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MotoramicFord reveals track-focused Shelby GT350R Mustang to battle the Z/28
When Ford unveiled the new Shelby GT350 after a 43 year hiatus, it promised handling never before seen on a Mustang. Ford says it's a car the late Carroll Shelby, an accomplished racer himself, would be proud of.
And yet now we have an even faster one -- the GT350R.
If the (base) GT350 is the bow aimed in the direction of Chevy's track-focused Camaro Z/28, then the GT350R is the arrow set to deliver the wound.
In 1965, Shelby developed a racing iteration of the Mustang called the GT350 Competition model. It was a machine that won countless races against giants like Ferrari, and the new GT350R has been built with that same spirit in mind.
It still has the GT350's 5.2-liter flat-plane crank V-8, pushing over 500 hp and 400 lb.-ft. of torque, but items like the air conditioning, the stereo, the trunk floorboard, all the carpeting, the rear seats, the backup camera and the spare tire have been deleted (you can opt for some of these creature comforts to be left if you so desire). This means the GT350R is 130 lbs. lighter than the GT350 in its sveltest form, which is not an insignificant amount -- and likely undercuts the somewhat hefty Z/28.
A larger splitter and rear wing help improve downforce, with the wing drawing the car's weight balance more rearwards; something that's needed given the 2015 Mustang GT's understeer-y tendancies. A Torsen limited-slip differential with a 3:73 axle ratio helps handling further.
Use of an air-to-oil engine oil cooler combats any overheating issues track-goers may find, and a six-speed manual gearbox puts the power to the pavement. Tires are sticky Michelin Super Sport Cups and the 19-inch wheels are carbon fiber -- relieving the R of a staggering 13 lbs. of unsprung mass per wheel. Naturally all the components like the MagneRide dampers and sway bars are tuned specifically for track use.
We don't yet know how much more the GT350R will cost compared to the $52,000 GT350. Or whether it can truly hang with the incredible (and expensive) $75,000 Z/28. Chevy has set a tough bar for Ford to meet, but on paper, the battle should be fascinatingly close.
