Camaro fights for dear life as Mercedes silently tightens its Teutonic death grip.
In many cases, a high-speed roll race between a full-size luxury sedan and a lightly modified American muscle car would favor the smaller, lighter car. However, when a lightly modified Mercedes-Benz S600 takes on a lightly modified Chevrolet Camaro SS, the big German sedan hands out a pretty severe beating.
The Competitors
This roll race between a 2003 Mercedes-Benz S600 and a 2010 Chevrolet Camaro SS was originally shared in a thread by “iyad.2010” from the OnTheRoad12 YouTube channel. These two performance cars are going head-to-head on the streets of Saudi Arabia, but before looking at the race, let’s talk about the competitors.
The OP is driving the Benz and his mod list includes a gutted catalytic converter, a resonator delete, a K&N air filter and an upgraded intercooler pump. In stock form, this S600 would have offered 493 horsepower and 590 lb-ft of torque, but those upgrades should easily push the big Benz well beyond the 500-horsepower and 600-torque mark.
The Camaro SS is powered by the LS3 V8. In stock form, this American muscle car would have offered 426 horsepower and 420 lb-ft of torque, but this car is fitted with headers and an intake. Depending on whether or not this car is tuned, those upgrades could add quite a bit of power, but we don’t know for sure.
The Race
The S600 and Camaro SS go from a low roll, looking to be somewhere in the area of 30-40 miles per hour. On the third honk, both cars hammer down and we can hear the Chevy V8 roar under hard throttle as the driver bangs through the gears. Within a few seconds, the Benz has pulled far enough ahead of the Camaro that the videographer watches the muscle car vanish into the darkness through the rear window of the sedan.
While this isn’t the clearest footage due to the fact that they are racing in the dark, but there is no question that the Camaro SS takes a beating from the sleek S600.
"Before I was old enough to walk, my dad was taking me to various types of racing events, from local drag racing to the Daytona 500," says Patrick Rall, a lifetime automotive expert, diehard Dodge fan, and respected auto journalist for over 10 years. "He owned a repair shop and had a variety of performance cars when I was young, but by the time I was 16, he was ready to build me my first drag car – a 1983 Dodge Mirada that ran low 12s. I spent 10 years traveling around the country, racing with my dad by my side. While we live in different areas of the country, my dad still drag races at 80 years old in the car that he built when I was 16 while I race other vehicles, including my 2017 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat and my 1972 Dodge Demon 340.
"Although I went to college for accounting, my time in my dad’s shop growing up allowed me the knowledge to spend time working as a mechanic before getting my accounting degree, at which point I worked in the office of a dealership group. While I was working in the accounting world, I continued racing and taking pictures of cars at the track. Over time, I began showing off those pictures online and that led to my writing.
"Ten years ago, I left the accounting world to become a full-time automotive writer and I am living proof that if you love what you do, you will never “work” a day in your life," adds Rall, who has clocked in time as an auto mechanic, longtime drag racer and now automotive journalist who contributes to nearly a dozen popular auto websites dedicated to fellow enthusiasts.
"I love covering the automotive industry and everything involved with the job. I was fortunate to turn my love of the automotive world into a hobby that led to an exciting career, with my past of working as a mechanic and as an accountant in the automotive world provides me with a unique perspective of the industry.
"My experience drag racing for more than 20 years coupled with a newfound interest in road racing over the past decade allows me to push performance cars to their limit, while my role as a horse stable manager gives me vast experience towing and hauling with all of the newest trucks on the market today.
