Fifty years ago today - Jan. 27, 1965 - marked the debut of the Shelby GT350, a version of a Ford Mustang sports car developed by American auto racer and car designer Carroll Shelby.
Since then, the Chevrolet Camaro and the Mustang have endured a fierce rivalry for muscle-car dominance. Drive a Camaro today at Hendrick Durham Auto Mall and discover its power for yourself.
"For five decades, the Camaro and the Mustang have been battling it out in every possible setting," said Mark Reuss, executive vice president, GM Global Product Development. "These two cars have been striving to beat each other on the track, on the drag strip and on the streets. That competition is a big part of why both cars are so amazing, and so popular."
The Shelby GT350 featured a 306 horsepower V-8 engine and remained in production through the end of the 1960s. It has held value as a collector's item.
The GT350R is a more hardcore version of the Shelby GT350. The first 2016 GT350R, with VIN 001, sold for $1 million recently at the Barrett Jackson collector-car auction in Arizona. The Ford Motor Company originally planned to put the rights for the first Mustang Shelby GT350 up for sale but at the last minute decided to sell the rights to the first GT350R
The first Mustang rolled off the assembly line in 1963. Three years later, Chevrolet introduced the Camaro as a direct competitor to the Mustang and created one of the most enduring rivalries in the automotive industry.
"The new Camaro hit the ground running, and it's been a battle royale ever since with the bowtie vs. the blue oval," Ken Gross, a preeminent automotive journalist for 40 years, recently was quoted as saying. "Chevy readily admits its Camaro is constantly getting better, thanks to intense competition from Ford."
On June 28, 1966, during a press conference in Detroit’s Statler-Hilton Hotel, then-Chevrolet General Manager Pete Estes announced a new car line with a name that Chevrolet chose in keeping with other car names beginning with the letter C: Corvair, Chevelle, Chevy II, and Corvette.
When the new Camaro name was announced, reporters in attendance asked Chevrolet product managers what "Camaro" meant. The answer: "a small, vicious animal that eats Mustangs."
Four distinct generations of the Camaro were developed before production ended in 2002. The nameplate was revived on a car that evolved into the fifth-generation Camaro in 2009.
The Camaro, which has a V6 and V8 engine, has been a big seller at the Hendrick Durham Auto Mall. As the dealership prepares for its move to a new multi-million-dollar state-of-the art facility in the Souhtpoint area of Durham, the Camaro is part of its "Moving Sale."
So, come get one at a great price and keep the rivalry alive.
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