2016 Shelby GT350/GT350R Media Drives & Reviews (CHECK FIRST POST)

Red meat. America's signature protein has necessarily violent origins. Slaughter, butcher, open flames and iron – you don't need a recently lapsed vegetarian (me) to lay it out for you. Of course the blood and the cuts are all part of the appeal, a reminder with every forkful of beef that we still like to be visceral creatures in an increasingly sanitized world.

There is much in the makeup of Ford's Mustang that matches these carnivorous tendencies. Not only does it offer a hint of violence with potential for speed every time the engine kicks over, it's also the motive meal we Americans salivate over more than any other. Ford's pony car is among the most popular car searches online, year in and year out, and truly special versions stress servers and storm forum spaces when they hit the streets.

I'll be honest, I've been just as frothed and drooling to see and drive the 2016 Ford Shelby GT350 as the rest of you netziens, too. Engineers have hacked and carved away at the stock car, to make a wicked V8 morsel that's bloody-minded and racetrack ready.

The palpitating heart of newest Shelby is a 5.2-liter, naturally aspirated V8 engine that bucks the current, popular trends for performance cars, while also breaking new ground for Ford. Fast cars from all over the world have made impressive numbers using turbos and superchargers in recent years, but Ford wanted revs to make its racing machine go right. So the company tossed out the forced-induction formula, and created a flat-plane crank V8 that revs to the moon and sounds like a supercar when spinning hard.

The light, strong crankshaft reduces inertial mass in the engine and allows for a mind-blowing redline at 8,250 rpm. Perhaps more importantly it makes for beautiful rising wave of available torque as one digs deeper into the throttle, which feels like fast magic when doing something like climbing the hill to The Corkscrew at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. At 526 horsepower and 429 pound-feet of torque, some 102-hp per liter, there's enough power for staggering acceleration whenever you ask for it. Providing, of course, you keep the pot boiling at three grand or more. To call the power delivery below that mark "weak" would be ludicrous, but it does feel more inert there than the cars in the turbo-quick jet set that's so popular these days.

And, as I said, the wonderful noises the car makes are worth the price of a little low-end torque. A dual-mode exhaust lets you run quiet if you're driving easy, but I can't recommend either. I drove from Laguna Seca to Big Sur, and the sound of that Italian-accented American voice was never better than when banging off cliff sides and echoing out over the ocean.

Ford mated its new halo engine to a six-speed manual transmission from Tremec that, frankly, sets a high-water mark for muscle car shifters. A medium-weight clutch and short-throw lever allowed me to move briskly up the ladder, and downshifts were snappy, too. Even on the track, banging from third to second to set up for Turn 11's right angle, the box worked smoothly. Considering I've had the misfortune of using several disagreeable Mustang manuals in the past, this felt like a major step forward.

The first-ever MagneRide dampers on a Mustang fall into that quantum leap category, as well. Even riding on rubber-band tires and 19-inch wheels, I found ride quality on the street drive to be completely acceptable. You might not love daily driving the GT350 on Snow Belt roads, but the most conforming suspension mode ("Normal") wasn't harsh on Cali's coast. Sport and Track modes up the stiffness at the corners, and the flatness with which I was able to dispatch them. The pinned-down feeling on the public roads turned to "stuck to the Earth" at track speeds, the chassis doing good work in keeping my contact patch fat and my ego growing.

Now, I'd hoped that Ford would have allotted enough time for me to drive both the standard GT350 and its even-more-focused GT350R counterpart equally. Sadly, that wasn't the case. I didn't get the R on the road drive at all, and the one-session I had on the track was simply a tartare appetizer to the lesser car's steak dinner. But it was enough of a taste to tell you, definitively: These tires are mind-blowing. Ford worked with Michelin to develop a set of Pilot Sport Cup 2 tires (riding on the incredible carbon-fiber wheels) that are as maniacally sticky as any I've sampled. Forget for a second they're fitted to a sub-$100,000 vehicle; this rubber would be at home on any supercar worth half a million. And even though I only had four laps to try (come on, Ford!), I couldn't begin to get the rubber to give up on any high-g section of Laguna's swooping course. Naturally, it's a moral imperative that we get the GT350R on track and angry with Chevy's Z/28 Camaro – there can be only one.

The sticker rubber also delivered a lot more tire information to the steering wheel. The R offered a good sense of grip via my fingertips, at least on the track. But during street driving, I found the GT350 to be a bit wooly in terms of steering feel. Still, the electronic rack offered three effort levels; I found the heaviest Sport setting to be the most appropriate for the car, and the best matched to the very quick bite at turn-in.

I won't insult you by making a judgement on the Shelby's styling – your eyes and mine work equally well, presumably, though our taste in coupe design might have nothing in common. I will say that, for one, I didn't hear a man-jack among my fellow journalists saying anything bad about the aggressive look. What's more, Ford has really just confidently updated the visual vibe of the Mustang we've already come to know.

The GT350 will first come in two optional flavors – a Track Package and a Technology Package. The tech car has the smallest rear spoiler, a much more livable suite of infotainment inside, and non-Recaro seats that are softer, less supportive, and better for daily driving than the race buckets. The track-pack car has a much more spartan interior with a poverty spec (these days) head unit, and seats starchy enough to keep even my big Dutch ass firmly planted in a corner. It also has a taller rear spoiler, which makes it easier to pick out of a crowd. (Oh, and for those wondering, our photos show a tech-pack exterior with a track-pack interior, as I ended up photographing multiple vehicles. Buy me a beer someday and I'll tell you why.)

In basic configuration, the GT350 is a rather screaming good deal, too. The base price is $48,695 when you've added on the $900 destination charge, which might seem like a lot for a Mustang, but not very much for a BMW M4-level performance car. My guess is you'll see a lot of Shelby's optioned up in the mid fifties, with the big options packs adding lots of content but for thousands more ($7,500 for the tech pack and $6,500 for the track pack, for instance). The GT350R runs a stiffer $62,195, but that still undercuts that Z/28 by about ten grand, and it has carbon fiber wheels. I know, I know... I'm a nerd.

A month ago, my fellow editor Greg Migliore got a ride along in the Shelby in Western Michigan. Now, it's important to note that, among Greg's many fine qualities, his prescient sense for finding free food is perhaps the most astonishing. I once looked up from a plate of lukewarm auto show pasta mush to see Migliore holding a plate of fresh sushi and a glass of scotch, telling me that I'd just missed out on the Lexus lunch. True story (mostly). So, when I read that he'd passed on a big spread of BBQ to fit in a few more right-seat laps in the Shelby, I knew the car would be damn good. As it turns out, Greg and I were both right.

The GT350 is the rare-steak sporting machine that delightfully feeds our fastest dreams. The hot, bloody bite that makes any normal, safe, and friendly car so bland by comparison. Bon appetit.

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enzo101 said:

This was really interesting
http://www.hotrod.com/cars/new-car-...out-the-2015-shelby-mustang-gt350-and-gt350r/

14. The 5.2L engine was designed for 93-octane fuel, but will run on 87 octane with only a 15hp decrease in peak power.

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5.0 435 said:

That's what I wanted to know about is there any flat spots in the torque curve. Seems like there is around the 2000 to 3000 rpm range. It's a rev happy engine and as a daily driver not sure.

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ihc95 said:

Anyone who puts 87 in this car is a fool. Good the see that Ford made the car fool-proof

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Early in the development of the GT350, it was decided that a high-revving, naturally aspirated V8 engine would best suit a track-focused Mustang. “The final product is essentially an all-new powerplant unique to GT350 – “and one that takes true advantage of the new chassis dynamics of the Mustang platform,” said Jamal Hameedi, chief engineer, Ford Global Performance Vehicles.

The new 5.2-liter V8 engine is the first-ever production V8 from Ford with a flat-plane crankshaft, an architecture typically found only in racing applications or exotic European sports cars. Unlike a traditional V8, where the connecting rods are attached to the crankshaft at 90-degree intervals, this design evenly spaces all crank pins at 180-degrees intervals.

The 180-degree, flat-plane layout permits a cylinder firing order that alternates between cylinder banks, reducing the overlap of exhaust pressure pulses. When combined with cylinder-head and valvetrain advancements, this permits better cylinder breathing, further extending the performance envelope of the V8.

The result is the most powerful naturally aspirated production Ford engine ever, at 526 horsepower, with a torque peak of 429 lb.-ft. The track capability is enhanced by the output characteristics of the engine – the 5.2-liter V8 features an exceptionally broad torque curve.

Combined with its high-revving ability, the flat-plane 5.2-liter V8 gives drivers an enormous amount of performance and flexibility within each gear of the lightweight six-speed manual transmission. A standard Ford-tuned Torsen limited-slip differential optimizes cornering grip and straight-line traction. “Make no mistake, this is an American interpretation of a flat-plane crankshaft V8, and the 5.2-liter produces a distinctive, throaty howl from its four exhaust tips,” Hameedi said.

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Ford's latest Shelby GT350 is the most balanced, nimble and exhilarating production Mustang yet

MONTEREY, CALIF. – The name goes back half a century, to a time when both horsepower and gas were cheap and plentiful. It was also a time when I found out what obsession was, at least my pre-pubescent understanding of the word.

Fifty years ago, with the Beatles playing one of their weekly hits over my static-ridden AM radio and my reading light on, I, a scrawny and gawky kid, traded precious sleep time for all the information I could glean in Motor Trend and Car and Driver regarding the Shelby GT350, the “grooviest” Ford Mustang ever during the opening days of what would become the pony car wars between the Big Three.

Being a “Ford guy” and thanks to those buff books, I knew all 1965 GT350s were running K-Code 289-cubic-inch V8s modified to pump out 306 horsepower. The stock Ford Falcon live rear axle was replaced with a heavy-duty Ford Galaxie unit. Larger, metal-lined rear drum brakes and Kelsey-Hayes front disc brakes provided stopping power. The GT350R race-spec versions, built specifically for SCCA B-Production competition, were even groovier — er, cooler.

In retrospect, both of those cars — as valuable as they would be in today’s collector market — would seem positively tractor-like in comparison with today’s modern muscle machines. No such claim of crudity can be leveled against the new Shelby GT350 Mustang, benefiting from all the computer-aided improvements made to automobiles over the past 50 years, not to mention numerous bespoke components. True, it’s almost 1,000 pounds heavier than the original, which will have the old-timers clucking in disapproval, but this 2016 model also boasts 60 per cent more power.

Ah, yes, for this car and the performance segment it serves, it’s all about the numbers and the bragging rights that come with it — which, as is patently obvious, include thumbing its nose at the Chevrolet Camaro Z/28.

Under the hood, the Shelby GT350 and GT350R boasts a 5.2-litre V8 with 526 horsepower – the most powerful, normally aspirated engine Ford has ever built.
Brian Harper, Driving

First, the boast: Ford says the unique 5.2-litre flat-plane crankshaft V8 is the most powerful, normally aspirated road-going engine in Blue Oval history. Now the numbers: 526 horsepower and 429 lb.-ft. of torque for both the GT350 and the GT350R — achieved without turbocharging or supercharging. The V8 produces 102 horsepower per litre of displacement and, with an 8,250-rpm redline, is the highest-revving V8 the company has ever made. It is also the foundation on which the car is built.

“The Shelby GT350 program began with a clear objective: create the most balanced, nimble and exhilarating production Mustang yet,” said Jamal Hameedi, Ford Performance chief engineer, earlier this year. “Every change we made to this car was driven by the functional requirements of a powerful, responsive powerplant.”

“Responsive” doesn’t even begin to describe how lively the Shelby GT350 Mustang is when you nail the throttle.
Brian Harper, Driving

Somehow, the word “responsive” seems so inadequate. Put the hammer down and the Shelby launches with a fury that defies restrained metaphors. The shove into the back of the seat is accompanied by a howl emanating from the twin pipes, bordering on primal. In turn, this engenders an instinctive, unsuppressed reaction — a face-splitting smile, followed almost immediately by sheer panic as the tight, double-apex of Turn 2 looms. In its infinite wisdom, Ford is letting us hammer both the GT350 and the lighter-weight GT350R on the undulating and challenging Laguna Seca race circuit.

Unlike the good old days, when muscle cars were ferociously quick in a straight line but turned and braked like the Queen Mary, there is no drama. GT350s boast the largest brakes Ford has ever put on a production Mustang – massive 394-mm front discs and 380-mm rear rotors – clamped by six-piston fixed Brembo calipers with integrated caliper bridges at the front and four-piston units at the rear. These scrub off 100+ mph speeds with a fade-free efficiency I’ve seldom experienced.

Grip? The GT350 has plenty, thanks to the Michelin Pilot Super Sport tires.
Brian Harper, Driving

Ditto grip. The GT350 is fitted with Michelin Pilot Super Sport tires wrapped around 19-inch cast aluminum-alloy wheels — 10.5 inches wide up front and 11 inches in the rear. The tires, says Ford, deliver maximum traction on the road or for track days. Brake hard for a corner — the Recaro sport seats wrapping you in a lover’s embrace — turn the wheel and power out. No fuss, no muss.

The GT350R raises the stakes with its standard carbon-fibre wheels, with Ford claiming to be the first major automaker to introduce this type of wheel technology. Said wheels are 19 inches in diameter — 11 inches wide at the front and 11.5 inches at the rear — and fitted with custom formulated Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 tires. According to Ford Performance’s engineers, these wheels eliminate approximately 50 pounds of unsprung weight compared with the standard wheels and tires on the GT350.

The GT350 and GT350R’s 5.2-litre V8 is hooked up to a slick-shifting six-speed manual.
Brian Harper, Driving

Coupled to the monster motor is a lightweight Tremec TR-3160 six-speed manual transmission that’s been engineered for high-rpm use. It works just fine, the meaty shifter sliding through the gates with nary a hiccup or a hang-up.

After the on-track workout, the afternoon’s driving session on public roads in a bright yellow R was rather anti-climactic. The route meandered along a couple of canyon roads and on to famed Hwy. 1, which would have been a treat if it weren’t so congested with gawking vacationers. The car loafed along, burbling away contentedly at low rpm, just a downshift away from leaping at any chance to get around a poky rental car (which didn’t happen).

As a track car, the GT350R is first-rate. As a daily driver, it’s got certain compromises.
Brian Harper, Driving

What the route did provide was a chance to experience the R in a more common light. As a track car, the Shelby is first-rate. As a road car, be prepared to live with certain compromises. The first is that the Mustang tramlines over uneven surfaces as those big, expensive Michelin gumballs hunt for grip. The second is that the ride will never be described as limo-like.

The R comes with standard continuously variable MagneRide dampers, also available as part of a package on the 350. Much like the system familiar on certain higher-end GM products, the Shelby’s dampers are filled with a hydraulic fluid impregnated with iron particles. When an electric current is passed through the fluid, near-instantaneous adjustment of the suspension performance can be made. With wheel position sensors monitoring motion thousands of times per second combined with other vehicle data, changes can be made to each corner every seven milliseconds for greater handling performance.

Inside, the GT350’s Recaro seats hug you tight.
Brian Harper, Driving

Part and parcel is the car’s new integrated driver control system, which allows the selection of five different modes — including Normal, Track and Drag — to tailor ABS, stability control, traction control, steering effort, throttle mapping, suspension tuning and exhaust settings depending on driver preference. Unless you’re an ascetic, normal is the only mode that’s livable over long distances.

Ford Canada’s pricing for the GT350 starts at $62,599, with two optional packages – Track and Technology. The GT350R, on the other hand, starts at $79,499. Admittedly, there is a lot of choice at this end of the price spectrum. Conversely, the GT350 and 350R are a lot of car, easily the best-engineered and most performance-driven Mustangs to come off a production line.

Products of the heritage imbued in the Shelby name, these machines, though rather hardcore as daily drivers, will nonetheless please the faithful — young and old alike.

Young or old, the GT350 and GT350R has the goods to please Shelby faithful.

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S550guy said:

http://www.autoblog.com/2015/08/27/2016-ford-mustang-shelby-gt350-first-drive-review-video/

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Topnotch said:

http://www.carfanaticsforum.com/topi...-mega-gallery/

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