HISTORY OF THE GT350R
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Ford first teased the GT350R in 2014 and like any flagship Mustang, it stirred up quite the buzz within the auto industry. Well, since the 2014 GT500 was sending its final farewell and Ford had not made plans for it to return in 2015, they keyed in on the 50th anniversary of the very first GT350. The first Shelby GT350 debuted in 1965 and was painted in Wimbledon White and accented with Guardsman Blue stripes. The GT500 had made an impactful 8-year run, and Ford knew it was time for something different especially with the transition to the S550 platform. After the initial release, for 2015 Ford produced just 37 GT350R Mustangs which possibly correlates with the number of FIA-homologated competition Mustangs Carroll Shelby says his firm produced in 1965. Since 2015, Ford has offered a GT350R every year with the car currently being in its fifth production year. Also check out our comparative article between the 350 & 350R.
INTERIOR
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The interior in the GT350R is a standard issue S550 with nice, subtle changes to ensure it’s a rewarding driving experience. Listed below we have the following upgrades that were released on this model:
- Recaro seats featuring very aggressive bolstering and harness slots for the occasional track day.
- Properly suited “R” logo sewn into the headrest.
- Allows for just one passenger because of the molded rear seat delete.
- Optional upgrade to match rear seat.
- Steering wheel incorporates a race-like, flat-bottom design that is wrapped in both alcantara and leather material.
- A red sight line is integrated at the 12 o’clock position for wheel orientation and wheel has red, European-style stitching.
- Menacing Cobra logo in the center of the airbag.
- Analog oil pressure and engine oil temperature gauges located in the center of the dash.
- A red engine start/stop button.
- A GT350 specific shift knob, scuff plates, and a chassis plaque located on the passenger side of the dash.
- Satin silver metallic trim pieces such as the door handles, door pulls, shift boot trim, cup holder trim ring, and the steering wheel trim.
- Optional without a radio or air conditioning.
EXTERIOR
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The outside of the car is rather unique to say the least and will definitely turn some heads! Here some important features of the exterior:
- The front bumper, fenders, rear valance and hood are all carried over from the non-R models.
- Taller spoiler and sub-splitter that both produce additional downforce.
- Several color and striping options available throughout the years.
WHEELS/TIRES
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One of the coolest characteristics of the GT350R is its carbon-fiber wheels which was also a first on a mass-production car. The front wheels measure in at 19 by 11 and the rears are 19 by 11.5-inches and are specific in offset and backspacing to the GT350R. Each carbon-fiber wheel removes 16 pounds of rotational weight per corner which helps in all areas of performance. The carbon-fiber wheels are wrapped in super-grippy Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 tires that last all of about 3 track days.
ENGINE
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Like many Ford engines, they typically all receive some sort of a “code-name”. The engine in the GT350R was coined “Voodoo” and rightfully so! The 5.2L or 315 cubic-inch displacement Voodoo shares basic architecture from the Coyote engine and is currently the highest-output naturally aspirated engine Ford has ever built; producing 526 horsepower at 7500 rpm and 429 foot-pounds of torque at 4750 rpm and those ratings are at the flywheel. One of the most notable features of the Voodoo engine was the use of a flat-plane crankshaft. This positions the connecting rods at 180-degree intervals versus the traditional 90-degree. This allows it to breathe and rev to the moon which in fact is 8,250 rpms. With its 3,650-pound curb weight, the GT350R can reach 60 mph in just 3.9 seconds and traps the quarter mile in 12.1 seconds at 119.6 mph according to Motortrend.
Below we have listed many of the main components that make up this engine:
- Above the Voodoo is an intake manifold with long runners to that contribute to the engine’s broad power band, and is paired with an 87mm throttle body and large-volume cold air intake
- The block is cast from aluminum and utilizes the same bore spacing and deck height as the five-oh, but the 94-by-93 mm bore-and-stroke dimensions is what yields the slightly larger displacement.
- Because of the larger bores, the Ford engineers use plasma-transferred wire-arc cylinder liners instead of the iron liners found in the Coyote.
- Inside of the Voodoo engine you’ll find a forged steel flat-plane crankshaft, forged steel connecting rods, and forged aluminum pistons.
- Air flow is key in any engine application and Ford made sure the 32-valve cylinder heads were up to the task. They did so by CNC-porting the intake ports, exhaust ports and combustion chambers.
- The intake and exhaust valves are larger at 38.3mm for the intake valve and 32.5mm for the exhaust valve.
- Because of the new valvetrain geometry and higher lift, specific camshafts were used to make sure each valve was open and closed precisely so that maximum air flow could be achieved.
- Intricacies within the valvetrain included lightweight hollow-stem intake valves and sodium-filled exhaust valves.
DRIVETRAIN
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Connected to the 5.2L Voodoo engine is a Tremec 3160 6-speed manual transmission with a gerotor pump that moves the fluid through a cooler located just behind one of the openings in the front bumper. Accompanying the 3160 transmission is a dual-mass flywheel that provides less rotational mass, resulting in a smaller clutch; which allows the engine to rev more quickly. Other drivetrain components include a 3.73 Torsen differential and GT350 specific half shafts that are just a tad beefier than the non-GT350 models.
BRAKES
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The brakes on the GT350R are rather hellacious to say the least. The fronts feature 15.5-inch two-piece iron rotors with aluminum hats and massive bright red six-piston Brembo calipers. In the rear will be 12.6-inch rotors that feature the same design and materials as the front with bright red four-piston Brembo calipers. This setup ensures brake fade is non-existent whenever you track the car.
SUSPENSION
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The GT350R was the first production Mustang to feature MagneRide dampers. The MagneRide suspension offers a wide range of adjustments in a matter of milliseconds. This system enables optimal performance for the track without sacrificing comfort on the road. The Ford engineers even counter-spun the rear springs to achieve maximum effectiveness at the track and provided more rear-end stability.
ADDITIONAL FEATURES
- Differential, engine oil, and transmission coolers.
- Red GT350 badging that is specific to the R-model.
- High-strength extended wheel studs.
- Forged carbon-fiber grille opening reinforcement that is roughly 24 percent lighter than the equivalent stamped-steel component.
In this video and article we have the GT350R that belongs to the owner of our company, Shannon Guderian. He purchased this car to replace his 2000 Cobra R for the occasional track day. To see more videos like this one, as well as how-to and product review videos, subscribe to our YouTube channel. Of course, like and share this video with your friends and turn on notifications so you’re notified every time we release new content. As always, for all things 1979 to present Mustang and SVT Lightning, keep it right here with the real enthusiasts, lmr.com!
