New Ford Mustang Shelby GT350R 5.2-liter V8

2016 Ford Mustang Shelby GT350R

 In 1965, Ford and Carroll Shelby developed a road-racing version of the popular Ford Mustang - the Shelby GT350 Competition model. Lighter, more powerful and with a highly developed suspension, it is one of the most iconic racing Mustangs ever produced.

Arriving later this year, the new Shelby GT350R has been designed and engineered in the same spirit, delivering never-before-seen track capability from a Mustang - thanks to innovations in aerodynamics, chassis engineering and light-weighting.

The car features the first-ever production V8 from Ford with a flat-plane crankshaft - the most powerful naturally aspirated engine Ford has ever produced - plus a specially tuned suspension. It is fitted with revised spring rates and antiroll bars, lower ride height, unique track-tuned alignment settings, revised bushings and jounce bumpers, cross-axis ball joints in the front suspension, and revised calibration controlling the MagneRide dampers.

The new 5.2-liter dual-overhead-cam V8 engine is the first-ever production V8 from Ford with a flat-plane crankshaft - an architecture typically found only in racing applications or exotic European sports cars.

2016 Ford Mustang Shelby GT350R

Unlike traditional V8s, where the connecting rods are attached to the crankshaft at 90-degree intervals, this design evenly spaces all crank pins at 180-degree intervals to optimize high-speed engine breathing. It is the most powerful naturally aspirated production Ford engine ever, with more than 500 horsepower and more than 400 lb.-ft. of torque.

2016 Ford Mustang Shelby GT350R

An air-to-oil engine oil cooler typically found only on race cars maintains engine temperatures under the most severe conditions, as does a standard cooler for the six-speed manual transmission.

A Ford-tuned limited-slip Torsen differential with 3.73 axle ratio is optimized for cornering grip and straight-line traction, while an electronically modulated rear-mounted air-to-oil differential cooler maintains ideal temperatures during track driving.