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WELCOME BACK, MY FRIENDS, to Performance Car of the Year, commonly abbreviated to PCOTY and pronounced to rhyme with "free-floaty." This year, the first two days of testing will see our eight contenders cover 500 miles of lightly inhabited two-lanes, from Berea, Kentucky, through the Daniel Boone National Forest, and down to Cookeville, Tennessee. From there, we'll take the longest way possible to NCM (National Corvette Museum) Motorsports Park, next to the famous Corvette plant in Bowling Green, Kentucky.
Let me explain. The only way the team at Ford Performance could get 526 hp from 5.2 liters—the fabled 100 hp per liter and then some—was to reengineer the whole thing into a bit of an insane race motor. Flat-plane crankshaft. So I open the throttle, following Webster in his beloved Ferrari up a series of sharp hillside hairpins that seem designed to test second-gear acceleration and broken-asphalt traction at the same time, and the moment the tach hits about five grand, I hear The Sound.
Their statement below makes me feel good that I put my money on the right horse.
"If you could summon some sort of Lovecraftian dark magic to combine the best parts of the other seven cars in this test—the Bentley's on-road poise, the Cadillac's vivacious chassis, the Merc's bluff-nosed retro charm, the Cayman's accessible limits, the Ferrari's auditory drama, the Corvette's wide-hipped machismo, and the Viper's sense of purpose—then what would appear in the swirling mists would be, not Cthulhu the Great Old One, but Shelby the Baddest Mustang."
I'd love to have one, but my '13 is paid for so I'll continue to enjoy it. Ford really hit a homerun with the GT350. They really brought supercar performance to an affordable car.
I went to the the bookstore to pick up a paper copy of this issue but it wasn't the same cover picture... Isn't it the November issue? Doesn't have 8 cars in the cover
Very impressive.
To beat all those cars in that line-up is VERY impressive. Good job Ford/Shelby!
At least the GT350 is getting rave reviews. The 2016 Camaro SS is stomping on the 2016 Mustang GT Performance Package cars in all the magazine reviews. I was disappointed when the new GT came out with only 435 hp and gained weight. I always said it would need at least 450 hp to keep up with the next gen Camaro and I've been proven correct.
I'd love to have one, but my '13 is paid for so I'll continue to enjoy it. Ford really hit a homerun with the GT350. They really brought supercar performance to an affordable car.
I had a 2011 GT and enjoyed it everyday. When I picked up my gt350 it was an awareness of a new level of DDDAAAAMMMMNNNN! Ultimately if I had never driven a gt350 I would have been very happy with my 2011 everyday until it died. So, by all means keep your '13 and enjoy it. It's a GREAT car. But, don't drive a friends Shelby unless you want to get a little crazy!!!
I had a 2011 GT and enjoyed it everyday. When I picked up my gt350 it was an awareness of a new level of DDDAAAAMMMMNNNN! Ultimately if I had never driven a gt350 I would have been very happy with my 2011 everyday until it died. So, by all means keep your '13 and enjoy it. It's a GREAT car. But, don't drive a friends Shelby unless you want to get a little crazy!!!
Heck I rode in my buddy's '15 GT and the platform was night and day compared to our S197s. My Glass Roof is the only thing keeping me in this car.
I get that. I drove a 2015 gt when they first came out. Rumors of the Voodoo were the only thing keeping me from picking up one. Smooth ride! It's a great time to be a pony/muscle car fan!!!
I get that. I drove a 2015 gt when they first came out. Rumors of the Voodoo were the only thing keeping me from picking up one. Smooth ride! It's a great time to be a pony/muscle car fan!!!
Hey Eric... Did you notice a huge difference between the MT82 transmission on the GT and the Tremec in your GT350?
When I test drove the GT I didn't really get on it, as it wasn't my car. However the Transmission in my GT350 is way smoother than in my 2011 GT. I have been known to miss a 2-3 shift from time to time. In this car, it's pretty hard to miss. I am a huge fan of the package.
