There are but a few places in the world where one can actually take a powerful car to its limits legally. The Autobahn of Germany are one place, but increasingly, traffic and speed restrictions are creeping in sufficiently to make a top speed run a rather frustrating experience.

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Some events held in Nevada, like this September’s Silver State Classic Challenge close off a portion of highway and make it available for top speed fanatics. More hardcore events are found at the Maxton Mile, where you can get into standing mile competition, but any gearhead knows that the Mecca of high speed is found on a flat lake bed in Tooele County, Utah – the Bonneville Salt Flats.

This was the site chosen by Popular Mechanics magazine, who somehow managed to obtain a permit from the Bureau of Land Management, to use the flats when nobody else was there. Their plan was to put an end to the question of which pony car is faster – Mustang GT500 or Camaro SS. First, they had to deal with a small problem, which was the electronic speed limiters that both cars come with. A quick trip to Lingenfelter Performance Engineering dispatched that small inconvenience.

Their road trip from Michigan to Utah turned into an interesting three-day familiarization with the cars. On arrival at the hallowed destination, they are almost disappointed to find their access unrestricted by any hint of governmental or other interference. After strapping data logging equipment on to the Camaro, the first run is exploratory.

Later, author Ezra Dyer attempts a top speed run. “The Camaro easily hits 170 mph, but from there the last few miles per hour creep up in tiny increments.” In the end, the Camaro SS logs a top speed of 174.4 mph.

Turning to the Mustang GT500, his earlier nervousness on the salt is behind him and the flat out run comes sooner. “At 160 mph, this thing still has a long way to go. In fact, at the 15,000-foot mark, where the Camaro was touching 170 mph, the Mustang is already at 180. And still pulling.” Ultimately, the GT500’s supercharged engine hit its redline, instead of the aerodynamic wall that limited the Camaro. The Mustang’s top end was officially recorded at 184.7 mph.

It also seems that Dyer has fallen to the most common affliction of visitors to that part of Utah – they call it Salt Fever. We’re betting it will be no more than a year before that salt-struck journalist returns to “…crack a V8 throttle wide open and hold it there, reveling in the continued existence of a place where the only limits are horsepower and the horizon.”

Congratulations to Popular Mechanics on a definitive answer to a nagging question, as well as some genuinely interesting reading.