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Hennessey Waves Ford's Mustang Shelby GT350R an HPE850-Supercharged Goodbye

With 2020 the final model year for the Blue Oval’s Voodoo V8 masters (the Shelby GT350 and GT350R), just about everyone is looking forward to Ford’s new introductions. Well, not everybody, it seems. Aftermarket specialists have ample reasons to look behind, actually.
Hennessey HPE850 Ford Mustang GT350R 18 photos
Photo: Hennessey Performance / YouTube
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That’s because, unlike automakers, which are always trying to push forward their next product, these specialists can always deal with both new and used cars. Case in point: Hennessey Performance (HPE), which has just taken some time off to chill alongside a GT350R.

Naturally, with one of the best ponies from the Blue Oval involved in the mix, that means there’s always some level of heated action involved. Even more so, given the fact that Hennessey’s example showcased on its YouTube channel (video attached below) has already been through the company’s HPE850 supercharged upgrade process.

Of course, this video is running on thin ice – HPE isn’t giving us the usual drag racing shenanigans we’ve grown used to. And it also features a model about to run its course and get the retirement leaflet from the automaker. Still, we couldn’t help but showcase it – just like the tuner says, the HPE850 GT350R does sound “incredible.”

And, after all, do you really need a good reason to have a mighty sports car like the GT350R run amok on a closed course when you have both at hand?! Yeah, we didn’t think so either, and we are not going to rob you of the pleasure of joining us in playing that flat-plane crankshaft-seasoned soundtrack over and over again, all day long...

A word or two about the vehicle, as well. We can see through the thin veil that Hennessey is merely trying to draw the attention of potential customers that managed to snatch an example before production closes. And there’s virtually nothing wrong with that, given the upgrade package.

It’s available for 2016 through 2020 model year GT350 and GT350R models, bringing the power levels well into supercar territory – 858 hp and 673 lb. ft. (912 Nm) of mighty oomph. That’s enough to drop the 0-60 mph (0-96 kph) time to 3.3 seconds and potentially wrap up the quarter mile in 10.8 seconds at 133 mph (214 kph).

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About the author: Aurel Niculescu
Aurel Niculescu profile photo

Aurel has aimed high all his life (literally, at 16 he was flying gliders all by himself) so in 2006 he switched careers and got hired as a writer at his favorite magazine. Since then, his work has been published both by print and online outlets, most recently right here, on autoevolution.
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