Henry Payne

ZL1 shares DNA with sibling Corvette (behind). (Henry Payne / The Detroit News)

The lower, wider, sleeker 2015 Mustang debuted this week to broaden its appeal to European and Chinese markets. “We’ve benchmarked it to the BMW M3 and the Porsche Cayman,” says Frank Davis, Executive Director of Ford North American Product Programs. But it’s not just foreign-born stallions that the iconic pony will be chasing.

It will also be hoofing after the Chevy Camaro.

Since the latest evolution of the Camaro in 2010, the chiseled sports sedan has displaced the mighty Mustang as America’s muscle car of choice. The Camaro appears poised to retain its title in 2013 with 77,000 in sales so far this year, a healthy 4,000 more than its rival. Just as significantly, the Camaro has carved out its own pop culture niche as star of Hollywood’s “Transformer” movies to counter Mustang’s celebrity status as a star of screen (“Bullitt”) and song (“Mustang Sally”). “The Transformers movie has made Camaro very popular in China,” says David Leone, GM Executive Chief Engineer for Performance Programs. High import duties keep sales low at 500 units a year, but the car’s celebrity gets new Chinese buyers inside showrooms.

But Camaro doesn’t succeed on good looks alone. Its independent suspension-induced athleticism has forced Mustang to abandon its solid rear axle for the first time in 50 years. Where the powerful Mustang made its name pulverizing the competition into submission, the Camaro floats like a butterfly and stings like a behemoth.

“If it were only about straight-line acceleration, we would take our fallout-shelter time machine back to the ’60s and stay there,” wrote Car & Driver in crowning Camaro best muscle car in 2012. “The Camaro does almost everything with more refinement and with more empathy for its driver. One’s a gorilla, the other’s a racehorse. Which one would you rather ride?”

A ride in the two bloodline’s top performers, the Mustang Shelby GT500 and Camaro ZL1 confirms that conclusion. The awesome, 662 HP GT500 is a ball in a straight line, but turn the wheel and the adventure begins. Thanks to electronic stability control, you can do lurid things in the $55K Shelby and never lose control. But I still wouldn’t recommend riding that wild horse on a country road without lessons first.

Not so Camaro’s ZL1 which I drove in Palm Spring’s intimidating San Bernardino Mountains recently.

With 580 HP and 556 lbs-ft of torque at its disposal from a 6.2 liter, supercharged V-8 (getting goose bumps, aren’t you?), the ZL1 can gobble up plenty of road, but throw it into a corner and you won’t be reaching for the ejector seat button. Thanks to magnetic ride shocks and supple suspension, the Camaro shares more DNA with its Corvette sibling than just an engine. The result is behavior more akin to a sports car than a bucking bronco. With the first rule of torque in mind — modulate, don’t floor, the pedal on a car with more than 3 liters out of corners — the big ZL1 blasted nimbly through the hills of California.

There are flaws, sure. For drive-in lovers the big Camaro’s tight back seat is not much of an option, and rear visibility is compromised by the car’s high window sills and big corner pillars. And the hand brake is on the passenger side of the center console. Huh? But even Arnold Schwarzenegger had gapped front teeth.

Competition lifts all boats — er, horses — and the Camaro-Mustang rivalry has delivered a class of muscle car almost unrecognizable 40 years ago. My $61,140 ZL1 came with accessories like leather Recaro sports seats, a grippy suede steering wheel, smoldering ring-white LED lights, and huge Brembo brakes hiding behind wide, 20-inch wheels front and rear.

Mustang will counter this weapons assault with a more fuel-efficient, 2.3-liter turbo engine in its entry-level 2015 pony to go with its more European face. That attention to the muscle car’s base customer looking for affordability — not just brawn —in their sports sedan should pay dividends with both women and foreign buyers (where ya’ gotta’ rob banks to afford gas). Will Camaro counter when it redesigns its icon? Will it reveal its own small-block turbo? Will it soften its menacing front cowl?

For now, the new Mustang has had to adapt to the Camaro, which, as the ZL1 proves, sets the standard for American muscle.

I love pocket rockets. These sedans-on-steroids for drivers with a lead foot but not enough silver in the bank to afford a Porsche have been around for decades. The offerings have included such icons as the Volkswagen GTI, the Ford Focus SVT, and the Honda Civic SI (I’ve owned two and came within a hair of owning an SVT). Well, pocket rocket lovers rejoice, because now they’re available in subcompact size too.

Meet the Ford Fiesta ST, which joins the Fiat 500 Abarth and Mini Cooper S in this rambunctious niche.

I’m already a fan of the base Fiesta which I like to rent when I’m on the race circuit, traveling to tracks to pilot my Ford-powered Lola sports racer. The stylish little four-door has plenty of room for my 6-foot 5-inch frame and luggage, while providing rear seating and superb fuel mileage (race trips are expensive enough without guzzling gas). But let’s face it: Despite its name, the Fiesta is hardly a party on wheels.

Enter the ST (a member of the Blue Oval’s Sport Technologies brand), which finally lives up to the car’s name — and not because it’s made in Mexico. With nearly 200 horsepower driving the front wheels, this five-door hot hatch brings performance to this segment without sacrificing roominess. Indeed, the car’s five-door configuration is an improvement even on the base four-door, with ample cargo room (even with a spare tire in the rear quad).

The ST’s fascia conforms to the Ford line’s attractive, Aston-mouth theme that adorns everything from the Fusion to the Fiesta to the coming 2015 Mustang (brace yourselves, pony car faithful). The ST version says hello with a tinge of menace, its slit headlights peering out over a honeycomb-mesh black grille. Its stance is aggressive, its body lowered by almost an inch from the base model, its rear haunches raised like a cat — well, kitty — ready to spring. The ST begs to be noticed from its snout to its rear spoiler to its color palette.

My ST came in lime green. Ford calls it Green Envy.

“Not my color,” my wife said when Ford delivered it to my driveway (would you prefer Molten Orange, dear? Race Red, maybe?). But if the outside screams “boy toy,” the inside is very passenger-friendly. Sure, the ST is built for speed, but it comes with a generous helping of accessories.

The grey-toned, ST-badged Recaro seats have hefty hip huggers to keep you centered when pulling Gs. But the interior’s built for comfort, too. Heated seats. Convenient cupholders in the center console and door pockets. My wife quickly warmed to this hot hatch.

A useful MyFord Touch screen sits atop the center console with dial-themed climate and radio controls. The screen itself is easily programmed for your favorite radio stations and smartphone. Indeed, I found the Sync system to be one of the easiest in any car I’ve driven to set up. An iPod jack and two USB ports are within easy reach, at the driver’s elbow. The Fiesta knows its digitally connected young shopper.

Open the rear doors and the ST is surprisingly roomy. My head hit the ceiling, but no more so than in the rear seat of a BMW 3-series. If you’re not a circus freak like me, you’ll fit comfortably. You’ll also find the door grips useful for your maniacal driver. Because once the pilot pushes the start button (just like a C7 Vette!), this little tamale wants to boogie.

You’ll find yourself picking fights against bigger game. I hooked up with an aggressive, brand-new BMW 320 on Southfield Road. My Green Goblin slimed him out of the next light, surprising the Bimmer with its torque. The ST comes in stick only and the compact throw shifter and closely placed pedals are perfectly situated for combat. Shift throws are compact, heel-and-toe downshifts easy. Like all pocket rockets, the horsepower is delivered to the front wheels, which takes some getting used to given the power on demand. In low gear on Michigan Avenue, the furious front paws feel like they are throwing bricks left and right as I row the gears.

My gold-standard for pocket rockets is the 2003 Honda Civic SI and its 100-horses-per-liter, normally-aspirated 8,000 RPM engine. The Fiesta’s 6,000 redline can’t rival the SI’s glorious exhaust note above 6,000 RPM, but the ST’s turbocharged engine provides its own charm with plentiful torque from 2,500 RPM where the Honda is wanting. Indeed, that the ST is comparable to the larger, one-generation old Civic SI is testimony to how capable Ford’s subcompact is. The little Ecoboost engine may be the same power plant that inhabits the Ford Fusion and Ford Escape — but tweaked for 20 more horses and beating inside the Fiesta’s lighter, 2,700-pound body, it acts like a different animal.

This is the mouse that roared.

The ST leaves its subcompact competition panting. At a mere $25 grand fully loaded, it’s about $5,000 cheaper than its competition, the Fiat Abarth and Mini Cooper S. Its 0-60 mph acceleration is just shy of the Mini and a half-second faster than the Fiat. Cargo space? Fuhgettaboutit. The ST’s five doors mean you can fill it with friends and baggage.

The subcompact ST’s performance will force shoppers for bigger, compact hot hatches to take a look. Even the Fiesta’s big brother — the snarling, 252-horsepower Focus ST — should be nervous about the Fiesta’s better brakes and nearly comparable, .92 G skid pad handling according to Car&Driver testing (though big brother is a bargain too at just $2,500 more). My standard, rental Fiesta returns an impressive 36 mpg, but even as I flogged the Fiesta ST from stoplight to stoplight across Metro Detroit, it still returned a handsome 28 mpg.

The fun of a sports car without the thirst. Hey, Honda Fit, Chevy Spark, Mazda 2 … won’t you join the subcompact party?