Engineering Explained is here to tell us why the 2020 Corvette Stingray is faster from zero to sixty than the Ford Shelby Mustang GT500.
The great rivalry continues between Ford and Chevrolet, but instead of Chevy pitting the Camaro against the Mustang, it’s now the Corvette. However, the Corvette has undergone a metamorphosis: gone is the front-engined, long-nosed ‘Vette from decades past, and instead, we now have a mid-engined sports car that seems destined to throw down with the likes of Ferrari and McLaren.
We’ve also learned quite a bit about both cars since their initial debuts. The 2020 Stingray can launch from zero to sixty in just 2.9 seconds, while the GT500 takes 3.6 seconds. However, the Corvette has just 495 horsepower, while the GT500 has 760 horsepower. For some reason, the less powerful Corvette is faster to 60 mph than the more powerful pony car.
So what gives? To find out, Engineering Explained is here to do what he does best: explain the engineering.
There is a lot of math involved in what Mr. Engineering is trying to explain, but that’s why we’re here to summarize. First, the Mustang is the heavier car at 4,225 lbs compared to the Corvette’s 3,577 lbs. That’s just part of the story as anyone with a calculator can determine that the Mustang still has the Corvette beat when it comes to power-to-weight. It’s how that weight is distributed that really makes a difference.
The Corvette has most of its weight on the rear axle thanks to its mid-rear engine placement. The Mustang, meanwhile, has most of its weight on the front axle since it’s big, 5.2-L supercharged V8 is still in the nose. This means that the Mustang can’t use all of its 760 horsepower from a standstill since it doesn’t have enough traction on the rear tires to handle all those horses.
Chevy’s Corvette doesn’t have that problem, so it scoots from zero to sixty over half a second faster than the big, heavy ‘Stang.
However, the Mustang does have the Corvette beat when it comes time to do zero to 100 mph, taking just 6.7 seconds compared to the Stingray’s 7.6 seconds. The Mustang is also faster on the 0-100-0 mph sprint, taking 10.6 seconds compared to the Corvette’s estimated 11-11.7 seconds.
But what about the quarter-mile? Well, that will have to wait for both cars to hit the road and for them to square off in a good, old-fashioned drag race.