Photo: Ford Performance
When Ford resurrected the Shelby GT350 nameplate for the S550 Mustang, neither of us could believe that the Blue Oval created a flat-plane crankshaft V8 just for the hell of it. Now, though, the Ford Motor Company is bewildering us with a Mustang Shelby GT350-inspired racer that sports a cross-plane crankshaft.
Let’s recap. The manufacturer went to great lengths to develop the Voodoo V8 and its supercar-specific flat-plane crankshaft, but the racecar uses a cross-plane configuration. This perplexing matter goes deeper than that, though. The Shelby GT350R-C, which won the 2016 IMSA Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge, uses a flat-plane V8 just like the road-going pony car.
Ford has yet to explain what’s what, save for the fact that the engine has been tuned for GT4 competition. Built by Ford’s Performance arm and Roush Yates Engines, the cross-plane version of the Voodoo V8 is connected to a 6-speed Holinger transmission. Yup, that’s race-ready unit with paddle shifters.
The powertrain of the 2017 Ford Mustang GT4 turnkey racecar also includes a dry sump oiling system, twin-plate racing clutch and flywheel courtesy of ZF, and Multimatic’s DSSV dampers. Even the rear lower control arms and both stabilizer bars come from Multimatic, the Canadian company which won the contract to build the 3.5-liter twin-turbo V6 EcoBoost-powered 2017 Ford GT.
To compete in the International Motor Sports Association’s Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge (GS class), Pirelli World Challenge (GTS class) and GT4 European Series, the Mustang GT4 will duke it out on the track with the likes of the Ferrari 488 GTE, the Porsche 911 RSR, and Aston Martin Vantage GTE.
“As the Mustang nameplate continually expands its presence in markets throughout the world, so does our relevant motorsport presence,” said David Pericak, Ford Performance's big kahuna. “The Mustang GT4 is equipped to compete and win on tracks around the globe, and we expect it to be as popular with racers as its production sibling [the GT350] is with consumers.”
Ford has yet to explain what’s what, save for the fact that the engine has been tuned for GT4 competition. Built by Ford’s Performance arm and Roush Yates Engines, the cross-plane version of the Voodoo V8 is connected to a 6-speed Holinger transmission. Yup, that’s race-ready unit with paddle shifters.
The powertrain of the 2017 Ford Mustang GT4 turnkey racecar also includes a dry sump oiling system, twin-plate racing clutch and flywheel courtesy of ZF, and Multimatic’s DSSV dampers. Even the rear lower control arms and both stabilizer bars come from Multimatic, the Canadian company which won the contract to build the 3.5-liter twin-turbo V6 EcoBoost-powered 2017 Ford GT.
To compete in the International Motor Sports Association’s Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge (GS class), Pirelli World Challenge (GTS class) and GT4 European Series, the Mustang GT4 will duke it out on the track with the likes of the Ferrari 488 GTE, the Porsche 911 RSR, and Aston Martin Vantage GTE.
“As the Mustang nameplate continually expands its presence in markets throughout the world, so does our relevant motorsport presence,” said David Pericak, Ford Performance's big kahuna. “The Mustang GT4 is equipped to compete and win on tracks around the globe, and we expect it to be as popular with racers as its production sibling [the GT350] is with consumers.”
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