The 2016 Shelby GT350R played a big part in ratcheting up our heart palpitations during Ford’s amazing Detroit Auto Show presentation this year. Details on hand were limited but enough to get us excited: 5.2-liter flat plane crank V8 that produces over 500 horsepower, more than 400 pound-feet of torque, carbon fiber wheels, and a slew of performance-enhancing body work done to make it the fastest ever Mustang around the track. According to one source, it’s proven itself by setting a 7:32.19 time around the infamous Nürburgring.
This tip comes from Horsepower Kings, who only site a “trusted” and reliable source. The run allegedly took place this past September, with the source saying the result is “easily repeatable” and that the GT350 sans the R-Package put up a time that was only a few seconds behind, although no details about that car’s time was given.
If this is proven to be true, then this tops the 7:37.40 run of the Camaro Z/28 and, more frighteningly, beats the time set by the Porsche 997 GT3 RS MKII by a mere second. We all saw the fight between it and the Camaro coming but a Mustang that matches or out-laps a Porsche? These are indeed scary times.
This is a very bold and specific claim, to which I’m sure we’d all like some confirmation of, particularly Mustang fans among us. If this is true, it goes a long way in validating all the updates and improvements Ford has put into its performance-oriented pony car. If any substantial evidence to this claim, like dash-cam video of the run pops up, we’ll be sure to update.
