Not since the muscle car wars of the 1960’s have GM, Ford, and Chrysler been engaged in such a brutal, dirty war. Things are especially heated between GM and Ford, with the two American automakers attempting to outdo each other with their muscle cars on every level, from base model V6’s to the high-end, high-horsepower stuff like the Camaro ZL1 and Shelby GT500. Ford has arguably stolen the spotlight for now with its 650 horsepower 2013 Shelby GT500, beating out the Camaro ZL1’s 580 horsepower handily. But does that translate to a faster time at the track?

Autoblog talked to the Camaro ZL1’s chief engineer Al Oppenheiser, who says that according to simulations he has run, the ZL1 will beat the GT500 around the track.

There is a 70 horsepower different between the Camaro ZL1 and the 2013 Shelby GT500, and the Shelby weighs almost 300 pounds less too. But Oppenheiser says the ZL1 will go from 0-60 MPH faster, and for proof he points to the fact that while GM released the ZL1’s Nurburgring times, Ford and Shelby did not. Odd that.

But does that mean the Camaro ZL1 is faster than the GT500? It is a persuasive argument, but the 2013 Shelby GT500 weighs less, and makes more power. Those are two huge deficits the ZL1 will have to overcome, though stranger things have happened, it must be said. With the right tuning and tweaking, the ZL1 Camaro could stand toe to toe with the 650 horsepower GT500 on the track, which is much different from the street. But will it? We’ll find out soon enough.