Ford has revealed that they’re not ready to let go of the current scorching Mustang variant, the Shelby GT350, and so will be keeping production kicking on to the 2018 model year.
For those unfamiliar on the matter, Ford had earlier revealed that the 6th-generation Mustang will be the recipient of a mid-life update, with a slightly tweaked exterior and the addition of a newly developed 10-speed automatic transmission shared with the Chevrolet Camaro.
But the GT350 and the GT350R are left unchanged, which may confuse some but come as joyous news to others. The changes made to the 2018 Mustang’s exterior haven’t been met with unanimous praise, and definitely wouldn’t have any bearing on a potential GT350(R) buyer even if they were subject to it.
Futher, the new 10-speed automatic definitely will not have any say in the racier Mustang as they were developed purely as driver’s cars, track ready, and thus manual-only. Having said that, the new (standard) Mustang’s MagnaRide adaptive dampers, though, could be a welcome feature on the GT350 in order to make normal road journeys more tolerable, but Ford hasn’t breathed a word yet about that being included as a mercy.
The chassis, drivetrain and engine are left unaltered too, meaning that the glorious naturally aspirated 5.2-litre Voodoo flat-plane V8 returns with 392kW/582Nm and a 8,200rpm redline, mated to a slick Tremec 6-speed manual to send power to the rear wheels which wear specially sticky rubber.
The more hardcore GT350R is roughly 60kg lighter than the non-R GT350, achieved through carbon fibre wheels and an exclusion of creature comforts such as air conditioning, stereo, rear seats, and sound insulation.
Some were a little worried when rumours surfaced that Ford was mulling a dual-clutch automatic for the GT350, introduced when the rest of the Mustang range received their planned facelift in order to broaden its appeal and increase sales. While that could still be the case, it won’t happen at least until after the 2018 model year.
Ford rightly views the car as a rival for such enthusiast-focused versions of sports coupes such as the BMW M4 GTS and Porsche Cayman GT4, just as fast and capable but less expensive.
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