Tech

6 reasons why Ford's new amped-up Mustang is so much more than a 'muscle car'

Aaron Brown

2016-02-16T19:40:04Z

There was once a time when it would've been insane to compare an American muscle car to a European sports car. The American cars were slower, didn't have the technology to compete, and had awful build quality compared to the high-performance cars that came out of Europe.

That's all changed.

The Ford Mustang Shelby GT350R is a borderline masterpiece performance vehicle that basically screams American pride.

Hey Europe, take note.

It has an incredibly powerful motor.

When I said it screamed American pride, I really meant that. Just listen to that motor sing!

What you're hearing there is the brand new, Shelby GT350 specific V8 motor. It utilizes an internal engine design that is usually only found in exotic cars like Ferraris. This special engine layout allows the motor to rev higher, quicker, and louder.

It's a proper sports car.

Like most top-level sports cars of today, the GT350R has electric-assisted adjustable power steering which can be preset for whatever type of driving is being done. Firm when you want it for on-track and backroad spirited driving, lighter and more user-friendly when needed for comfort.

The GT350R also uses Ford's MagneRide suspension, which automatically calculates and adjusts the car's suspension setup every 10 milliseconds, depending on where it senses the weight of the car is and the car's yaw-angle at that moment of time.

It's the first mass-produced car to have carbon fiber wheels.

One of the best ways to make sports cars faster is to reduce how much weight each wheel carries. Less unsprung weight equals more power getting to the road's surface, and less effort needed to make the car go around corners. This is where the carbon fiber wheels come in.

Ford claims that the carbon fiber wheel set up on the GT350R saves around 15 pounds on each corner of the car. That's seriously impressive.

It does a mean burnout.

Though it probably wasn't enabled in the original video from the GIF shown above, Ford's Line-Lock feature can hold the GT350R's front brakes perfectly so that the rear wheels can be lit up, and the ultimate burnout can be produced.

It's not legal on public roads, but imagine how much of a stress reliever it would be to do a celebratory burnout at the beginning of your driveway when you got home from work every day?

You'd probably go through a few sets of tires, but it would surely be worth it.

It looks fierce.

The GT350R takes the Mustang's already sinister looking front-end, throws some more aero bits on, and makes it even angrier.

An angry looking car is a good looking car.

It's newer, faster, and cheaper than the competition.

No matter where you look, the GT350R is likely cheaper than whatever you might be comparing against, and probably a better overall performer as well.

When compared to its main rival the Chevrolet Camaro Z28, the GT350R shines through in every way possible. With a $61,000 starting price, the GT350R is $10,000 cheaper than the Z28, .1 of a second faster than the Z28 to 60, and when tested by MotorTrend, it even stopped quicker than the Z28. Not to mention the Z28 is already severely dated, since the next generation Camaro was released months ago.

Cars Ford Transportation