Ford Reminds Us The Shelby GT350 Mustang Is Meant To Be Driven

The Ford Motor Company still makes a case for the Shelby-ified pony, for the GT350 and the more hardcore GT350R are future classics. Almost three years after its introduction, the free-breathing monster is still as relevant as it was in day one. Better still, discontinuation at the end of the 2018 model year convinced the Blue Oval to make a promo about the GT350’s drawing cards.

First and foremost, the engine. THAT ENGINE, in fact, for the 5.2-liter Voodoo is an exclusive offering in this vehicle segment. Flat-plane crank by design, the V8 lump screams all the way up to 8,200 rpm and develops 526 horsepower. Torque is not nearly enough low in the rev range, though. From 3,500 rpm, however, you’ll notice that the scenery moves much, much faster.

Moving on to the handling department, forget the aerodynamic trickery or the carbon fiber wheels. The continuously controlled MagneRide dampers are the name of the game here, and they are designed to optimize the vehicle’s handling every 10 milliseconds. Bear in mind there are 1,000 milliseconds in each second, and the human eye needs around a third of a second to blink.

What more can you say about the GT350 and its even wackier sibling? The made-to-measure Michelin Pilot Super Sport Cup 2 rubber compound is a marvel in its own right, but let’s be frank here: nothing, absolutely nothing, compares to the sound of that Voodoo V8 mill bouncing off the rev limiter.

As a side note to this story, the 2019 model year will see Ford one-up its performance game with the GT500. The rumor mill is chock-full of theories as to what hides under the hood. All we know for sure is, it’s V8 power.