New Shelby American GT350

[robvas]

At work and can't play videos. But do they mention what wheels and tires the GT350R would get? Flow-forged wheels is kind of a step back from the CF pieces on the S550 R's.

1. It's an actual race car
2. Carbon fiber wheels are very rare in racing
3. It has enough carbon fiber on the body to not need it on the wheels
4. It's not even being built by Shelby, a third-party shop is doing it (since Shelby doesn't make race cars...)

Think of it like the Dark Horse R

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[Snakebyte]

A year ago I began wondering if, since Carroll Shelby has passed, that maybe Ford was looking at a way to cool the relationship with Carroll's organization, focusing more on keeping performance Mustangs a little closer to their treasury (in the form of income to them more and income to others less). Let's call it DOME...Department of Mustang Efficiency.

Of course SA, Hennessey, RTR, Roush, etc. will still try to put their performance spin on the base product....in this case, a Mustang.

 

[Ahung12]

1. It's an actual race car
2. Carbon fiber wheels are very rare in racing
3. It has enough carbon fiber on the body to not need it on the wheels
4. It's not even being built by Shelby, a third-party shop is doing it (since Shelby doesn't make race cars...)

Think of it like the Dark Horse R

Well I can see someone making the argument that the S550 R's were race cars as wel, at least to the same or greater degree than these new SA Shelby's are marketed.

Regardless, the S550 R set a pretty high bar in terms of a Shelby's value prop by including those Carbon Revolution wheels as part of the package. Also it can be argued that the amount of unsprung mass reduction from CF wheels would have a greater impact to on-track performance than sprung mass reduction from replacing some body panels, especially on a car making this much power.

 

[MAGS1]

FWIW, SA is getting lit up in their social media posts (and other outlet’s social media too). Seems that the majority is saying no. Ford/Ford Performance set a high bar with the S550 GT350/R in terms of both performance and price.

 

[robvas]

Regardless, the S550 R set a pretty high bar in terms of a Shelby's value prop by including those Carbon Revolution wheels as part of the package. Also it can be argued that the amount of unsprung mass reduction from CF wheels would have a greater impact to on-track performance than sprung mass reduction from replacing some body panels, especially on a car making this much power.

Again, this is an actual race car, and carbon fiber wheels are not allowed in almost every race series.

 

[Ahung12]

Ahhhh I see, I'm reading more on the S650 R version now. Very interesting. So the new R is almost like a homologation special but without homologation rules.

I found this funny, maybe it's just me:
"“For all the great things that the 350 was from [2015 to 2020], the one thing that in today’s world that people wanted is, quite frankly, more than 526 horses,” Shelby American President Gary Patterson told The Drive."

Nah, Gary. The people got exactly what they wanted with the S550 GT350's: A nearly perfectly balanced driving experience, and the greatest engine and exhaust sounds ever. Hard to top without a Voodoo.

 

[Rhyanski]

And they are all just overpriced GT's with a Whipple. You can do this over the weekend in your garage.

Having their own powertrains was one of the things that made the FORD GT350/500 special. 5.4, 5.8, 5.2...TR6060, TR3160, DCT...

Mostly agree, yet the only different was the voodoo, the rest go in the F150 as well. Now with the locked ECU, it will be down to the magic the "official" tuners will provide. Ford want to take away home-brewed crazy cars, so now they feed the aftermarket tuning studios giving them "official permission" to do so. Still hard core enthusiasts will have some options, but not as many as the options with s550.

 

[BlkMach10510]

Mostly agree, yet the only different was the voodoo, the rest go in the F150 as well. Now with the locked ECU, it will be down to the magic the "official" tuners will provide. Ford want to take away home-brewed crazy cars, so now they feed the aftermarket tuning studios giving them "official permission" to do so. Still hard core enthusiasts will have some options, but not as many as the options with s550.

"official permission" = highest bidder

 

[MAGS1]

"official permission" = highest bidder

And probably some level of EPA stuff too. Wouldn’t be surprised if these manufacturers are being directed by the EPA to lock down the tuning so EPA requirements can’t be overridden.

 

[Nfs1000f]

Shelby America: We will give you a new 2025 Shelby GT350 in exchange for your 2017 GT350.

Me: No.

The new Shelby GT350 will be built in far few numbers than the 24,000 or so GT350/R’s that were built between 2015 and 2020. The new GT350 may become more collectible. Certainly the “R” will.
I didn’t buy my car hoping that it would become more valuable or collectible. It is a special car because of the Voodoo and no new Shelby, no matter how much horsepower is under the hood, will not change my mind.

 

[JAJ]

I don't know about this "race car" thinking about the Shelby GT350R. It's described thus:

"The street-legal, track-ready Shelby GT350R features a carbon fiber interior 'tub', optional carbon fiber racing seats and harnesses, carbon fiber trim, integrated roll cage, Turn Key Automotive/Motorsports, Trans AM spec high speed carbon fiber Aero package, fully-adjustable, JRI race struts and shocks with remote reservoir, ProSystems Alcon racing brakes, numerous chassis upgrades and more. MSRP will be announced shortly."

Putting that in plain English, it's GT with a blower, a bunch of interior carbon fiber trim, a roll cage, an aero package, Alcon brakes and JRI coil-overs. It starts out street legal and ends up street legal. It's a track day car, or at least it is if it has decent cooling for the drive train.

 

[MNGT350]

Good video from Hagerty

Interesting video. the quote "carroll's favorite car was always the next one" makes me wonder if he'd feel that way today, given the regulatory/climate enviornment and the compromises that the "next one" increasingly has to make.

 

[Jasonb543]

Huh…what compromise ?

They went from a 526 hp shaky grenade made of glass to a rock solid 800 plus HP monster!

 

[Rhyanski]

"official permission" = highest bidder

No, not really. Whipple have their own tune. You buy the s650 blower and you get the stock tune, which is untouchable. I guess shelby, hennessy and alike get the tools to fiddle with the set-up and go beyond the whipple stock tune...

 

[MNGT350]

Interesting that what Shelby originally did was take a finished Mustang and modify it, so now that's being emphasized as the "original" way to go about things, as compared to the Ford Performance route.

If I were going to spend over 100 grand on a new car so I could have a "Shelby Mustang," I'd pick the Super Snake over this. Not sure why they need both.

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