dodge fans who wanted a hopped up Dart and Ford fans who, before the factory made it available, wanted nothing less than a 428 Cobra Jet V8 in their Mustangs.
Nowadays, modern factory performance cars leave little argument for such improvements. Does anyone really need more than what we've seen show up in Chevy, Ford and Dodge showrooms the last couple of years? Specifically, how could you possibly want more than a 580-horsepower Camaro ZL1, a 662-hp Mustang Shelby GT500 or a 707-hp Challenger Hellcat? For those performance buffs who live by the "too much is not enough" credo, there are a number of companies around who are more than willing to boost these beasts beyond their already crazy capabilities.
2012 Ford Mustang Shelby GT500 Super Snake
Mustang fans who were disappointed to see the Shelby GT500 absent from the all-new 2015 Mustang family need only contact Shelby American. Click away and you'll see they offer the newest 'stang in the 750-horse "Super Snake" version that along with all that go-power sports upgraded brakes and suspension as well as various carbon-fiber body components. If you do own a 2011-2014 GT500 and you've deep enough pockets, you can have them turn your car into a 1,200-hp track day monster.
1969 Yenko Camaro
On the other side of the battlefield, Chevy Camaro enthusiasts can once again hit the streets with a Yenko Camaro, thanks toSpecial Vehicle Engineering who acquired the rights to use the hallowed dealership's name. Just like the good old days, a 427 cubic-inch V8 is stuffed under the hood, only this time it’s the modern small-block "LS7"version. Formerly used in the Corvette Z06 and currently seen in the new Camaro Z/28, the LS7 normally makes 505 horsepower. For the Yenko, it is supercharged and further tweaked to make a thumping 700 horsepower. Proper homage is paid to the original Yenko Camaros via a scooped hood and 1969-style "YSC" (Yenko Super Car) body graphics.
2015 Challenger Hellcat
As it did in the early '70s, the Dodge Challenger faces off against those rivals from Ford and Chevrolet. Right off the showroom floor, you can get over 700 horsepower in a new Challenger, provided you spring for the Hellcat version. That's enough thrust to sling you down the quarter mile in just under 12 seconds. Should you find that somewhat lacking, you can have the good folks at Hennessey Performance beef up your Hellcat to the tune of 852 horsepower. Short of strapping a Space Shuttle's Booster rocket to the trunk lid, there's not much else that you could do to turn your Hellcat into one of hardest accelerating vehicles wearing four tires and a license plate.
Whether you keep your modern performance car bone stock or choose to have it modified by an aftermarket tuning firm, there's no denying that today's car wars make this a great time to have a license for us with 93 octane flowing freely through our veins.
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