The 1990s was a great time for experimentation by OE manufacturers. While the mid 90s brought us the early and weak 4.6 two valve, it also brought the four-valve Cobra engine which set the stage for the Cobra R, Terminator, GT500, and Coyote. There was a lot more going on at Ford behind the scenes that would set the precedent for performance the next two decades.

In 1994 SVT front man John Coletti built a beastly Mustang based on a pre-production SN95 chassis. Long before the name was officially brought back for production in 2012, this car was christened the BOSS. This brute force Mustang harkened back to the 60s muscle car ear when big blocks ruled the streets. Aptly earning its name, the BOSS packed an engine based on the super limited BOSS 429 of 1969-1970 fame. Displacing a whopping 598 cubic inches the BOSS packed 850 hp and 794 ft-lbs of torque. It was all sent to a nine-inch rear diff with 35-spline axles via a custom built C6 automatic transmission.

In 2000 Car and Driver put the BOSS and a creation of GM performance head to head to determine who built the baddest specialty car. In an interesting twist to the story the head of GM performance was John Moss, a friend and neighbor of Coletti’s who just also happened to be his arch nemesis.

Moss brought out GM’s ZL1 Camaro, again wearing a famous badge that wouldn’t come back into production for more than a decade. The bow-tie packed an all aluminum 572 cubic inch engine backed by a G-Force five-speed transmission with triple-disc clutch and a Dana 60 axle. With Dart heads, intake and a 1,300 CFM throttle body the ZL1 was packing 770 hp and 683 ft-lbs for the fight.

The events were captured for Car and Driver’s TV show which aired on The Nashville Network (TNN) weekly (TNN later became SPIKE). It was said that it took two years to get these two cars together, and to get the details of the competition negotiated.

The cars gathered at Milan dragway for a drag racing portion of the test. They were allowed to run slicks as long as they could fit within the contours of the car’s body. The second part of the test would run the road course at Gingerman raceway to see who could bring in the best lap time. Again the cars were allowed to run any tire they chose, so long as they fit the car.

In the drag racing segment both cars broke something, and you have to remember these were both prototypes. The Camaro busted its Dana 60 diff on the starting line. The Mustang with an engine that had taken six years of abuse at Coletti’s right foot broke a rocker arm.

Both sides were able to repair their cars and make successful passes down the drag strip. The ZL-1 ran a 11.01 at 128 mph quarter-mile ET. There was plenty of trash talk between Coletti and Moss but in the end the Mustang pulled off the upset. With an impressive 10.55 at 135 MPH the blue oval easily out ran the bow-tie.

At Gingerman raceway however, it was all Camaro. The Zl1 turned in a 1:34 road course time. The Mustang made a practice lap only, with a 1:37 time turned in, the second lap saw oil pressure dropping and the engine was done. Six years of abuse had taken its toll. That left the shootout at a draw.

We can remember watching this episode of CDTV years ago and the outcome. It all looked so high-tech nearly 15 years ago. These high-maintenance prima-donnas were 10-second capable cars in the right hands. The last we heard the BOSS is in the ROUSH collection but we have no idea where the Zl1 is, probably in GMs warehouse since they never seem to get rid of anything.

Today it doesn’t matter whether you’re a Ford or Chevy fan, getting to the 10s is easier than ever, and you can do it in a car that you can still commute back and forth to work in. Watching this however, does make us wish for the days when Ford and Chevy would occasionally open up the doors for the press and let us have a look at or even test drive some of the cool things they were working on.