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Ford GT350: a whole different direction.

14K views 49 replies 31 participants last post by  unconscionable 
#1 · (Edited)
Another update in my automotive wandering: the new ford GT350

Ford performance: the all-new Shelby® GT350® Mustang - YouTube


A very different vehicle than my 981CS, but I have to confess it has me intrigued. Its size and weight may ultimately disqualify it, but my reaction to this car is pretty positive, I would say I am leaning towards it over the C7 as a replacement for my CS.

the sound at the end...(about 1:07) is electric...
 
#2 ·
Admittedly a nice vehicle. And if you decided to go that way I'm sure you will enjoy it. Looks like a lot of very cool technology but just a little too heavy for me, not to mention that with all the technology options it is probably going to be a little pricey.

In terms of keeping the balance of nature you are good to go as I just sold my Shelby GT 500 and bought a 981 BS. So, if you jump from the Porsche brand to a Ford brand then you will just be offsetting my move from Ford to Porsche.
 
#6 ·
Don't like the weight and size, I've been impressive with American cars for a while now, whenever they come up with a new style and I read the specs, it's amazing. Then I approach it in real life and I'm never impressed. They all looked too big and bulky when I parked my 997 next to it. I want a lighter and smaller sports car and not a bigger and more hp sports car.
 
#7 ·
Don't like the weight and size, I've been impressive with American cars for a while now, whenever they come up with a new style and I read the specs, it's amazing. Then I approach it in real life and I'm never impressed. They all looked too big and bulky when I parked my 997 next to it. I want a lighter and smaller sports car and not a bigger and more hp sports car.
Fully agree - but a muscle car is not a sports car ;)

I want a lighter, smaller AND more hp sports car = 450hp Cayman GT4 :)
 
#8 ·
I had the pleasure of driving a stock Boss 302 at WGI. It was a very impressive car for the money. I expect the GT 350 will be a big step up and faster than a CS on track. I like the looks of the new Mustang and the snarl of the flat plane V8 is awesome. I'm shopping for a Ford this week. An F150 to tow my Cayman race car to the track.
 
#9 ·
I too have oozed over that video and the notion of the GT350. But I had a 2011 GT500 manual, SVT, Coilovers, links, sways, braces, etc. The thing was a beast, but such a CHORE to drive. The realization was its just too much for the street. Sucked down soooo much fuel.

Would take my 981C over it any day. Love wringing out the 2.7 for everyday driving. Love the x73 chassis and the way it fits me like a glove.
 
#11 ·
The domestic manufacturers would do well to get their heads out of the "retro musclecar" mindset and invent something new. Mercedes has big, heavy and lots of cubes covered...all packaged up in bodies that look a heckuva lot nicer than the Mustang. Price points are admittedly different, but so is the build quality and ownership experience.
 
#12 · (Edited)
the sound at the end...(about 1:07) is electric...
I used to love Shelby 350s. Started to save for one. Then came the GT500KR, looked great as a convertible, kept saving. Ended up with a new dual SU side draft carb, high winding sports car and never looked back. Kept saving for the big mod, trip weber sidedrafts. Never saved enough. Two totally different vehicles for different purposes.

At 1:07 the rumble of a V8 is still cool, but not as cool as a 426 hemi with open headers, and definitely not as cool as the wail of a flat six.

Different cars for different folks. :)
 
#16 ·
Personally, I like the style but the Mustang platform is a heavy car.
The GT weighs in around 3700 lbs while the CS is around 3000--that's a lot of extra weight to muscle around the track.
Also, the Ford 15" longer, but 2' narrower.

I like the turbo 4 version--310hp, about as fast as the base Cayman, looks like it could be fun at the track. Price at roughly $30k but is less than 100lbs lighter than the GT.
My thought here is Ford needs to put their passenger cars on the same diet the F150 just went through.
 
#18 ·
Yup as many have said here, there is no question I would be giving up some aspects of my 981CS to get into a 350GT. Things like the precision, refinement, balance, nimbleness and unique sound of the flat six. I also prefer the asthetics of the 981CS, the 350GT is a little too busy as domestic products tend to be (for me).

But I tend to have that affliction that I need to change cars every 2-3 years. I don't want to just get another 981 (variety is the spice of life), so when I look on the automotive horizon I don't really anything else that stirs me like this car that is attainable for me (I do love the look of the AMG GT, but its price is almost double and it doesn't come in a manual). So it's definitely on my radar, more so than the C7. There is hope they might keep the weight down to 3500lbs or so which makes it not so far off the C7 z51. Even if I don't ultimately get one, kudos to ford for building such a stirring car.
 
#19 ·
What you are reading is automotive hype. The car isn't even on the road yet or for sale.
Read the first glowing descriptions of the C7 Corvette and the real world between the line from the automotive hype now that a few are out in the world.
These writers get paid, vacations, dinners whatever to write this stuff.-Richard
 
#22 ·
Looks like just another flavor of mustang. Heavy, front engine, 4 seater. Don't see nothing intriguing there. And I hate them loosing their identity by trying different headlights every year. Can't they learn from 911?
 
#23 ·
BTW, I purchased a 1966 Mustang V8 4-barrel with AUTO and Lear Stereo, white with black vinyl roof.
Sharp car, slow (10 sec to 60mph). Hi-performance V8 only warrented for 3000 miles or 3 months.
My wife says it's the car she liked to drive the most over the years.
So I do have some emotional attachment to the Mustang but it's just not the car for me.-Richard
 
#24 ·
Ford GT350: too big for me

Well I finally got to see the new S550 mustang in person last night (in a parking lot) and the car is absolutely huge. I couldn't believe its size, it made a 4 series look small in comparison and I think those things are huge. It's a nice looking car, but I just don't think I can live with its dimensions. The compactness of my 981 is something I really appreciate about it.

Another one (the GT350) bites the dust in the search for a successor to the 981.
 
#25 ·
Re: Ford GT350: too big for me

Well I finally got to see the new S550 mustang in person last night (in a parking lot) and the car is absolutely huge. I couldn't believe its size, it made a 4 series look small in comparison and I think those things are huge. It's a nice looking car, but I just don't think I can live with its dimensions. The compactness of my 981 is something I really appreciate about it.

Another one (the GT350) bites the dust in the search for a successor to the 981.
That is the problem with most American sports cars, it's too big and heavy. I remember wanting a Mustang many years ago when I saw the commercial but when I saw it in person. It's not as attractive due to it's size.
 
#30 ·
Jeez--I'd think if you guys need to change cars every few years and had clearly taken a liking to a 981 in the recent past, you'd be thinking something more like an Alfa C4 or maybe Evora or used Elise. But a big fat front-engined American four-seater???? But each to his own, I guess, and if you like it, more power to you.
 
#32 ·
Re: Ford GT350: too big for me

So the gt350 has been out for a bit now, anyone around these parts get to drive one yet (or better have one!?)?
 
#33 ·
Re: Ford GT350: too big for me

When I decided to shop for a new car last year, I began with the GT350 Mustang and the Corvette because I have owned Mustangs and Corvettes in the past. The GT350 was priced $10,000 over MSRP, so that did not take long to X-off my list. I admit that I like the 2016 Corvette, but I felt like I owed it to myself to investigate the Cayman. It was no contest for me after sitting in a Cayman for 5 minutes. I expect delivery of my red Cayman in less than 10 days.
 
#34 · (Edited)
Re: Ford GT350: too big for me

I've been a big fan of the higher-end Mustangs since the recent Boss 302s. I didn't ultimately go with one (because markups pushed me into a different price tier), but I still like them, as I do many other cars.

Out of the box they will not be exactly what you want, but with Mustangs *that's kind of the point*. The Mustang is a platform to build on. There is a tremendous aftermarket for them, including a lot of high-quality stuff done right. You can do a lot with them. There's usually tremendous interchangeability of components across multiple generations. You can have a simple cruiser that just looks and sounds great and is comfortable, a proper muscle car, a drag car, something stripped down for road courses, etc. It's better at some roles than other, but if you put in the $ and effort, you can still get satisfying results even where it's at a bit of a disadvantage. A track day to VIR proves the point where there's usually a ton of Mustangs out there with all the Corvettes and 911s.

Granted, the same applies to GM cars that use a CSB, and to Porsches. I always look at them as different bins of building blocks. I approach cars from a powertrain I like, and try to back it into a package I want. In my case, I figured in 2010 that the Boxster Spyder (987.2 then) would be it since it was EXACTLY what I wanted some manufacturer to build (hardcore roadster), and after trying to compromise with the Cayman GTS, I seem to be right with the 981.1 Spyder. Though I still like Corvettes and road-course prepped Mustangs. If I had the cash and the room, I'd in all likelihood have something with a CSB (preferring the LS7 the most) or a new Coyote-based Mustang joining it. Though I can only have so many cars (probably just 2), so the goal is to get an M120 R129, because V12. ;)
 
#35 · (Edited)
Re: Ford GT350: too big for me

I got to track test the Shelby GT350 at Laguna Seca when Ford did their US tour. They invited every car club in the Monterey area and the parking lot was filled with every kind of exotic sports and touring cars one can imagine. Each participant was helmeted and strapped in with a "pro" driver and had to agree to not go over 100 mph. The first thing I asked the "pro" in the passenger seat was how fast I could go because I was very familiar with the track having raced my Boxster there. He shrugged and told me to punch it so I laid rubber out on the track and did not hold back. The GT350 is an atypical American muscle car with lots of hp (520 as I recall) with lots and lots of torque. As big and heavy as it was it handled very well due to a new independent rear suspension and "body refinements" that stiffened the car. For pure straight line speed it is a gas to drive especially coming out of turn 11 into the strait away past turn 1 and into turn 2. Braking is very precise even at higher speeds but it cannot be late braked as well as a Porsche. My gripes were with the pedal distance when I got the seat where I wanted it I couldn't heel and toe to rev match and with all that hp the rear end kicked out when down shifting but the car was easy to control even with that. If you had the money to buy a car off the lot and drive it to the track and compete it is a decent bargain. On the way home my Boxster felt like it was stuck in first gear after driving all that hp, but I would not want to own one just for street use, it is too much car for every day driving IMHO.
 
#36 ·
Re: Ford GT350: too big for me

I got to track test the Shelby GT350 at Laguna Seca when Ford did their US tour. They invited every car club in the Monterey area and the parking lot was filled with every kind of exotic sports and touring cars one can imagine. Each participant was helmeted and strapped in with a "pro" driver and had to agree to not go over 100 mph. The first thing I asked the "pro" in the passenger seat was how fast I could go because I was very familiar with the track having raced my Boxster there. He shrugged and told me to punch it so I laid rubber out on the track and did not hold back. The GT350 is an atypical American muscle car with lots of hp (520 as I recall) with lots and lots of torque. As big and heavy as it was it handled very well due to a new independent rear suspension and "body refinements" that stiffened the car. For pure straight line speed it is a gas to drive especially coming out of turn 11 into the strait away past turn 1 and into turn 2. Braking is very precise even at higher speeds but it cannot be late braked as well as a Porsche. My gripes were with the pedal distance when I got the seat where I wanted it I couldn't heel and toe to rev match and with all that hp the rear end kicked out when down shifting but the car was easy to control even with that. If you had the money to buy a car off the lot and drive it to the track and compete it is a decent bargain. On the way home my Boxster felt like it was stuck in first gear after driving all that hp, but I would not want to own one just for street use, it is too much car for every day driving IMHO.
How did you feel about the car's size, especially as a road car? I don't track cars and am thinking about this puppy as a replacement road car.
interesting that you found it torquey...lots of reviews find it relatively torqueless under 3000 rpm...
 
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