The North American International Auto Show was a full-on display of horsepower. Forced induction took the limelight thanks to debuts such as the 2016 Acura NSX hybrid supercar, the 2017 Ford GT and its 600+ horsepower V6 EcoBoost and the AWD and 4WD 2017 Ford F-150 SVT Raptor dune runner.
If turbocharging isn’t your thing, the 2016 Shelby GT350R Mustang may suit you better than anything else. It has come to this, ladies and gents - the 2015 Detroit Auto Show was awash with the sound of chargers, a detail that saddened enthusiasts of the naturally aspirated lumps of yesteryear.
As it happens, after the SVT Raptor and GT concept were introduced, some publications and people even speculated that the Mustang will soon drop the good ol’ V8 burble for a turbo V6 powerplant. Thankfully, a FoMoCo official denied the rumor and assured everyone the atmospheric V8 will animate the Mustang for years to come.
I’m not implying that the Ford GT’s all-new 3.5 V6 EcoBoost sounds like a vacuum cleaner. We heard it live and we can assure you the chargers’ whistles complement the mechanical symphony tighter and louder than the The Who rocking the Leeds University. You know, the best live rock recording ever...
Compared to the GT concept’s debut, Acura put on a CD of virtualized NSX exhaust sounds
Boooooring stuff. Furthermore, the NSX was announced 8 friggin’ years ago, which is why the hype wasn’t strong at Detroit. If we’re not nitpicking too much, the timing of the unveiling was also wrong ‘cos a hybrid supercar can’t compete with 3 berserk performance products from the SVT skunkworks.
Personally speaking, I respect the Acura and love the GT. But the vehicle that put the best show on was the 2016 Shelby GT350R Mustang. It came on stage doing a mild burnout, succeeded by a casual donut and some huge revs. Take notes Acura, that’s how a performance-oriented car should enter the stage.
After all was said and done, FoMoCo had to take its exhibits back to the car-carrying trailers and a gentleman was at the scene when the personnel was moving the GT350R back. Before you press play, remember to turn the volume knob all the way to 11. The 5.2-liter Voodoo V8's bellow is that good!
After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well. Full profile
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