Through its 50-plus year history, the Ford Mustang is not a nameplate that has been renowned for showcasing cutting edge technology. Now a year into the sixth-generation model that debuted last fall, that view of the car is starting to change with debut of the new Shelby GT350R. When deliveries start later this summer, the GT350R will be the first mass-produced car in the world with standard carbon fiber wheels and Australian wheel-maker Carbon Revolution will be supplying the rolling stock.
A few weeks ago we got an in-depth look the platform changes that the SVT/Ford Performance engineering crew made in the process of transforming the 2015 Mustang GT into the new Shelby GT350. However, a great chassis can only you get you so far. Every great sports car also needs a great powerplant and here the engineers appear to have come through again. Unlike the last couple of generations of SVT Mustangs, this time around the team have come up with something completely different, the 5.2-liter Voodoo V8.
2015 marks the 50th anniversary of the first Shelby-badged Ford Mustang, the 1965 GT350. With an all-new Mustang having hit the streets last fall, 50 years after the original, the first true GT350 since the 1960s is now in the final stages of development and it promises to be truer to the spirit of that first model than any of the cars to wear that badge since.
The 2015 Ford Shelby GT350R Mustang gets a more prominent spoiler inspired by track testing at the Nurburgring
When the new track-focuse Ford Shelby GT350R drifted its way onto the stage in Detroit’s Joe Louis Arena on Monday morning, the most obvious visual difference compared to the base model was the massive rear wing.
When the white baseline Shelby was initially revealed at the LA Auto Show in November, only a subtle black Gurney strip was added to the trailing edge of the trunklid, the same setup that appeared on the prototypes that were spotted circulating the Nurburgring last July. Here in Detroit, that same baseline Shelby had a significantly larger, more aggressive rear spoiler similar to those found on non-Shelby Mustangs for 2015.
When it was revealed in Los Angeles in November, the GT350 had a subtle Gurney strip on the trailing edge of the decklid
It turns out the testing at the ‘Ring and other tracks was behind the change. I spoke with Chris Svensson, Ford design director, the Americas while checking out the new GT and the GT350R on the show floor in Detroit.
“After analyzing the data from testing in Germany and validating it in the wind-tunnel and other tracks, we realized need to adjust the total downforce and balance front to rear,” said Svensson. “The front splitter and the rear spoilers have all had some additional development to optimize the high-speed handling.”
The baseline 2015 GT350 also gets a more prominent rear spoiler for extra downforce and better balance
The result is an even more aggressive look to the already mean looking Mustang although Ford has yet to reveal specific details about precisely how much downforce or power the new pony will generate. Let the battle between the GT350R and Z/28 begin.
Through its 50-plus year history, the Ford Mustang is not a nameplate that has been renowned for showcasing cutting edge technology. Now a year into the sixth-generation model that debuted last fall, that view of the car is starting to change with debut of the new Shelby GT350R. When deliveries start later this summer, the GT350R will be the first mass-produced car in the world with standard carbon fiber wheels and Australian wheel-maker Carbon Revolution will be supplying the rolling stock.
