Gadgetory

in 1965 Carol Shelby gave a Mustang performance modifications and the Shelby gt350 was born fifty years later Ford has a new Shelby gt350 a heavily modified new generation Mustang and it is pure manageable muscle during a Ford sponsored event at the Mazda Laguna Seca Raceway I got to experience both the Shelby GT 350 and the shelby gt350r variant on the track and it was a revelation quite a bit has changed in 50 years the 2016 Ford Shelby gt350 sports a 5.2 liter aluminum block v8 making 526 horsepower and 429 pound-feet of torque without the aid of a turbo or supercharger redline is all the way at 8250 rpm Ford noted the Shelby uses a flat-plane crankshaft which allows better exhaust flow from the cylinders and contributes to the tremendous engine sound from this car I was expecting a beast of a car but the Shelby gt350 turned out to be completely manageable rolling out a new the due to Sega's pit lane I could easily modulate the power in first gear for a gentle start flooring it up the tracks main straight growing through the gears from second third and up to four I easily hit a hundred miles per hour it turned one the grip was amazing making the gt350 feel less like a muscle car and more like a nimble sportscar equipped with the Track Pack option gt350 also has a magnetic ride suspension my favorite type of adaptive suspension system helping to hold the car flat in the turns the gt350r variant uses the same powertrain but his better Aero effects and comes with carbon fiber wheels knocking the wheel weight down by about half putting this car through the turns it felt light and easy with even more precise turnin and strong grip as a performance car the 2016 Ford Shelby gt350 is a bargain coming in at a base price of forty thousand six hundred ninety five dollars delivered it is tremendously satisfying on the track and yet easily manageable on the street