Henry Ford III, and Aaron Shelby
Jim Farley, Vice President of Marketing, Sales and Service, Moray Callum, Vice President design, Henry Ford III, and Aaron Shelby all talk about the 2016 Ford GT350 Shelby Mustang.
From performance to production is the way Mark Fields, CEO, Ford Motor Company, described the 2015 Ford Shelby GT350. The GT350 is powered by the 5.2-liter V8 engine that will produce more than 500 horsepower with a torque peak above 400 lb.-ft.“ the most powerful naturally aspirated engine Ford has in production.
It’s a whole new Mustang, proportionally and functionally. The chassis, the independent suspension, the Mustang itself has changed from the first 1965 Shelby GT350 that Carroll Shelby created with Ford. the idea for any of Shelby’s designs was simple, take an everyday car and make it into a racer, fun to drive racing car.
The V-8 engine is a flat-plane crankshaft that Ford says is an architecture typically found only in racing applications or exotic European sports cars. The crankpins are set at 180-degree intervals instead of 90-degree intervals. Why would that make a difference? You are burning more of the combustible gas which makes it a more efficient engine that leads to higher performance from the engine. The only other engine I can think of that this compares to is a Ferrari engine.
All bodywork from the windshield forward is up to two inches lower than Mustang GT. The hood and front fenders are aluminum. The seats are Recaro. Carroll Shelby passed away in 2012, after a long-standing relationship with Ford Motor Company. Shelby was instrumental in the collaboration of the 2007 Ford Shelby GT500 Mustang and would be happy to see the 2016 Ford Shelby GT350 Mustang.
Farley announced today that the Ford Shelby GT350 will be the marque at the Rolex Monterey Motorsports reunion. Most people thought it was going to be a Ferrari.
