Shelby GT350: 2019 Collector Car Madness Champion

At the beginning of our 2019 Collector Car Madness bracket, there were 16 worthy competitors. The cars duked it out round after round until four remained, each representing the Boomers, Pre-Boomers, Gen Xers, and Millennial generations. When all the dust settled, and there were just two cars left. It was the first-gen Chevrolet Camaro against the Shelby GT350.

[Editor’s Note: Wondering how we got here? Check out our first-, second-, and third-, and final-round matchup articles. The short version: we used Hagerty insurance data to determine popular cars within each age group, plus a wild card to keep things interesting. Then, we hosted polls on Facebook so people could vote for their favorite cars in each matchup.]

Up to the finals, the top-seeded Camaro had cruised to victory after victory, beating its opponents in each round by a wide margin. Representing Gen X, the Camaro looked unbeatable, as fans of the Z/28, ZL1, Yenko, and SS396 weighed in with their votes. On its way to the finals, the Camaro took down the VW Microbus, Buick G-body, and Chevy C10 pickup. It seemed only right and proper that the pony car faced off against a competitor as worthy as the Shelby GT350 in the championship round.

The third-seeded GT350’s road to the finals was much less definitive. The Shelby had several closely-contested spats, including face-offs against the 1968-’70 Dodge Charger, a major upset against the top-seeded C2 Corvette, and then a victory over the iconic Tri-Five Chevy Bel Air.

In the end, it was the GT350 that came out on top, upsetting the Camaro with 65 percent of the 1500 votes cast. It’s a win for Carroll Shelby, the 289 Hi-Po V-8, racing stripes, and of course, the Ford Mustang. All respect to the Camaro, as well as the rest of the 2019 Collector Car Madness competitors, but it’s the GT350’s day to take home the hardware.

Thanks everyone for your votes. We’ll definitely do this again next year, and although I don’t think the Type 1 Beetle will get all that far, it’ll have my vote.