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Decent Driver Does 8m18s Nurburgring Lap In Stock Shelby GT350 Mustang

YouTube user gt350recon is a lucky man. Not only did he drop an 8-minute and 18-second Bridge to Gantry lap in a Shelby GT350, but he also has the right driving skills to pay the bills.
Shelby GT350 Mustang lapping the Nurburgring 11 photos
Photo: screenshot from YouTube
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Not only that, but the man in question also has a hi-fi microphone rigged to his GoPro so that you, the viewer, gets an earful of Voodoo V8 magic.

Let’s not beat around the bush. The trademark attribute of the GT350 comes in the form of that glorious flat-plane crankshaft V8, not the go-faster stripes. A 5.2-liter bruiser that will happily rev up to 8,250 rpm in hell-bent for leather mode, the induction and exhaust noises the mill produces are breathtaking.

It’s also worth noting that the GT350 is thoroughly capable of eating fast cars for lunch both on the straights and in the twisties. Most impressively, however, the custom Michelin Pilot Super Sport rubber compound does its job nicely, not allowing the rear wheels to slither about during corner exit.

Then there’s the lap time. Bearing in mind this isn’t a test driver paid big bucks by an automaker to drive pre-production cars, it’s all the more impressive he managed to do the BTG in 8 minutes and 18 seconds.

On a slight tangent, 2018 is the last model year for the Shelby GT350 and GT350R. No big changes were made, with Ford deciding not to apply the Mustang’s 2018 facelift to the V8-powered serpent. However, it’s worth remembering that the Blue Oval introduced three new exterior colors for the GT350 and GT350R: Kona Blue, Orange Fury, and Lead Foot Gray.

For 2019, a new Shelby GT500 is in the pipeline, with the wildest of rumors suggesting a free-breathing 7.0-liter V8 underhood. It’s too early to tell what’s hiding in the engine bay, but my two cents go on a supercharged motor, be it the Voodoo or the Coyote. This guess is based on the fact the 2019 GT500 was spied benchmarking against the Chevy Camaro ZL1.

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About the author: Mircea Panait
Mircea Panait profile photo

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.
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