GT350 or Whippled GTPP?

[Zitrosounds]

Hoping for some input from those who may have considered similar options;

I purchased a barely used (3000 miles) stock 2015 GTPP (Recaros too) last summer with a plan to have some fun modding the car (wheels/tires, exhaust, tune, intake, suspension,etc). Loving the car but not a DD for me—just a fun street machine with no plans to track it,etc.

I really wanted a GT350 but at the time did not have the cash on hand for one.

I recently came into some unplanned cash which is burning a hole in my pocket so I’m contemplating selling the GT and buying a GT350. I’m also considering adding a supercharger (Whipple or Paxton) to the GT this Spring as well as part of my mods.

Anyone follow a similar path (upgrade GT and/or move up to GT350)? Just trying think through options. Maybe the comparison is really a fully modded GT vs a less-modded GT 350. I understand this is not really an apple2apple comparison (SC vs NA car, etc) but just curious if others have contemplated choices.

Thx in advance for any insights.

I forgot to mention that I cam from modded 12GT TP/Boss clone to a 15 GT PP, then 16 GT350 TP and finally an R. No more moves to make. If I buy a sports car again it will be a GT3 of some sort.

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[Nomadic]

I just think I am missing out on the cool factor of a GT350 because no matter how cool or fast your GT is they are still a dime a dozen.

One of the things I love about my car. It looks like a regular GT (albeit lowered and black exhaust tips) but it's boosted and a sleeper. I don't like standing out too much but that's just me.
Although sometimes I think, Jeez this car is insane for the street and "sort of" miss my Focus ST which I could flog and still remain in the stratosphere. Surprisingly, my PP GT that is lowered 1 inch still has a nicer ride quality than my Focus ST did.

 

[Hack]

Street only I'd do a power adder on a GT if the goal is to have straight line acceleration. Plan to upgrade the rear wheels and tires to help hook it. Or no wheels/tires needed if the goal is to spin the tires rather than to accelerate.

If the goal is to turn heads/bragging rights it would be a toss up GT350 or just add stripes to the GT.

I do think the GT350 has more of a special feel to it than a GT and I think it's plenty of fun for street driving. IMO the sound of the engine is a huge attraction and I'm going to have trouble ever finding another car that makes such great noises and fits my budget. You don't have to drive like a meathead/outlaw to enjoy the GT350. I think the GT350 will depreciate more slowly and I prefer to have full warranty coverage versus decreasing the warranty by slapping on a blower.

 

[CaptainUnderpants]

I love modding cars but hate having to finally sell a modded car and live with the fact that I may have thrown away $20k of mods.

Being 55 yrs old, there wasn't a car that didn't need to be modded when I was growing up. Whether it was a car or motorcycle every 1980's vehicle needed a litany of modifications to be fun and/or drive-able. Today's cars are so good that mods are no longer necessary and factory upgrades are often better and cheaper than the aftermarket for the price.

Take the GT350 as an example, for 20k you get the following all engineered into a tightly integrated package. Plus 100hp in a completely unique engine, state of the art suspension and suspension components, brembo brakes, completely redesigned front body work with aero's, upgraded transmission, integrated cooling. There is no way the aftermarket could do this for that price, nor with the level of engineering and finish. If these mods or equivalent were done in the aftermarket the cost would be 20-100k+ and you would likely get little of that money back. Instead I get the best 20k of upgrades I've ever spent, and will likely get a good portion or all of the extra funds spent back.

I do miss the days of drooling over racing and aftermarket catalogs. Till this day I salivate when I hear the burble of a UPS truck pulling up to my home, anticipating packages of aftermarket joy. I loved the tinkering and incremental upgrading and the planning and the sense of accomplishment in creating something that was not available to anyone. To have any kind of worthwhile machine 30+ years ago, you had to create it. Today, there are so many choices of amazing cars that IMO it is best to buy the machine with the upgrades already in place.

My (and your pocketbook's) vote is to buy a GT350, although I understand the fun and reward of creating your own masterpiece.

 

[Nomadic]

What would concern me is if the GT350s are so great, why does the classified section seem to be plastered with them? Seems a lot of owners are selling them.

 

[nastang87xx]

What would concern me is if the GT350s are so great, why does the classified section seem to be plastered with them? Seems a lot of owners are selling them.

Think of bitcoin.

 

[Zitrosounds]

What would concern me is if the GT350s are so great, why does the classified section seem to be plastered with them? Seems a lot of owners are selling them.

C'mon!!! Seriously!? Shall we add up how many 17 GT's are up for sale know that the 18 is in production?

Edit: Cargurus alone has almost 2,000 used mustang from 2015-17 up for sale. Almost half of that are GT's.

 

[CaptainUnderpants]

What would concern me is if the GT350s are so great, why does the classified section seem to be plastered with them? Seems a lot of owners are selling them.

The GT350 is a race car pure and simple, it is not a car for the average person. Yet with such amazing reviews there will be a lot of people that end up buying the car and then realize it is not a good match. It is very understandable that many buyers come to the conclusion that the GT350 is not the right car for them.

The fact that it still can be driven comfortably on the street, even as an everyday, is simply amazing, yet you never forget that it is a pure race car.

The low price of entry has given many an opportunity to try this car on for size, and the fact that it doesn't fit their expectation of what a "great car" should be does not surprise me. A Race Car for the street has a very narrow appeal, yet the reviews have been so glowing that many might not understand the need to really search your soul if a race car is a correct fit. And many would be buyers have neither owned a race car nor have race track experience.

I bet that if each would be buyer was required to do a drive along with a pro driver at the Track Attack experience many would say "Oh my God, I want this car!". Many others would probably say "Wow, amazing, but this car is TO MUCH for me." But you just don't know until you own a race car and then drive it on the street.

 

[nastang87xx]

The GT350 is a race car pure and simple, it is not a car for the average person. Yet with such amazing reviews there will be a lot of people that end up buying the car and then realize it is not a good match. It is very understandable that many buyers come to the conclusion that the GT350 is not the right car for them.

The fact that it still can be driven comfortably on the street, even as an everyday, is simply amazing, yet you never forget that it is a pure race car.

The low price of entry has given many an opportunity to try this car on for size, and the fact that it doesn't fit their expectation of what a "great car" should be does not surprise me. A Race Car for the street has a very narrow appeal, yet the reviews have been so glowing that many might not understand the need to really search your soul if a race car is a correct fit. And many would be buyers have neither owned a race car nor have race track experience.

I bet that if each would be buyer was required to do a drive along with a pro driver at the Track Attack experience many would say "Oh my God, I want this car!". Many others would probably say "Wow, amazing, but this car is TO MUCH for me." But you just don't know until you own a race car and then drive it on the street.

I love my GT350 very very dearly but it is NOT a pure race car. ZL1 1LE, Viper ACR. Those are race cars for the street. The GT350 and 350R are GREAT street cars that have race car chops but they are not pure race cars by any stretch of the means.

 

[CaptainUnderpants]

What would concern me is if the GT350s are so great, why does the classified section seem to be plastered with them? Seems a lot of owners are selling them.

Currently there are 243 GT350's on Cars.com. There have been about 10,000 produced in about 3 years. So 10,000 cars have sold over 36 months which translates to 278 sales per month. Just approx figures. So there is less than one months supply of cars on the market.

This is far from a glut of cars for sale. In fact it is a pretty tight market.

 

[Hack]

I love my GT350 very very dearly but it is NOT a pure race car. ZL1 1LE, Viper ACR. Those are race cars for the street. The GT350 and 350R are GREAT street cars that have race car chops but they are not pure race cars by any stretch of the means.

I agree with this. The GT350 is very livable. I think a lot of people sell them because they have had their fun and are ready for the next new thing.

 

[CaptainUnderpants]

I love my GT350 very very dearly but it is NOT a pure race car. ZL1 1LE, Viper ACR. Those are race cars for the street. The GT350 and 350R are GREAT street cars that have race car chops but they are not pure race cars by any stretch of the means.

I get that.... but strip out all of the conveniences, interior, aircon, seats etc and make some pretty simple track mods and it is. It is a lot closer to a race car than your stock rental car. The point was that many buyers have never experienced this level of performance and may change their mind when they realized they have purchased a track focused vehicle.

Many buyers don't want or need what the GT350 has to offer, they just thought they did because the reviews are so glowing.

I agree with this. The GT350 is very livable. I think a lot of people sell them because they have had their fun and are ready for the next new thing.

That too!

 

[jvandy50]

Obviously cost is a concern for Drknight15. Regardless of the argument of N/A vs F/I on a 350, why on earth would you spend more on a car that still needs F/I vs a 15 GT which is significantly less add F/I and make the same power as F/I 5.2L voodoo?

i guess you could argue you get the tremec, some nice michelins, and one hell of a looker

people that aren’t car people notice the 350 and comment quite often, i did not expect this. don’t really like the extra attention, but also want to drive what I enjoy.

i do miss my 16GTPP, and i was even in love with that exhaust note(headers,corsa sport), but i know when i get ready to move from this 350, i will do better on resale...i haven’t sunk as much into it and its viewed as a more special car.

OP, if ya wana tinker and enjoy that kind of stuff the GT will be a sweet car, but if you wana just get in and go the 350 is pretty damn amazing right outta the box

 

[Nomadic]

Currently there are 243 GT350's on Cars.com. There have been about 10,000 produced in about 3 years. So 10,000 cars have sold over 36 months which translates to 278 sales per month. Just approx figures. So there is less than one months supply of cars on the market.

This is far from a glut of cars for sale. In fact it is a pretty tight market.

Autotrader has 296 used GT 350s. 22 used 350Rs. And this forum seems to have a ton considering it’s not a mass prod car. I think for $60k, it should be faster than a $38k 1SS regardless of its handling. And it’s not.

 

[jefc73]

Autotrader has 296 used GT 350s. 22 used 350Rs. And this forum seems to have a ton considering it’s not a mass prod car. I think for $60k, it should be faster than a $38k 1SS regardless of its handling. And it’s not.

Have you ever driven one??

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