Sponsored

2016 Shelby GT350 Mustang available for sale next fall

Topnotch

Well-Known Member
Joined
Aug 1, 2012
Threads
592
Messages
4,565
Reaction score
3,782
Location
NYC
Vehicle(s)
2018 Mazda CX-9 Touring
http://www.freep.com/story/money/cars/ford/2014/11/18/ford-shelby-gt-mustang-unveil/19217823/

2016 Shelby GT350 Mustang to go on sale next fall

There will be limited availability of the 2016 Shelby GT350 Mustang that dealers will start taking orders for next year.


LOS ANGELES — The 2016 Shelby GT350 Mustang will go on sale next fall, 50 years after the original GT350 that was never really designed for the road. It was designed to win a race.

This modern reinvention was designed to do both and to appease those who loved the Boss 302 that was a limited run for the 2012-13 model years and the 2013-14 GT500.

There will be limited availability of the GT350 as well, said Joe Hinrichs, Ford president of The Americas.

He would not say how many Ford will make.
Dealers can't start taking orders until next year. Pricing will be announced closer to the sale date. The GT500 was just under $55,000.

Ford's recent performance vehicles have seen demand exceed expectations, including the GT500 which sold a couple thousand each year and the F-150 Raptor which was much more popular than forecast, said Jim Farley, head of global sales, marketing and service.

The Shelby GT350 will be made at the Flat Rock assembly plant in Michigan that is the only source of global Mustangs. But it will not be available in right-hand drive.

Nor is the extra volume enough to warrant a third shift, Hinrichs said.

Creating the GT350, executives knew history matters when it comes to Mustang and especially a Shelby performance Mustang.

"We wanted to pay homage to Carroll Shelby," Hinrichs said at an event Monday in Los Angeles at the Carroll Shelby building that is to become a museum.

Design chief Moray Callum said the car was designed as a Shelby Mustang and the GT350 name came about halfway through the process.
For Farley, a huge Mustang fan, it was a GT350 from the start. He briefed the Mustang team when the specs were not even developed yet on what makes a GT350 a GT350.

Carroll Shelby, who died in 2013, knew of the project, Hinrichs said, but probably only saw details of the GT350 on paper.

Jamal Hameedi, chief engineer of Ford's Global Performance Vehicles, said the 2016 Shelby GT350 was inspired by the 1965 model but is a modern interpretation. He was not given a mandate to include anything retro, but was encouraged to re-create the spirit of the original vehicle with modern technology.

Designer Calllum said this is much more technically advanced car than the GT500, largely because of the engine that generates more than 500 horsepower and 400 pound-feet of torque.

Being true to the car's heritage meant a naturally aspirated V8, not a turbocharged engine.

Engineers took the basic architecture of the 5L V8 made in Windsor at the Essex Engine Plant and transformed it. The new 5.2-liter V8, an engine known internally as "voodoo," is essentially a new engine with different block, cylinder heads and intake.

Having a flat-plane crankshaft with a different firing order for a more even exhaust and more high-revving power is rare. It exists on vehicles such as the Ferrari 458, Porsche 918 or McLaren 650, said Hameedi, The different firing sequence of the pistons required at least 30 engineering changes to the engine to ensure it was smooth, and there was no additional noise, vibration and harshness.

"Only a few cars do what this car does," Farley said of the latest Mustang
Hinrichs would not say if the voodoo engine will find its way into another future vehicle.

But Hameedi said the engine in the GT500 was custom designed and the GT350 might also have an exclusive powertrain.

Ford has not yet certified the mileage figures for the new engine and it is not known whether the GT350 will be subject to the gas guzzler tax.
Sponsored

 

Strongbark

Active Member
Joined
May 21, 2014
Threads
2
Messages
29
Reaction score
4
Location
United States
Website
www.launchparade.com
Vehicle(s)
2013 Mini GP #437 of 500

garagelogic

Well-Known Member
Joined
Nov 30, 2013
Threads
45
Messages
1,552
Reaction score
1,053
Location
TN
Vehicle(s)
1990 LX 5.0 Coupe-Coyote Swapped
Vehicle Showcase
1
"There will be limited availability of the GT350 as well, said Joe Hinrichs, Ford president of The Americas"
Probably as limited as the GT500 has been in the last few years, which is to say anybody who has the desire/ability to buy one will be able to get one.
 

OppoLock

RWD Addict
Joined
Apr 21, 2014
Threads
43
Messages
3,098
Reaction score
870
Location
St. Petersburg, FL
First Name
Sean
Vehicle(s)
'15 GT, '20 GT350
Vehicle Showcase
1
I need everyone to buy tons of these so I can pick a used one up down the road.
 

FPCV8YO

Rode Hard & Put Away Wet
Joined
Nov 17, 2014
Threads
29
Messages
1,561
Reaction score
388
Location
South OC
Vehicle(s)
2006 350Z GT Roadster
So, a year from now?
 

Sponsored

Twin Turbo

Super Moderator
Moderator
Joined
Aug 2, 2012
Threads
479
Messages
9,835
Reaction score
7,402
Location
England
First Name
Paul
Vehicle(s)
Mustang '05 GT
Thanks TN.

So, perhaps 2 years of a GT350 and then a GT500 for the '18MY? :shrug:
 

Swamp Yankee

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jul 20, 2014
Threads
1
Messages
243
Reaction score
27
Location
Virginia
Vehicle(s)
Keep Liberty
Geeez. On sale next fall. This is starting to sound familiar. So you can order one in May 2015 and take delivery just in time to drive (really fast) to Grandma's house in November for Thanksgiving.
 

1320'

Well-Known Member
Joined
Aug 26, 2014
Threads
19
Messages
3,758
Reaction score
1,616
Location
Medford,Oregon
Vehicle(s)
2011 Avenger...sadly
Thanks TN.

So, perhaps 2 years of a GT350 and then a GT500 for the '18MY? :shrug:
I took "limited production" to simply mean there would be a yearly cap, not that it's only going to be around for X many years and then it's gone.
Sponsored

 
 




Top