The 2024 Ford Mustang Takes a Victory Lap as the Chevrolet Camaro Retires From the Race
When the Blue Oval debuted the seventh-generation Mustang, it meant the return of the storied sports car nameplate in a dwindling list of rivals. Most notably, the Chevrolet Camaro bows out of production in 2024, just as the Ford Mustang starts its seventh-gen run.
The 2024 Ford Mustang represents the beginning of a new generation for the model as the Chevrolet Camaro rides off into the sunset
The 2024 Ford Mustang is more than another model year for the Blue Oval’s sweetheart pony car; it’s the first model year of the new seventh-gen S650 platform. That’s a big deal for fans of the Ford Mustang. For starters, in an industry inundated with a push to electrify and hybridize, the Mustang offers a 5.0L Coyote V8 in a front-engine, rear-wheel drive (RWD) platform. As Jeremy Clarkson would tout, it’s old-school rock and roll.
Moreover, in yet another act of defiance, the Mustang carries over its Getrag-sourced MT82 six-speed manual transmission. It’s a welcome presence in a market with fewer options for drivers who want to row through the gears with a traditional three-pedal setup.
However, the Chevrolet Camaro, the Mustang’s most organic and long-running rival, doesn’t enjoy the same revival. Instead, the Chevrolet is discontinuing the Camaro after the 2024 model year, barring the model’s likely reboot as an SUV. Still, the Camaro isn’t the only one to ride off into the sunset. No, the LA-platform Dodge Challenger met its demise after the 2023 model year.
The discontinuation of the Camaro and Challenger leaves the Ford Mustang GT as the only remaining domestic muscle car nameplate. Moreover, the new Dark Horse is the most powerful factory Mustang with an N/A Coyote V8 to date. That said, the 2024 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1’s 650-horsepower supercharged 6.2L V8 is quite a bit more potent than the range-topping Mustang’s 500 ponies.
Of course, the Ford Mustang won’t be alone in the domestic 2+2 coupe segment for long. The next-generation Dodge Charger will offer a two-door hardtop model with a twin-turbocharged Hurricane inline-six-cylinder engine in 2025. However, Dodge hasn’t laid out any plans to offer the upcoming Charger with HEMI V8.
