Official - Shelby GT350 Mustang debut

[Whos_Drivin]

Originally Posted by Doubleblank

What I find interesting about the GT350 and discussions comparing it to various cars is this:

When the Z28 was announced and Ring tracktimes were published, there was a collective ho hum by the enthusiast community, particularly the Blue Oval guys. Comments like "Who takes their car to the road track?","We're all stop light to stop light guys.", etc. Now everyone seems to be a road track guy. What happened in the last year?

Ford bought GMs Mag Ride parts...

[Bretts]

Originally Posted by ilirg

What an improvement in the looks department over the regular models.

nice looking almost Shelby would like it

[derklug]

All I know is that as soon as my wife saw the video clip, she ran my checkbook through the shredder. I guess the Boss isn't getting a stablemate.

[Denis]

Originally Posted by Bad@ssCamaro

What? nobody's noticed this?

are you talking about what could possibly be the smallest lcd screen ever in a modern car? lol

im really not a fan of that center stack at all..do we really need a full 1-9 keypad there? i like the push to start, the launch control...but the rest is not exciting at all.

[WHAMMO]

Guys need to be real: this car will not be in the same league as the ZL1. Its aiming at the Z28 and will most likely beat it IMO. I mean they have to!(going to be close). That engine is going to be over 500hp and lighter than a Z28.

Its a badass car and hope GM is going to develop another beautiful engine like the LS7!

Now whats the price of this beast!!... I call 67000$...

[LostPony]

Several things to comment on:

Price- Yes lack of CCB will help keep cost down, but like another person said, it is offset by the whopping cost of this engine.

1LE: My god, if this thing can't destroy a 1LE than it is a massive fail. The Z/28 is an impressive machine and to even match it in a rear drive only car is quite an accomplishment. If you can't recognize that the Z/28 is an impressive car for performance it can provide, you are an idiot. What GM got out of that car amazed everyone, including me. I hate heavy cars, but that things delivers. If Ford can at least match it, than good job.

350R: This car will likely be the IMSA/Pirelli series legal competition car and will have a legal suspension and brake package and will only come as a part number like the Boss competition cars. The only carryover will be the body and engine from the street car.

What I am curious about is how well the engine will hold up. It is a clean sheet design and that presents issues that make me nervous about buying one. In competition form, the car will likely be choked down with restrictor plates and that could hurt it even more. Boss cars were blowing up left and right a few years back when they were given a very large restrictor, and many Ford teams parked in protest.

The GM response: It will be EPIC!

The level of performance a "regular Joe" can buy now from an American automaker is astounding! Way to go 'Murica!

[King T]

(Road & Track)




The 2016 Ford Mustang Shelby GT350 has an 8200 RPM redline
The tach doesn't lie.

We're getting a lot more information from the big reveal of the 2016 Ford Mustang Shelby GT350. Our Senior Editor Jason Cammisa is there, and after speaking to Ford engineers, he's finding out that the GT350 is definitely not a GT500 replacement. This is a whole different animal.

Let's start with the flat-plane-crank V8 engine: the configuration allows for a 8200 RPM redline (as you can see below), compared to the 6250 RPM limit of the GT500 or the 2015 Mustang GT's 7000 RPM cap. The cylinder walls do get the same sort of plasma coating that the old GT500 did—a rare similarity in a vehicle otherwise radically different in purpose.

Ford engineers ultimately made the power they wanted (500 hp) while overcoming some serious NVH issues. In general, flat-plane crank V8s have balance and vibration challenges, and the GT350's large engine exacerbates that issue. They benchmarked the Ferrari California as an NVH target, as it was the only other front-engined vehicle with a flat-plane crank V8. The most difficult issue proved to be emissions. A flat-plane crank engine will breathe better, and to take full advantage of it you want long runners—that means moving the catalytic converters downstream, where they take longer to heat up and become effective. That meant more work for the emissions compliance engineers—but it paid off.

The GT350 is the first Mustang ever to achieve zero aero lift. That's thanks to the aero work the company did to the GT350: the ducted belly pan, the front splitter, and the reduced ride height compared to a normal Mustang. Even the hood ducts are engineered to reduce lift at high speed. The hood was also lowered, which meant that engineers had to construct a new short-strand nylon carbon composite brace that serves as the radiator core support and braces the front end. The engineers left it exposed, and also won't hide away the V8 with a plastic cover. Both are functional art, and both should be seen.

Here's another cool bit under the hood: the strut tower brace. It's just like the optional steel one in the GT Performance package, but in the GT350 it'll be made of aluminum. And they'll be swappable back and forth, so GT owners could bolt up the GT350 part if they want. The more we learn about this car, the better it gets.

[King T]

(Automobile)














Ford Shelby GT350 Mustang Hits L.A. with 5.2-liter Flat-Plane V-8

The rumors are true—the highly anticipated performance car Ford has been teasing is the Shelby GT350 Mustang, the first go-fast variant of the 2015 Ford Mustang. And for the first time, Ford will bring to market a race-inspired flat-plane crank V-8 that supplies the Shelby GT350 Mustang with more than 500 hp and 400 lb-ft of torque.

The 5.2-liter V-8 engine is the most powerful naturally aspirated production engine Ford has ever built. Unique to the Shelby GT350 Mustang, the V-8's flat-plane crankshaft should deliver the lightning-fast responsiveness of a racing engine, and is also said to have a broad, flat torque output. The engine mates to a lightweight six-speed manual transmission, sending power to the rear wheels through a standard Torsen limited-slip differential.

“Make no mistake,” Ford Global Performance Vehicles chief engineer Jamal Hameedi said in a statement, “this is an American interpretation of a flat-plane crankshaft V-8, and the 5.2-liter produces a distinctive, throaty howl from its four exhaust tips.”

The Ford Shelby GT350 Mustang matches its new powertrain with comprehensive aerodynamic, chassis, and visual upgrades. Compared to a regular Mustang, the GT350 boasts a lowered hood, a wider front track, stiffer suspension components, and beefier brakes. In fact, Ford says all bodywork from the windshield forward is unique to the GT350, and sits two inches lower than that of the standard Mustang GT.

The new aluminum hood is lowered and sloped compared to the 2015 Ford Mustang GT, and it is complemented by a mean-looking front fascia with a wider front splitter and a ducted belly pan. A carbon-fiber composite grille opening adds attitude to the fully overhauled front end, which is finished with Shelby’s signature cobra emblem. Wider aluminum front fenders help accommodate the wider track and wheels, and use special vents to direct air away from the wheels. Aerodynamic improvements at the rear include large rear diffuser meant to increase downforce and help funnel air to the optional differential cooler. A lip spoiler on the decklid also helps maximize downforce while keeping the Shelby GT350 Mustang nice and slippery. An optional Track package adds an engine oil cooler and transmission cooler, and a front strut-tower brace is an additional option for improved rigidity.

In addition to recalibrated spring rates and bushings, the Ford Shelby GT350 Mustang brings to the table MagneRide adaptive dampers -- the first time Ford has offered the technology -- and a track-bred braking system. Up front are 15.5-inch two piece cross-drilled brake discs and Brembo six-piston fixed calipers, while the rear uses 15.0-inch rotors and four-piston calipers. The new system should be able to bring the GT350’s 19-inch wheels (10.5 inches wide in front and 11 inches wide at the rear) to a screeching halt. The staggered wheels wear Michelin Pilot Super Sport tires with a unique sidewall construction, tread, and compound.

The Ford Shelby GT350 Mustang is no less purpose-driven inside the cockpit. Drivers can choose from five performance modes that adjust ABS, traction control, stability control, steering effort, and throttle mapping, while Track junkies will be pleased with the Mustang’s Recaro sport seats, flat-bottom steering wheel, and distinctive gauges. Attention to detail is supreme—the interior even has fewer reflective materials to eliminate sun glare that could distract drivers. Big brakes or not, nobody wants to be careening around a turn at 100 mph while blinded by the sun. Creature comforts like power-operated and leather-trimmed seats, a Shaker audio system, an 8-inch screen with MyFord Touch, and dual-zone climate control, are part of the optional Tech package.

While the new Ford Shelby GT350 Mustang might not be as crazy powerful as the old supercharged GT500, with its absurd 662 horses and 200-plus-mph top speed, there’s no reason to believe the new car won’t deliver fantastic performance. We’ll know more when the car is officially unveiled at this week's 2014 Los Angeles auto show, but we’re already slack-jawed at the prospect of a face-off with the Chevrolet Camaro Z/28. Let the games begin.

[King T]

(Car And Driver)















THIS IS IT: 2016 Ford Mustang Shelby GT350 Live and in the Metal!

Ford’s choice of venue for unveiling the new Shelby GT350 Mustang couldn’t have been more appropriate: Shelby International, the house that Carroll built. Flanked by six original GT350s—Ol’ Shel’s lightweight, high-revving road racers—the newest Mustang’s debut wasn’t just an unveiling. It was a homecoming.

By now you know all the details that Ford has been willing to divulge on this new super Stang: the 5.2-liter flat-crank V-8, the magnetorheological suspension, the massive brakes, the wider front track, and the unique bodywork designed solely to optimize aero. We haven’t yet learned anything that we hadn’t already found out this morning; Ford folks on hand were steadfastly coy when asked about the car’s exact horsepower and torque figures, its curb weight, and its pricing. Rest assured, however, that our interrogation sessions continue.

But when the curtain was pulled back and the Shelby GT350 revved into the room, nobody was sweating the spec sheet. The warehouse filled with flat-crank V-8 music, a sound simultaneously exotic and somehow pony-car appropriate. The crowd, motor-journalism pros not normally given to gushing over a new-car debut, jumped up like teens at a One Direction concert. Cameras flashed, phones were held over heads, and everyone elbowed for a view.

We still don’t know exactly how many horses the GT350 makes; Ford says only to expect more than 500. We still don’t know how high it will rev, or how much it weighs, when it will hit showrooms, or what it will cost when it does. But we do know this: It’s a knockout. It’s stunning visually, aurally, and emotionally. Just the way Ol’ Shel would’ve wanted it.

[King T]

[newmoon]

Major improvement over the very boring look of the new 15 GT. The car looks aggressive and appears to have the major improvements needed to go Z/28 hunting. The big question as always is price, can Ford follow Dodge's lead with the Hellcat and keep the car within middle class reach?

[King T]

[BaylorCamaro]

8,200 red line, now that is going to be awesome!

[trashmanssd]

Just wondering if there is a reason all the ones I have seen have the crap radio in it is that the only radio to save weight. I know corvette and viper put the big screens in because it actually was under a pound difference in the radios and was stupid for such an expensive car to put a crap looking radio/screen in. I think the viper it was actually light to put the big screen in since most the radio is now built into the brain on the car (VCU).