The Chevrolet Camaro is one of the most beloved cars on the market, but its sales may not actually reflect that. In fact, one of the Camaro’s competitors, the Subaru WRX, is actually selling pretty well too. Here’s a look at the tight race in sales between the Chevy Camaro and the Subaru WRX.

The heated race between sports cars

Sports cars aren’t like regular cars, and there’s a long history and tradition behind them. In America, perhaps the most popular and well-known sports cars are the famous muscle cars of old – the Ford Mustang, the Dodge Charger, and of course, the Chevy Camaro, just to name a few greats.

While the classics will always have their spot in history, modern Camaros are actually pretty decent options too. For example, for less than $30,000, the standard Camaro can pack a punch due to the fact that its 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine gets 275 hp. For the right price, the modern Camaro can get a V8 which gets over 650 hp. 

The WRX, on the other hand, doesn’t have that same claim to fame as the Camaro does. The Subaru WRX has its fans, but it doesn’t have the namesake and brand recognition that the Camaro or other muscle cars do. Despite that, however, the WRX isn’t actually doing that bad as far as its sales go.

How the two are selling right now

When it comes to sales, the Chevrolet Camaro has seen better days, and that’s especially true for the modern day. According to GoodCarBadCar, in 2019, the Chevy Camaro only sold about 48,000 units, which is a steep decline from its most recent peak of 91,000 units in 2012. And of course, in 2020, things got worse for the Camaro, just like it did for other models. The Camaro only sold just under 30,000 units for 2020.

The Subaru WRX, according to GoodCarBadCar, has always sold worse than the Camaro, but its sales haven’t dropped off a cliff just yet. While the WRX never reached the same highs as the Camaro did, in 2020, the WRX sold a bit over 21,000 units. This means that the WRX, despite being a less popular sports car, only sold about 9,000 fewer units than the Camaro did. 

Things are even better for the WRX when it comes to 2021 sales. In the first three months of the year, the Camaro has sold about 7,000 units, while the WRX has sold about 5,500. GoodCarBadCar doesn’t currently have data on how well the Camaro sold in April 2021, but the WRX sold a lot of units in April. This means that it’s very possible that the WRX is currently outselling the Camaro.

How the Chevy Camaro compares to the Subaru WRX

As far as power goes, the Chevrolet Camaro and the Subaru WRX are very similar when it comes to their base models. The WRX also has a 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine, and that engine gets about 268 hp. The only other engine option, however, is generally inferior to the options available on the Chevy Camaro. At most, the WRX can get an engine that gets 310 hp, but that’s less than half of what the Camaro can be equipped with.

That said, there are other significant powertrain differences. The Camaro only has rear-wheel drive, while the WRX only has all-wheel drive. On top of that, the WRX has some of the best handling in the game, and it’s probably better than the Camaro in this area. But, as far as price goes, the Camaro is slightly better than the WRX is. The Chevy Camaro starts at about $26,000, while the Subaru WRX starts at about $28,000.