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

Carguy68 said:

Have to do a complete test drive ....

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wproctor411 said:

Interesting comment from Top Gear about the R in comparison to the regular GT350:

""What about the R?

Like night and day. Within 10 metres of pulling away you can feel it’s going to be a riot and it doesn’t disappoint. Everything is on high alert. It’s a little bit louder, a little bit crisper, lighter and much, much faster. And there’s no mystery where that extra speed is coming from – you can get out of corners so much earlier and quicker and brake so much later because you feel so confident in the car. If the GT350 is a six or seven on the confidence scale, the R is a solid nine out of 10. That’s largely down to the amazing – it’s really the right word for them – wheels and tyres, but also the zillion detail tuning adjustments to all the engine and chassis systems, too.""

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The Top Gear First Drive:First drive: new Shelby GT350 and GT350R Mustang

What is this?
This is the return to the Ford range of the historic Shelby GT350 nameplate. The model first joined the line up in 1965 as a high-performance variant of the Mustang GT and ran for just five years before being discontinued. Carroll Shelby’s company, Shelby American, marketed its own modified Mustang GT350 for a few years. Now Ford Performance has grabbed the name back for its new star pony car.

What about the R version?
Unlike the relatively stock standard GT350, the R cars were stripped-out specials that had everything that didn’t make them faster removed. Out went the heater, headliner, insulating materials and trim panels. The side and rear windows were replaced by lighter Plexiglass. And it worked. The car swept the field in five out of six sports car championships in its first year. So there are some pretty big expectations on any car wearing that badge.

That’s enough history, what’s the big news about the new GT350 and GT350R?
The headline about this car is the flat-plane crank 5.2-litre V8 engine. Codenamed Voodoo, it puts out 526bhp and 429 lb-ft of torque, while revving its socks off in a very non muscle car way up to a nerve-jangling 8,250prm. At first, especially on the road, it just doesn’t feel natural to rev the motor to such a high number. Not least because, even in the lower gears, you hit illegal speeds long before the engine has finished shouting its way to the top. But also because we are used to V8 muscle cars being real low and mid range punchers.

So it’s all top end then?
Nope. Despite how it looks on paper, the Voodoo does have plenty of mid range poke. It’s just that it has this extra crazy ability to rev out like a race car, too. What it doesn’t have is the typical flat-plane crank V8 instant reaction from zero revs, like the Porsche 918, Ferrari 458 and McLaren 12C. Sit at a junction and stab at the throttle and you get more of a lazy bark than an instant tacho flick to the red line.

Does it sound good?
Oh yes. It sounds great – but only when you’ve opened the exhaust valves via the dash-mounted switch. Keep this on and the car sounds like a strangled six. Flick it open and you – plus anyone within a mile radius – really start to get your money’s worth.

What about the rest of the car. What’s new?
Other than the motor, there’s a lightweight six-speed manual gearbox that is a big jump up from the regular GT’s ‘box. It has a lighter and more positive action plus there is no thump from the rear axle when you select first gear, as on the regular GT with the Performance Pack, even though there is a Torsen diff in there. So that’s real progress. As is the five-mode driver control system, similar to GM’s Performance Traction Management unit, which acts on the steering, throttle, traction control, ABS, stability control , exhaust settings and magneride dampers – these are a great addition – according to the type of driving style the driver selects. Brakes are huge – especially the rears – cross-drilled iron discs, the wheels are 19-inches front and rear and the tyres are custom made Michelin Pilot Super Sports.






How does the 350R’s spec differ from the standard GT350?
It looks subtle on paper, but the changes are huge. As with the original R car there has been some significant (130lb) weight saving here. Ticking the R spec box clears, in true GT350R fashion, all niceties like rear seats, carpet, air con, stereo, etc. You can add some of them back in if you want the racer with a radio and nav. But I can’t see much point in doing that. Would be like trying to read a book and watch a film at the same time.

Any trick technology?
One of the biggest innovations is the 350R’s carbon fibre wheels. These Australian designed hoops save a staggering 16 pounds of weight on each corner of the car. Combined with the phenomenal Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 tyres these two changes alone transform the standard R’s handling to a point where even some quite serious supercars might have trouble keeping up with it.

Really? How?
Add in some painstakingly detailed and thorough aero work – the R has twice the downforce of a Porsche GT3, which is a bit misleading as the GT3 doesn’t need that much thanks to its rear engine configuration, but it’s a fun figure all the same – plus a reworking of all the other chassis systems and, despite the engine remaining largely the same, you have a properly special car.

So what was it like to drive?
We only drove the standard GT350 on the street and it was completely civilized. You have to just forget about that sky-high redline and enjoy the car’s quicker overall responses and composure. With everything set in road mode the steering is still quick and light and the suspension keeps everything calm and smooth. You’d be happy to drive this everyday in all conditions.

What was it like on the circuit?
Great but not amazing. After all the hype we were really expecting something special and, as fun as it was to rev out the engine and slam it through the corners, it doesn’t feel really special. Definitely a big step up from the standard Mustang GT, just not the huge leap forward many of us were expecting.

What about the R?
Like night and day. Within 10 metres of pulling away you can feel it’s going to be a riot and it doesn’t disappoint. Everything is on high alert. It’s a little bit louder, a little bit crisper, lighter and much, much faster. And there’s no mystery where that extra speed is coming from – you can get out of corners so much earlier and quicker and brake so much later because you feel so confident in the car. If the GT350 is a six or seven on the confidence scale, the R is a solid nine out of 10. That’s largely down to the amazing – it’s really the right word for them – wheels and tyres, but also the zillion detail tuning adjustments to all the engine and chassis systems, too.

So should I buy one?
You’ll be lucky if you can. The standard GT350 will be tough enough to get your hands on, not least because it starts at a ludicrously low $50k. But you can forget putting an R in your garage for a couple of years yet. Ford Performance is only going to build a few hundred a year for the next several years and the waiting list is going to be several miles long. But please try all the same. Cars like this don’t come along very often – and never for just $64k – so you owe it to yourself to at least have a go in one. I guarantee you will not be disappointed.

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wproctor411 said:

Interesting comment from Top Gear about the R in comparison to the regular GT350:

""What about the R?

Like night and day. Within 10 metres of pulling away you can feel it’s going to be a riot and it doesn’t disappoint. Everything is on high alert. It’s a little bit louder, a little bit crisper, lighter and much, much faster. And there’s no mystery where that extra speed is coming from – you can get out of corners so much earlier and quicker and brake so much later because you feel so confident in the car. If the GT350 is a six or seven on the confidence scale, the R is a solid nine out of 10. That’s largely down to the amazing – it’s really the right word for them – wheels and tyres, but also the zillion detail tuning adjustments to all the engine and chassis systems, too.""

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high_glove_side said:

I'm a bit surprised that they'd consider the R to be so noticeably faster. Unless I missed something, aren't the 350 and 350R the same as far as drivetrain?

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high_glove_side said:

I'm a bit surprised that they'd consider the R to be so noticeably faster. Unless I missed something, aren't the 350 and 350R the same as far as drivetrain?

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high_glove_side said:

I'm a bit surprised that they'd consider the R to be so noticeably faster. Unless I missed something, aren't the 350 and 350R the same as far as drivetrain?

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high_glove_side said:

I'm a bit surprised that they'd consider the R to be so noticeably faster. Unless I missed something, aren't the 350 and 350R the same as far as drivetrain?

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Bhermz said:

Wheels and Tires make all the difference.

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Carguy68 said:

Give me some orange love, ok .......

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2016 Ford Mustang Shelby GT350 / GT350R

Ford moves the muscle car to a higher order.

We’ve been here before. We’ve stared down the barrel of a twin-striped Mustang with more than 500 horsepower and the name of a Texas chicken farmer across its fanny. The last one, the 2013 Shelby GT500, had 662 horsepower, in fact, and was said to go over 200 mph. It didn’t, not for us, anyway. Even so, it was what a Shelby Mustang should be, what it has been for decades: a hot quarter-mile with a side of smoky burnout. It was a muscle car with more. Mustang lovers got sweaty, but as usual, the rest of the auto world just shrugged and moved on with evolution.

Ford says it’s different this time. It says the new Shelby GT350, a name positively gestational with history, is a light-year leap in sophistication and handling. It says the flat-plane-crank V-8 delivers 8000 revelations per minute, that the magnetic suspension and custom, cross-drilled brake system and Michelin superstick tires prove that the company is serious about achieving world-class handling.
Well, Ford says a lot of things.

Our natural skepticism, honed to a katana’s twinkle by years of Shelbys with skull-rattling rides and plodding dynamics, marched proudly into the cockpit of the new GT350—whereupon it died instantly on the car’s red start button. Vaa-ROOOOOMpapapapapapa!!!!
Oh. Maybe they’re serious this time...

Cont'd....

http://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/2016-ford-mustang-shelby-gt350-gt350r-first-drive-review

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The Ford Shelby GT350R Is The Best Performance Car Ford's Ever Built

The sound is the first thing that about the Ford Shelby GT350R Mustang that grabs your attention. It makes the hair on the back of your neck stand up. It starts with a guttural growl and then builds from there. And keeps building. And building. And building.

An 8,250 RPM rev limit and 529 horsepower from a flat plane crank V8 will do that.

If an engine can win an award just for sound this one would be in the Hall of Fame tomorrow. It’s unlike anything I’ve heard and is probably the single best exhaust note on a new vehicle. It. Is. Awesome.

Fortunately for Ford, the rest of the car is just as impressive.

(FULL DISCLOSURE: Ford needed us to drive the GT350 and GT350R so badly they flew Michael Roselli to Monterey and put me up at a hotel. Jalopnik actually had to fly me in because I was coming from a BTCC race. It’s been a fun week.)

After years of praying at the altar of the solid rear axle, Ford has decided to risk switching over to that new fangled independent rear suspension thing that all of the kids are into these days for the Ford Mustang. The risk has paid off tremendously, as the switch has made the GT350R a serious contender in the battle for street-legal track car supremacy.

Leaving the pit lane and heading towards Turn 3 at Laguna Seca, the first thing that strikes you (other than the aforementioned exhaust note) is how solid and planted the car feels. There’s almost no noticeable body roll. Every input of the steering wheel translates directly into a direction change in the car virtually without delay.
It’s quite similar to how my racecar feels, which is unusual in a street car that also has to be used to get groceries and go to Sonic. I rarely take my racecar to Sonic.

Ramping up the pace the next thing you notice is how connected the front and rear feel. In Mustangs of days gone by there’s always been a feeling that the two ends were actually were from two different cars. That’s a solid rear axle trait and it’s always frustrated me.

Drivers who could make the most of that setup in Mustang race cars were always hard to beat, using big stabs of throttle to get the rear to break free before they pointed the car down the straightaway. In effect, they were steering the car with the throttle and leaving massive black stripes on the exit of every corner. If you could make it work, you were going to be hard to beat in a Mustang. I never could. Now with the new IRS suspension setup everything feels like it’s where it belongs and all things are working together.

One nice bit of future tech that’s been making an appearance on several performance cars in the past few years is the adaptive suspension, which Ford calls MagneRide here. You see similar systems on cars like the Camaro ZL1 and Cadillac ATS-V, to say nothing of the exotics. Now it’s on a Mustang too.

MagneRide’s benefits are immediately apparent on the track as the suspension reactions to changes in the road surface in a little as seven milliseconds. It allows the car to be both stiff and compliant as needed which is massively helpful in keeping everything planted.

Additionally, Ford engineers spent huge resources in upgrading the base Mustang’s suspension with aluminum front uprights with revised geometry and lightweight rear control arms with counter-wound spring pockets. Larger front and rear sway bars help keep all four wheels connected to the asphalt.

All that suspension wizardry would be for nothing if the four black bits of rubber connection the car to the track weren’t up to the task. To that end, Ford says they worked closely with the tire gurus at Michelin to create a band of rubber especially for the 350R. When they set the design parameters for the tire they ignored other high performance street tires and instead benchmarked Michelin’s own racing slick. Yup, thats right, the same slick used to great effect in ALMS. According to the engineers, that’s a tire that equals the performance of the venerable Hoosier R6 and yet still has a 180 tread wear rating.
We live in glorious times!

On track, all this engineering comes together in what has to be the best, most complete performance car to ever come out of Ford’s stables. Yes, you read that right. Ever. EVER.

To me, Ford’s performance cars have always felt like a compromise. It was like the business case for a true performance car wasn’t strong enough, so you’d always end up with a parts bin car that made the best of what was on the shelves with more of an eye on the bottom line than the finish line. This is not the case with the 350R.

Despite having to elbow out literally dozens of journalists from every conceivable periodical on the planet to scratch out a measly dozen or so laps, I left with the enduring feeling that this car is something special.

That feeling didn’t go away when videographer Mike Roselli and I managed to co-opt a particularly lovely looking Battle Ship Gray 350R at the end of the day for some street driving. (Our order from the folks at Ford was to have the car back to the hotel by no later that 8:30 p.m. sharp. In true Jalop style we came blazing up Cannery Row in a massive cloud of tire smoke and shrieking exhaust note rolled in at 8:32 pm after realizing that the clock in the car was an hour slow.)
Mike and I managed to dodge rush hour traffic and made our way over to the legendary Pacific Coast Highway where we immediately got stuck behind a garden truck and a dozen Priuses, which seems to be the eternal curse for anyone who finds their way into the seat of an amazing car. Once clear of traffic, the 350R immediately went to work reinforcing my belief of how good it is.

As legendary as the PCH is, the fact that it’s on the California coast makes it probably one of the most elementally battered and abused roads in the world. In most street cars capable of this level of performance on the track, the ride would be absolutely punishing and the performance of the car would be compromised by the simple fact that the none of the wheels would be in contact with the tarmac at the same time.

The MagneRide suspension takes care of all of that. Mike an I spent the better part of 3 hours cruising up and down PCH (after 12 hours in the sun at the track) and neither one of us was in a particular hurry to get out of the car at the end of the day.

In part that was due the the unreal sounds that voodoo engine was making. Of the three hours we spent in the car, I think two hours were spent in second gear letting the engine run all the way to its 8,250 RPM redline.

Around Monterey the exhaust note was a bit straight-pipe-Harley-in-NYC-at-4-a.m. obnoxious (there’s a switch that cuts the volume in half), but on the PCH it was simply incredible. Even more fun was the trick that the Ford engineers taught us. If you hold wide open throttle for a couple of seconds and then abruptly lift to about 10 percent throttle and hold it, it has the effect of making the engine pop, spit, and burble for miles. It also has the effect of making grown men giggle like little school girls (Mike, not me. I don’t giggle.)

None of this is to say the 350R is without faults, but they are minor in comparison. The seating position isn’t ideal. No matter how much I fiddled with it either the steering wheel was too far away or the pedals were.

In part, that feeling was caused by a clutch pedal throw that felt like you were stopping at the radiator and not the firewall. The engagement of the clutch is very short for the length of throw, meaning that its a bit of a struggle to get away from traffic lights cleanly.

Shifting was also not perfect, as the Tremec gearbox was on the notchy side making race-quick 3-4 shifts problematic. Fortunately, with an engine that pulls hard from 3,500 RPM all the way to red line, shifting is more of an option than a requirement a fair portion of the time.

Finally, the Brembo brakes, while producing massive stopping power, were inconsistent. One corner you’d have normal pedal effort the next it would be hard briefly before dropping to normal effort. This most likely isn’t the brakes themselves but more likely the brake booster coping with the engines high RPM’s.

At the end of the day, none of these issues detract from what is a truly great car. Ford gave us a taste of what the GT350R and it’s slightly less track-focused GT350 can do and all I can think is: I want more. And while it is not cheap — the GT350 starts at $48,695 and the R at $62,195 — the level of exotic-killing potential you get here makes that price tag seem like chump change.

It’s at this point I should mention to anyone who works at Ford that I live in Germany at a little place called the Nürburgring and I think your new car would be right at home there. And the new Ford GT. And the Focus RS. And the new Raptor because... why the hell not?

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