As your unofficial fiduciary, I recommend you put that $21k in the market....diversified of course.
An "R" is awesome....no doubt. I am not certain it's worth the extra cash IMO. If you're purely tracking a car then I would say yes. If you're driving on the street often then I would have to say no. Different wing, different rims, slightly wider tires, no back seat, different diffuser, different rate springs. I don't know if the juice is worth the extra squeeze for the ADM. Just an opinion. Like I said if you're tracking then it makes sense...........maybe. The last "R" car from 2000 had a completely different engine, etc. This generation "R" has the same drivetrain.
I would have liked to see the R have an extra 20-24hp honestly, akin to the GT3 and GT3 RS how they have done it. That said, the last R did have a different engine which made it very different, but the big difference here is the carbon wheels. Believe it or not, they are IMO probably make as big a difference if not a bigger difference to the car's driving dynamics as a whole even compared to the last R that had a different engine.
That's your opinion, but have you driven an R? Not to mention if it even becomes a collectable, which it probably won't. Only the R will. People won't care for tech or track packs. Dime a dozen where exclusive and rare is what people want. I agree a GT350 is better than no GT350, but an R only for track is not realistic. I daily drive mine when possible and I love it. I feel like I'm driving something special, that very few people have. OP, do what you want, only you know of you have to extra coin, but the difference in price of the GT350 to the R won't even buy you the R's wheels ($18,000) or real wing ($10,000) or diffuser ($1,700) or rear seat delete ($900). Not to mention it's exclusivity. Either way good luck.
Agreed, with the extra coin you can buy a carbon fiber look alike R wing and diffuser. Some nice wheels with MPSS that last longer that than 5k miles like the CUP 2's. The sway bars are the same according to the supplement handbook for the GT350's. Only the springs are different, but an upgrade over stock would be a good idea as I will be buying an upgraded front and rear sway bars. A CORTEX DSC magnaride controller is a great idea, it's on my wish list for this month. Headers and a tune will completely void your warranty for your powertrain so proceed with caution. I don't baby my rims and they are fine, it's easy to drive with caution and keep them safe. In the end you don't have a FR, GR or HR plate on the dash with a red R.
I have driven an "R". Like I said. I am not slamming it at all. And the "R" will be the most desirable of the two with regards to collectibility. If you can find an "R" with no ADM the juice is definitely worth the squeeze. If you have to pay ADM then IMO the juices not worth the squeeze. Only time will tell how valuable the GT350 become or not. I can say I did the research there have been less Gt350's made each year than 1969 or 1970 Boss 302's. That isn't the only thing the drives desirability but it is a good start. I could go back and look at an SVO Mustang and they never caught on and went in value and they were also certainly low in numbers.
I would like to call them. $5K over for an R and in a color I like. Just built a custom home but I've got about 35 saved for my future toy....can you PM dealer info?
^This
^100%. I don't miss my track pack at all after buying the R. W/ that being said, don't do it. If you don't have the funds to comfortably buy the R and take a loss on your current car, then don't. The R is definitely worth it, just not worth it to go upside down on your payments.
Just a point of clarification... OEM carbon fiber "R" wheels cost nowhere near $18,000 for a set. Here are the part numbers:
