A NEW GOLDEN AGE: CORVETTE ZR1 VS. MUSTANG GTD VS. 911 GT3 RS

Much of our content is devoted to celebrating America’s glorious automotive past (see recent stories on the Chrysler C-300, why Packard still matters, and the history of the Offy, one of the most amazing engines ever to race), but we’d be remiss in not noting that our nation’s automotive present is also pretty darned great. In fact, it may never have been this good.

Consider as exhibits A and B the Chevrolet Corvette ZR1 and the Ford Mustang GTD. Both bristle with tech and clever engineering. The ZR1’s twin-turbo V-8 revs to 8000 rpm; the Mustang has a rear-mounted transaxle, trick pushrod-actuated adaptive dampers, and massive tires that required redesigning the entire rear floor of the car. Both cars post performance numbers that are almost difficult to comprehend. The Mustang gets to 60 mph in less than 3 seconds; the Corvette in just over 2 seconds. More than all that, each has the kind of polish and poise at speed that only comes from hundreds of hours of development at the world’s gnarliest racetracks. Don’t believe us? Check out this video, where the GTD and ZR1 take on the latest Porsche 911 GT3 RS. Hint: One of them set a production car record at California’s Sonoma Raceway during our filming.

You may be thinking, “So what?” Tip-of-the-spear sports cars that most of us will never be able to afford bear little relation to an American auto industry that is in many respects in disorder. Records at Germany’s Nürburgring won’t solve GM and Ford’s riddles around electrification or help them navigate tariffs and global conflict.

Yet the ability to build a world-class sports car remains a clear measure of an automaker’s engineering talent and its ability to marshal resources toward a common goal. For decades, most elite machines came from Europe with a smattering of competitors from Japan. Nowadays? The highest-performance cars are built here in America as often as not. Think Corvettes and Mustangs, but also Teslas, Lucids, and V-series Cadillacs.

Perhaps more important, history tells us that the best enthusiast cars tend to live on in our memories longer than whatever turmoil accompanied their creation. We don’t pretend to know where the American auto industry is headed in the next decade, but we’re willing to bet people will still care about the amazing cars being produced right now.

This story first appeared in the America 250 digital issue of Hagerty Drivers Club magazine. Join the club to receive our award-winning magazine and enjoy insider access to automotive events, discounts, roadside assistance, and more.

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2026-07-15T13:08:57Z