Nothing screams "tact" like someone explaining to everyone else that they are better than them.
Yeah, I probably should have worded it differently. Wasn't commenting about my driving ability as much as I was commenting on how close I think the 350 is to the 350R. I apologize!
OK so, lets all agree that a 350 is a great car be it an R or not. Consider that a 4 second advantage at VIR is huge. Take the same two cars/drivers and put them at Blackhawk farms or Gingerman raceway (or similar small tracks) the advantage shrinks exponentially. Considering that, your statement is very true. The advantage on track with the R is a sliding scale. Keep in mind, this whole conversation stems from a post where the statement was made that some R owners are upset because there is so little difference between a base and an R. The differences are well documented. There are many reasons a person chooses the particular model. Some want the back seat, a little higher ride height, a little softer springs. Others choose the R for the opposite. I have not heard an R owner (key word I) chastise a base owner for their choice but many times have heard the opposite. Granted, its a small vocal group. Why is that? There are other reasons to own an R besides time on track. Apology given (by me) and apology accepted (from you).
Thanks Tim. I wouldn't argue with you on any of those points. It really comes down to what each person wants. For me there were clear differences between the 350 and the R that I did not personally like or didn't fit my lifestyle/purpose for the car. Heck, the first thing I did was replace the rear wing and wheels/tires on my 2019 350 because of aesthetics and functionality.... LOL..-- Totally respect each person's choice and I respect the position that the R has in the Shelby Chain.OK, Here is my opinion.
Seats... Yes the comfort seats are way more comfortable then the Recaros. Especially for long trips. Especially miss the heated seats.
The car is lower, the splitter is larger on the R so you do have to be a bit more careful with clearance but its not a lot worse then a base 350.
The rear wing....... Non issue
The sound....prefer the bark of the R
Track......R is considerably quicker stock for stock
Conclusion is If I were to want a daily or a long distance driver I think the Base is the choice
If you want to drive 2 to 3 hours, track your car aggressively and are looking for some exclusivity, the R is the only choice.
All 350's are great cars!
And that is an opinion
Ahh, I completely missed that this was a base model. They did a poor job wording the description and explaining the reason why it's so rare. They make it seem like the color spec is the reason why it's 1 of 17.With all due respect I would like to point out that the Mecum description is accurate based on the fact that I do not see a GPS antenna on this 2016 R model therefore suggest that this is 1 of 17 Base R models assembled in Oxford White for the 2016 model year.
Based on my records Ford produced 526 R's for the 2016 MY with Shadow Black (159) being the most popular color color by Oxford White (147) being the second most popular color that year.
Of the 147 Oxford White R's produced for 2016 there were 130 cars equipped with the Electronics Package and just 17 Base R's assembled at the FRAP that year.
FWIW, of the 135 Base R's built over the 4 year run the 2016 MY had by far the most cars built with 64 assembled in 2016 and of course 2015 had the least number of Base R's built with just 6 cars built in total.
Totally agreed that the consignor and/or Mecum could have done a much better job of describing just how rare this 2016 Base R model is.
This is going to be a tough one man... and the pressure is on now lol. The car has some things going against it. 2016s haven't done that great at auction, and it's one of the most popular color specs that you could get on a R, in any year. But it's also a base, but I don't feel that the collector car community has really caught on to these base cars yet, as evident of the terrible posting and lack of pictures to showcase its uniqueness. Let me think about it and I'll have a number for you tomorrow.Totally agreed that the consignor and/or Mecum could have done a much better job of describing just how rare this 2016 Base R model is.
I remember looking at this car closely online quite some time ago and if I recall correctly it is chassis "GR364".
If I was the owner of this very cool vehicle I certainly would revise the Mecum listing as you mentioned as it certainly deserves better.
Based on your recent incredible accuracy for predicting the selling prices for some R models where do you peg this car to hammer at including the buyers premium?
We've all gone OT quite a bit here as this thread is about the rising values of ALL of these cars. That said, it is almost always the case that specific options of special cars hold value a a bit better than others..in this case, the R. These days though, the non-R is doing pretty well too!
Billy’s time differences was down to tires are a bit better aero. All things that can be remedied on a GT350
