Re: Ford GT350: too big for me
My car in the backdrop, and the 2016 GT350 in the foreground.
I consider myself very lucky to have driven this Shelby, given that no dealer will let you near one. And professional journalists aside, I can't think of many non-owners who've had a crack at this thing. As a potential buyer, I've been looking forward to this one for a loooong time. Even better, I had the benefit of (what felt like) my own personal empty, barely one car length wide road full of corners, bumps, and straights to test this thing out. Not some lame-*** dealer test drive around the corner. The owner let me nail it.
Fortunately, not being a professional, I don't feel obligated to bore you with pretense (i.e., FPC, blah blah blah). Screw the foreplay, let's get to the sex.
[Caveat: The owner hit the dreaded "limp mode" (where non-Track Pack equipped cars suffer transmission overheating) driving on the highway to meet me that day. Not a good sign. Fortunately, the car cooled off enough that all systems were go when I got my turn on the winding driving roads. Since the owner plans on trading it in for a 2017 (in which the Track Pack coolers come standard equipment), he had no problem with me goosing it (and I personally did not see it overheat).]
- It looks the business, from every angle. Fantastic, purposeful looking car. I'm not normally a fan of black cars, and in photos I thought black with white stripes was a bit dull, because the opposite colour pinstripe is lacking, but even in this combination, there is no denying how excellent this thing looks.
- Too bad the body writes checks the interior can't cash. Same basic interior as a 30k EcoBoost Mustang... in a car costing 75k. This was a tech pack car, and as such, did not have the Recaros but rather the alcantara/leather seat combo. They are comfortable enough, and supportive in cornering. I'm sure the Recaros are even better for track duty, but I think for a daily driver these would be better. Also, they improve the overall look of this otherwise dark, monochromatic cabin.
- I really like the alcantara-wrapped steering wheel.
- Door panels are cheap hard plastic. NOTE: for 2017, the GT350 will have the option of the higher quality door cards you currently find in the Mustang GT premiums, provided you fork over the 4000 required for either option package.
- How to sell this car to my wife: the owner had a rear-facing baby seat on the passenger side. Excellent!
- I appreciate Ford giving owners the option of quiet vs loud with the exhaust. Let me make this simple: choose "quiet" only if you care about not annoying your neighbours at 7 am. Choose "loud" for everything else. This car has a mean, purposeful sounding idle.
- You knew this already, but it revs revs revs revs! Revs are fun, but...
- Jesus this is a heavy flywheel (as evidenced by how slow the revs rise or fall)! I mean, I understand why journalists (who have driven everything from a GT3 to a 458 Italia) claim this thing will rev forever. It's not actually that fast to redline.
- Sounds best on part throttle between 4-6 grand, where it makes that distinctive industrial era howl. At WOT at the higher end, it makes a pleasant enough noise, but not the sort that would have you reaching for 8 grand on the tach just to hear it over and over.
- Clutch is
far too light for this car. I mean, it's a ****ing 3800 lb car with a high winding 5.2L engine, for God's sake. Ford, what WERE you thinking?
- I didn't actually notice the shifter, and I think I mean that in a good way. Action was solid and positive. Worlds better than the sluggish manual in the S197 GTs I've driven (I haven't driven a S550 GT yet).
- It bears the following similarity with my Porsche: the gearing is too damn ****ing long. You're in "impound the car" territory before you reach the top of 2nd gear. I understand this has its advantages on the track, so I'm not faulting Ford nor do I consider it a flaw, but I think it is a shame for anyone who really wants to enjoy all the car has to offer in spirited street driving.
- The steering wheel is alive in your hands, feedback is excellent.
- This means Ford solved the handling problem of a front heavy car with more rubber (295s up front). Fine, it turns great at speed. But you will feel every one of its 3800 lbs trying to brake before a corner (the back end wanted to step out on me more than once). Those 295s up front also mean something less enjoyable: the steering wheel tramlines like a sumbitch.
- Magnetic dampers provide excellent road manners even in "track mode" on bumpy, undulating pavement or turns with decreasing radii. This would make an excellent cruiser as well as canyon carver.
Verdict: everyone's in love with this car, and I so desperately wanted to be as well. And to its credit, I had just completed a run of those same roads in my car, with the top down, before I got into the Shelby, to provide a direct comparison, since the whole point of this exercise was to see if I wanted this car based on its back road manners. My car may be slower, but you want to reach for its "not exactly a slouch" 7800-rpm redline
every single time you hit the go pedal because the sensation from the engine and exhaust reaches for your very soul. Being a convertible also means you feel like your going fast without necessarily having to go fast. My clutch is better/beefier. And I know where my money's gone when I sit in my car, unlike the Shelby. I think if I was a track rat OR it only cost 50-55k like in the US, OR if I didn't already own (IMO) the best damn sports car that exists, I would love the Shelby GT350. As it stands, I highly respect it, but I'm not in love with it, and Ford is smoking some serious **** if they think it's worth the same bucks as my car outside of its track prowess.
The above conclusion took me about a week to reach after I had driven the Shelby. For days I was conflicted... how could I not love a car receiving universal accolades for its driving spirit? On Friday, my last patient of the day drove up in one, and we talked for a long time about it. Turns out he's also a Ford regional manager, and he could put me through to a colleague (can't deal directly with patients!) at another location if I wanted to order one, possibly at a (small) discount. The stars were aligning for me to get this car... but I still wasn't gung-ho. My wife is currently away, so I know myself well enough that I would have ordered this car on the spot if I wanted it that badly (confession time: I ordered the Porsche while she was away in Korea).
Then I drove two more cars yesterday, one of which completely, utterly made me forget altogether about getting the Shelby.
To be continued.