The Ford Mustang and the Chevrolet Corvette are two of America's most iconic cars. But they're also two different animals. The Mustang spent most of its career in the pony and muscle car market, while the Corvette was aimed mostly at sports car and grand tourer buyers. With the Corvette transformed into a mid-engined car for the eighth generation, the gap between these nameplate is even bigger now. But which one is the fastest around a track? To find out, MotorTrend took the range-topping Shelby GT500 and the C8 Corvette Z51 to Virginia International Raceway and put 24 Hours of Daytona winner Randy Pobst behind the steering wheel.

The front-engined Shelby GT500 comes with 760 horsepower on tap, while the mid-engined Corvette generates 495 horses. While the supercharged GT500 needs 3.7 seconds to hit 60 mph, the naturally aspirated Corvette reaches the same benchmark a lot quicker in 2.8 clicks. This means that the C8 Corvette gets off the line a lot quicker, but is this enough to win a race at the track?

The cars were driven and filmed during different sessions, but the videos were combined to look as if they are racing at the same time. This enables us to see where each is quicker and how they handle turns and straight lines. It's a rolling start for both cars and the GT500 gets its nose in front for the first 10 seconds. The Corvette, which seems to be a bit quicker in the turns, snatches the lead and remains in front until the cars hit the straight, long line of the Virginia track.

That's where the GT500 moves back in front as it accelerates faster and hits a higher speed.

The result is somewhat surprising. Mid-engined cars are supposed to be more agile at the track and even though the Corvette shows some skill on the first half of the course, the GT500 took advantage of its more powerful engine on the long straight. But this could also mean that the GT500 is actually far better on the race track than its predecessor. However, with just a second between them, we could say that the GT500 and the Corvette are equally competitive on this specific race course.

FAQ

Q: Does the Fiat 500 X Get Good Fuel Economy?

The Fiat 500X is rated at 24 mpg in the city, 30 mpg on the highway, and s6 mpg combined. Those figures put it pretty close to fairly similar models like the Ford Fiesta Hatch at 25 in the city, 32 on the highway, and 28 combined, while cars like the Mini Cooper, which is probably one of the strongest competitors, pulls in much better figures at 28 mpg in the city, 36 mpg on the highway, and 31 mpg combined.

Q: How Much Can the Fiat 500X Tow?

Despite being classified as a subcompact crossover, a segment that usually offers some kind of towing capacity, the Fiat 500X isn’t capable of towing in the United States. In other markets, it can pull up to 1,000 pounds when properly equipped, but if you’re U.S. based and do some light towing, you will need to consider something other than the 500X.

Q: Is the Fiat 500X Fast?[

The Fiat 500X can run to 60 mph in 8.3 seconds and tops out at 120 mph. You should keep in mind that the Fiat 500X isn’t designed to be a performance vehicle and is more about family drives and cruising, so you shouldn’t expect to get anywhere too fast anyway. For the sake of comparison, the Mini Cooper S can make it to 60 mph in 7.3 seconds and tops out at 149 mph while the Ford Fiesta ST hatchback can make the 60-mph sprint in 6.9 seconds on the way to a top speed of 144 mph.

Q: How Spacious is the Fiat 500X?

As a subcompact crossover, the Fiat 500X does offer decent room for its size and can fit four adults comfortably as long as the rear passengers don’t traverse beyond six-foot in height or are of the larger variety. The downside here is that models like the Ford Fiesta ST actually offers more room in most areas with the exception of front and rear shoulder room and hip room and rear headroom. To see how it compares to the Mini Cooper and Fiesta ST hatch in detail, check out the table and charts below.

Q: How Much Cargo Can the Fiat 500X Carry?

{{Cargo room is the area where the Fiat 500X does the opposite of excel with a minimum rating of 14.1 cubic-feet or 39.8 cubic-feet with the rear seats laid down. }} Its minimum rating does beat out the Mini cooper by one cubic-foot, but it falls 0.9-cubic feet short when the Coopers rear seats are laid down. The Fiesta ST hatchback beats it hands down with 23.8 cubic-feet in normal configuration or 44.8 cubic-feet with the rear seats laid down.