Shelby GT350R 2015

Scope of this guide

This guide is scoped to the Shelby GT350R (2015 to 2020), the track-focused version of the Ford Mustang Shelby GT350 built on the sixth-generation Mustang platform. It is a two-door, front-engine, rear-wheel drive coupé with a naturally aspirated flat-plane-crank 5.2 litre V8 up front and a six-speed manual gearbox as the only transmission. The page is about the GT350R as Ford named it. It is not a guide to the standard GT350, which shares the engine but keeps the rear seats, air conditioning and a softer suspension, and it is not a guide to the later supercharged GT500. Where sources describe the Heritage Edition appearance package, we treat it as the same car in special paint, because the pages we read say the mechanics are unchanged.

We have not driven this model for this article. We are an editorial desk that reads sources, and everything below comes from pages we opened: Wikipedia, MotorWeek, PistonHeads, Top Speed, Autoblog (two articles), Carscoops, The Globe and Mail, Mustangspecs and Fordmuscle. We have not inspected, owned or tested a car. Cars like this are bought by collectors and track-day drivers, so a guide cannot replace a specialist inspection. This page is for research, not a buying recommendation.

The figures at a glance

• Engine: 5.2L naturally aspirated flat-plane-crank V8, 5,163 cc, mounted front-engine, with a redline of 8,250 rpm according to PistonHeads, Mustangspecs and Carscoops.
• Drivetrain: rear-wheel drive, Tremec six-speed manual only, with a 3.73 Torsen limited-slip rear axle according to MotorWeek.
• Power: 526 bhp at 7,500 rpm. Every source prints 526 hp. Carscoops also prints 533 PS and 392 kW, and 392 kW multiplied by 1.34102 gives 525.7 bhp, so we use 526 bhp throughout.
• Torque: 582 Nm at 4,750 rpm. The sources print 429 lb ft, and 429 lb ft multiplied by 1.35582 gives 581.6 Nm. Wikipedia and Carscoops both print 582 Nm.
• 0-100 km/h: no figure shown. The instrumented times we found are for 0-60 mph, and we do not relabel those. More on this below.
• Top speed: no figure shown for the GT350R itself. Figures that exist are for the standard GT350, discussed below.
• Weight: 3,655 lb (1,658 kg) according to MotorWeek and PistonHeads, and 3,703 lb (about 1,680 kg) for the 2020 car according to Autoblog.
• Years: catalogued as 2015 to 2020. A first run of 37 cars was built for the 2015 model year, and manufacture of the GT350 line ended in October 2020, according to Wikipedia.
• Production: no figure shown for a total. The only count a page gave us is 37 cars for the 2015 model year.

History and what changed over the run

Ford revealed the Shelby GT350 at the Los Angeles Auto Show in November 2014, according to Wikipedia. The R version was introduced in 2015 as a nod to the 1965 GT350 competition car. Autoblog reported in April 2015 that Ford was building 137 Shelby Mustangs for the 2015 model year, made up of 100 GT350 and 37 GT350R, and that the limit applied to the model year and not the calendar year. It added that the new model year was due in just a few months and would allow for more cars. The same article notes that the original 1965 GT350R competition cars were few in number, with most records showing only 34 production models receiving serial numbers.

That matters for the date shown on this page. The catalogue year of 2015 is consistent with the sources, because the 37-car run belongs to the 2015 model year and Wikipedia gives 2015 as the introduction year for the GT350R. In practice, the road tests we read, from The Globe and Mail in September 2015 and MotorWeek, describe the 2016 car, and most cars a reader will meet were built from 2016 onward. We keep 2015 to 2020 and say plainly that the first model year was a very small run.

The GT350R keeps the standard GT350 powertrain. Top Speed says the output is unchanged at 526 horsepower, and Wikipedia gives the GT350 engine as the 5,163 cc Voodoo flat-plane-crank V8. The differences are in weight and hardware. The sources list:

• Carbon fibre wheels: standard on the R. Wikipedia says they come from Carbon Revolution, weigh 18 lb (8 kg) each against 33 lb (15 kg) for comparable aluminium wheels, and were the first of their kind from a mass-market maker. MotorWeek describes 19-inch carbon wheels wearing Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 tyres in 305/30 front and 315/30 rear sizes. Top Speed says the wheels cut 52 lb overall.
• Deletes: MotorWeek says the rear seats, air conditioning, radio, boot carpeting and reversing camera are gone, and that owners can pay to have comforts reinstated. Top Speed adds the exhaust resonators and the tyre sealer and inflator.- Chassis: MotorWeek lists stiffer springs, larger anti-roll bars, new bushings and ball joints, a lower track alignment and MagneRide dampers as standard.
• Aero: a vented bonnet, front splitter, side skirts, rear diffuser and a large carbon fibre rear wing according to MotorWeek. Top Speed mentions front and rear underbody panels.
• Cooling: oil, transmission and rear differential coolers according to MotorWeek.
• Cosmetics: red brake calipers, red pinstriping and GT350R fender badges.

How much lighter is it than the GT350? The sources do not agree. Wikipedia says more than 130 lb (59 kg) lighter than the GT350 with the Track Pack, and Top Speed repeats that wording. MotorWeek says 105 lb lighter than the standard GT350. PistonHeads lists 1,658 kg against 1,705 kg for the GT350, a 47 kg gap, while its own text says around 60 kg. The Globe and Mail says 55 kg. They compare against different GT350 specifications and the pages do not always say which, so we give the range and not a single number.

Changes in the last years

Autoblog's 2020 track-drive report says the V8 was unchanged for the final year. Ford borrowed a high-trail steering knuckle and revised front suspension from the GT500 to reduce tramlining, replaced drilled brake rotors with solid ones, retuned the electric steering, stability control and ABS, and added a Technology package with blind-spot warning and a B and O audio system. New colours were Grabber Lime and Twister Orange. Fordmuscle reports that the Heritage Edition package, marking 55 years since the 1965 GT350, adds $1,965 to either model and brings Wimbledon White paint with Guardsman Blue stripes, blue-coated badges and a dash badge, plus black seats with red stitching on the R. It calls the car super-limited but gives no production number.

Which figures we chose, and why

Power and torque

Power is simple. Every page prints 526 hp at 7,500 rpm. The one exception is the specification box on the Top Speed page, which lists 500 hp and a round four hundred lb ft, while the same article's text says output remains 526 horsepower and torque is 429 lb ft. We take the text, which matches every other page, and treat the box as an error. Torque is 429 lb ft at 4,750 rpm in the sources, which converts to 582 Nm, the figure Wikipedia and Carscoops print.

Acceleration

Ford itself did not publish a 0-60 mph claim, according to the sources we could reach, so every number is a magazine or television result. MotorWeek reports 4.0 seconds to 60 mph with launch control in its test and a quarter mile of 12.3 seconds at 119 mph. Mustangspecs reports 3.9 seconds citing a Car and Driver test. Wikipedia prints 4.2 seconds for the GT350 as a whole. Top Speed says less than 3.5 seconds, which is far below every instrumented result we found and reads like an early estimate. Carscoops prints 4.8 seconds for the standard GT350 in a top-speed story, which also looks out of line.

The only metric figure comes from The Globe and Mail's September 2015 review, which says the car reaches 100 km/h in about 3.7 seconds. That is a loose estimate in a first-drive piece, and it is quicker than the instrumented 0-60 mph results we found, even though 100 km/h is slightly faster than 60 mph and so should take a little longer. A 0-60 mph time is not a 0-100 km/h time and we do not relabel it. Since we have no instrumented 0-100 km/h result, there is no figure shown for it here.

Top speed

Wikipedia lists 172 mph (277 km/h) for the GT350 and Carscoops reports a run of 172 mph on the autobahn in a standard GT350, one mile per hour short of Ford's claimed 173 mph (280 km/h). The GT350R appears in that article only as a sibling. Because the R has the large rear wing and different aero, and no page we read gives a top speed measured on or claimed for the R, there is no figure shown for the GT350R. For context, 173 mph multiplied by 1.60934 is 278 km/h, so the 280 km/h printed by Carscoops is a rounded figure.

Years and production

The only count we found for exactly this model is Autoblog's 37 cars for the 2015 model year. Wikipedia repeats only 37 units being made in its GT350R section, and Top Speed says limited production numbers without a figure. We saw references to enthusiast forum tallies of the full run, but the forum page refused access to us and the search summary is not a page we read, so we do not use or repeat a total. No Ford page we could open gives one. A claim of a total for 2015 to 2020 would be a guess, so there is no figure shown.

Running costs and ownership notes

Our sources give very little on running costs. The Globe and Mail listed fuel economy as to be determined in 2015, and MotorWeek did not mention it. Top Speed notes that the launch price included a $1,300 gas-guzzler tax, which tells you something about the thirst of the engine, but no source we read gave a consumption figure or an insurance or service cost, so we do not invent any.

What the reviews do say about living with the car is consistent. MotorWeek calls the ride firm and says the car feels more like a race car than a street car, praising light, balanced handling, responsive steering and throttle, and brakes that showed no fade. PistonHeads, which drove the standard GT350 and R in Michigan, expected the R to excel on a circuit but preferred the GT350 on cambered back roads. The Autoblog 2020 article says the engine is only at full power at 7,500 rpm, and Mustangspecs says it gets especially loud above 4,000 rpm. The tyres are summer-only Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 units according to the sources, which matters for anyone planning to use one in cold or wet weather.

What to check before buying

None of the pages we read is a buyer's guide with inspection specifics, so we cannot give a defect list, a recall list or a failure rate. What the sources do support is a short list of things to confirm:

• The specification. The R was sold with the rear seats and air conditioning deleted and with a reversing camera missing, but MotorWeek says owners can pay to have comforts reinstated, so check what a particular car has.
• The model year. The 2020 car has the GT500-derived front suspension, solid brake rotors and retuned electronics according to Autoblog, so a 2020 car differs from earlier ones.
• The Heritage Edition. If a car is sold as one, it should be Wimbledon White with Guardsman Blue stripes according to Fordmuscle, and it was a package for 2020.
• The wheels and tyres. The carbon wheels and Cup 2 tyres are central to the car, and Wikipedia calls the wheels the first of their kind from a mass-market maker. We found no page on inspecting or repairing them, so ask a specialist.

Collector cars of this type are best looked at by a person who knows them, and we read nothing that replaces that.

Market and value notes

The sources give new prices at several moments. MotorWeek and Top Speed both give $63,495 for the 2016 car, which Top Speed says includes destination and the gas-guzzler tax and is $13,500 above the GT350 at $49,995. Mustangspecs lists $69,530 as the starting price of the 2019 car. Autoblog gives $74,530 for the 2020 R, while Fordmuscle gives a $73,435 base price for the 2020 R before adding the Heritage package. We do not know why those two 2020 figures differ and the pages do not say. The Globe and Mail printed 79,499 for the car, but the text we read does not state the currency. MotorWeek also reports that dealer markups pushed prices near or above six figures at launch, and Wikipedia says the car numbered 001 sold for $1 million at a Barrett-Jackson auction in Scottsdale. These are one-off events and not a valuation. We found no used-market price guide among the pages we read, so check live listings.

What we could not find

• No total production count for 2015 to 2020, and no per-year breakdown from Ford. Only the 37 cars for the 2015 model year are stated by a page we read.
• No 0-100 km/h result from an instrumented test and no top speed claimed or measured for the R specifically, so there is no figure shown for either.
• No Ford press page for the car. Car and Driver and Motor Trend would not open for us, Fastestlaps and Encycarpedia refused access (403), a Mustang owners forum thread refused access, and Petrolicious returned a rate-limit error, and we did not work around any of these. MustangAttitude presented a bot check and we did not read it.
• No recall list, defect list or ownership-cost data.

About the photograph

The page uses the catalogue photograph for this model, and its credit is listed on the credits page.

Verdict

The GT350R is a GT350 pushed further toward the track: the same 526 bhp 5.2L naturally aspirated flat-plane-crank V8, with 582 Nm of torque, but with carbon fibre wheels, stiffer and more aggressive chassis settings, a wing and a bare interior. The reviews we read agree that it is fast, firm and focused, and that it weighs somewhere between about 47 and 60 kg less than the GT350, depending on the comparison. They do not give a trustworthy 0-100 km/h time or a top speed for the R itself, and no page we could open states how many were built beyond the 37 of the 2015 model year. Treat the figures above as our reading of the sources, check the exact model year and specification of any car you are researching, and use a specialist inspection before any purchase. This page is a research aid and not a buying recommendation.