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A 1969 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 went up against a Pontiac GTO RAIV from the same year in an epic and competitive epic drag race. The coverage on the Cars And Zebras YouTube channel is pretty exhilarating as the 1969 muscle cars offer viewers a close race.
The 1969 Muscle Cars Go Head-To-Head
The 1969 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 was a whole different ball game in comparison to the Camaro base model of the same year. There were only 69 models of the ZL1 available, all of which feature some cool things such as an F41 heavy-duty suspension, a ZL2 cowl hood, and a compression ratio of 12.0:1. What's more, is that the engine of the ZL1 is pretty much all made from aluminum and is a 427 cubic inch V8 that can churn out 420 horsepower. To combine with the race-friendly engine, it also features a beautiful set of 4.10 rear gears for immense acceleration.
In comparison, the 1969 Pontiac GTO RAIV features a monstrous engine, a Ram Air IV 400 V8. Although it has a beastly engine, it doesn't quite offer the same performance as the Camaro ZL1. Its compression ratio is lower, at 10.75:1 as is its horsepower, which can offer a maximum of 370. What it does offer though, is a better set of 4.33 rear gears. There were more models of the Pontiac in production, with a total of 151.
It's A Close Race Between Two Classics
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Most people would assume that a bigger engine with more horsepower could easily beat its opponent. However, this race is very tight up until the very last second when the 1969 muscle cars cross the quarter-mile drag race line.
It is surprising that the 1969 Pontiac GTO RAIV beats the Camaro ZL1. The final result is pretty tight, but the Pontiac does beat the Chevrolet by a marginal amount. The time of the Camaro ZL1 is 12.01 seconds and has a top speed of 116.15 mph. It was quicker overall but not quick enough to beat the Pontiac, which had a time of 11.84 seconds and a top speed of 115.45 mph.
Overall, the final result is quite shocking considering the Camaro ZL1 offers more in terms of performance. Yet, that doesn't knock the performance and drag race capabilities of the Pontiac GTO RAIV. Maybe its rear gears did the trick.