With the Ford Mustang now in all-new sixth-generation S550 guise, it was only a matter of time before the obligatory Shelby-badged high-performance versions began coming out of the woodwork. This is the first one – the 2016 Ford Mustang Shelby GT350.
The successor to the track-focused Boss 302, the new GT350 is the first car in the nameplate's history to be developed and built in-house by Ford through its Special Vehicle Team (SVT) division – like its more powerful GT500 sibling – rather than the separate Shelby American.
The exterior of the car has been aerodynamically-optimised to improve performance. All the bodywork ahead of the windscreen is unique to the GT350, with a front end two inches lower than a standard Mustang, a deep downforce-inducing front splitter and a bonnet vent that reduces heat and under-bonnet lift.
Reprofiled front fenders accommodate the wider front track, with vents to relieve wheel well turbulence. Moving to the rear, there's an aggressive rear diffuser and a small lip spoiler designed to draw yet more downforce with minimal drag. The interior has been fortified with heavily-bolstered Recaro seats, a flat-bottomed steering wheel, a revised instrument cluster and fewer chrome trim bits to reduce distracting glare.
The no-nonsense styling sets the scene for the new GT350's ultra-focused mechanicals. Under the bonnet is Ford's most powerful naturally-aspirated engine – a 5.2 litre V8 developing upwards of 500 hp and 400 lb ft (542 Nm) of torque. Power is sent to the rear wheels via a six-speed manual transmission and a Torsen limited-slip differential.
The motor is unique among the company's V8s in that it has a racing-style flat-plane crankshaft popularised by Ferrari, rather than the traditional cross-plane design. Such a configuration is less smooth than a cross-plane V8, but the crank is nearly perfectly balanced, negating the need for heavy counterweights. A flat-plane crankshaft is therefore lighter, allowing the engine to rev higher (reported to be over 8,000 rpm in the GT350).
Flat-plane V8s generally have a flatter engine note akin to an inline-four, but – as apparent in the video below – not the GT350. We suspect Ford has designed the exhaust system to retain the signature burble associated with a traditional American muscle car V8.
The suspension is also unique among Mustangs – in addition to the S550's new all-around independent suspension, the GT350 tacks on quicker-reacting MagneRide adaptive magnetorheological dampers for the first time on a Ford, controllable via a five-mode integrated driver control system. The spring rates and bushings have also been revised and the ride height lowered compared to the regular 'Stang.
Tasked to bring the car down from high speeds is a Brembo braking system – the most powerful ever fitted to a Ford – with six-pot callipers gripping 395 mm discs at the front, and four-pots clamping down on 380 mm rotors at the rear. Wheels are 19-inch alloys wrapped in bespoke Michelin Pilot Super Sport rubber.
With such serious machinery at work, the new GT350 is starting to look less like a pumped-up pony car and more like a cut-price Prancing Horse. Bargain of the century? If not, take heart – the regular Ford Mustang will be coming to Malaysia at the end of next year in both 2.3 Ecoboost and 5.0 V8 forms.
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