Payne: In Mustang v 'Vette, Detroit muscle car war rages at NYC Show New York — The New York International Auto Show has an international vibe with its exotic European car display, melting pot of attendees, and World Car of the Year awards to kick thigs off. So, it’s fun to see a good ol’ American muscle fight break out on the show floor. Located in the adjacent Chevrolet and Ford exhibits on Level 3 of the Javits Convention Center, Corvette and Mustang have brought more firepower to the show than the deck of the USS Nimitz. Though the industry has been under fire by emissions regulations targeting multi-cylinder engines, the brands have remained committed to their howling, V8-powered icons. Indeed, for the eight-generation ‘Vette and seventh-gen Mustang, the two sub-brands have raised their profiles by expanding sales overseas, introducing new models, and going head-to-head on the global GT3 racing circuit from the streets of Detroit to the 200-mph Mulsanne Straight at France’s 24 Hours of Le Mans. Oh, it’s on. ‘Vette v Mustang. General vs. Ford. I thought some of New York’s finest might be brought in to police the Javits DMZ. Enter the show floor and Ford’s newest model, the RTR, is front-and-center dressed in blazing orange. The brainchild of drifting champion Vaughn Gittin, Jr., RTR takes Mustang’s standard, $35k, 315-horsepower, turbo-4-powered and turns up the wick. The RTR (you’ll know it by its twin, lit Mustang nostrils in the grille) will likely cost about $45k when it goes on sale this spring. RTR borrows goodies from its V8-powered GT and Dark Horse big brothers like quad exhaust, upgraded suspension and summer tires — then adds a drift brake and anti-lag engine feature to keep the turbocharger boosted for better corner carving. The heck with four cylinders. Corvette