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Once upon a time, I was a test pilot working for Roush. I would show up at a Ford building in Allen Park, Michigan at 6 a.m. five days a week, give me a set of keys, a driving route, a huge pile of papers, and then send me on my merry way for about seven hours. Every car he drove was a Ford or Lincoln in one of several pre-production stages. I, at nineteen, was in love with the concert. And come on, what car-crazy teen wouldn’t love to get paid to drive a new car?
But not all new cars are the same. Every morning brutally early, he lined up, waiting. Finally, names were called and the keys began to flow. “There’s no cobra snake in that one, or those three. There’s still hope,” I thought to myself. Finally, they called me by my name, and sitting across the table from me was exactly what I’d been waiting for for the past two weeks: a Ford Mustang Shelby GT350 key ring. I did my best not to look too excited, but inside, I was positively dizzy. The car gods graced me on that beautiful summer day, and somehow, I came away with an even higher opinion of the car than I had already created.
Ford did not change the standard GT350 for 2020, but notable improvements were made for 2019; You can check the details in our First Drive here. In short, though, the changes contributed to better handling while retaining the same lovely powertrain. Ford didn’t fix what wasn’t broken and the car remained 100% true to what it was originally.
Our 2020 Heritage Edition tester adds special paint, decals and badges, but nothing else. Ford used Ken Miles’s 1965 Mustang GT350 fastback as inspiration for the Wimbledon White and Guardsman Blue color scheme.
“Being able to double with Wimbledon White and specifically Guardsman Blue. Being able to tie it in a bow back to how it started was great, ”said Jim Owens, Ford Mustang and Shelby marketing manager. “And from a marketing perspective and from someone who knew Carroll and knew how happy he would be with this car, it was great to do it.”
Fun fact: Ford still had 1960s Guardsman blue paint in cold storage, and he used this paint to get a perfect color match for the Shelby stripes and badges on the new GT350. Both stripes and side decals are stickers, not painted, but look the same as over 50 years ago.
I think the appearance package is a nostalgic hit and buyers seem to agree. Ford says the Heritage Edition is the most popular color scheme of 2020. The $ 1,965 package isn’t an egregious premium to pay over the $ 61,535 base car, and while it’s clearly popular (Ford isn’t limiting the numbers production), it will still be pretty rare considering it’s a single model year option.
Ford wouldn’t tell us much more about the timing of this model’s demise beyond referencing the natural order of Mustang variants moving in and out of the lineup. Now that the GT500 has taken over the role of King Mustang, there is inherently less room for the GT350 and GT350R. If you don’t want to splurge on the GT500, Ford is at least offering the Mach 1 as a replacement for 2021, but that’s more of a combination of the also discontinued Bullitt and GT350. And that mix doesn’t include the flat-crank 5.2-liter “Voodoo.” It will have Bullitt’s “Coyote” 5.0.
So this is not just goodbye to a car, it is goodbye to an engine that was already on its way to becoming legend five years ago as the only engine this side of Maranello with a flat crank. It’s what gives the GT350 its unmistakable high-pitched, bubbly chatter. Five years on, the thrill of squeezing it hasn’t diminished, but it’s not the only thing that makes this Shelby so special.
When I describe how to drive the GT350 to people, I usually say that it doesn’t drive like a Mustang. It doesn’t work, turn, or brake like other Mustangs. Each of those elements is raised to a proper sports car level, making for a car that can legitimately appeal to those who might never have considered a Mustang. It’s good enough to go head-to-head with any sports car under $ 100,000 and it can put up a great fight with even more expensive cars.
A trip under a bridge in the thick of talk, and I’m immediately fawning over that exotic, muscular soundtrack that gripped me so hard at first. Nothing else for sale today sounds similar, and there is no other car for its price that sounds better.
The 0-60 mph time of around 4.0 seconds doesn’t even begin to tell the acceleration story. Compared to a Camaro SS or Hemi-equipped Dodge, it’s a bit slow to get out the door. Ford didn’t prepare the GT350 for the flashy 0-60 times magazine covers. You are forced to shift to second right when the speedometer reaches 50 mph and you’re heading to 60, losing precious tenths of a second. I’d say what does it matter if it does 0-60 mph in 4.1 seconds vs. 3.7?
The important thing is that the second and third gears are absolutely perfect for playing on a fast and winding road. I find myself shifting between the two lower gears all the time, pulling the lever from third to second, pressing down on the gas, and pushing the climb past 8,000 rpm over and over again as the road straightens. Its 526 horsepower and 429 pound-feet of torque are addictive and perfectly usable on the road. I’ve driven a lot of cars since I first experienced this engine and gearbox five years ago, but I’m just as in love. In addition to its unique engine, the GT350 is also the only Mustang to have the Tremac TR-3160 six-speed transmission. Its doors have a much more precise feel than the regular GT Getrag gearbox, and while the clutch is on the lighter side for so much power, it copes well with the engine’s playful, fast-revving attitude.
The brakes are absolutely heavenly. Ford has given the GT350 the right braking feel and pedal travel for a supercar. It’s firm from the first inch you press down, low-effort scrub speed in an instant. Very few sports cars have brakes that feel that good. Add an extra layer of confidence and safety when you hit back roads and race tracks alike.
But, unfortunately, the GT350’s biggest flaw is the same one it had from the beginning. Where the road goes, so does this Mustang. They warned me about their propensity to follow the contours of the road from co-workers who had already driven the GT350 when I was working as a test driver. Even today the sticky Michelins combined with the uncompromising, track-built suspension design are heavily influenced by rough roads. Keeping you off the shoulder of the road can be a struggle at times. It’s called tramlining and it can be scary at first. You can master it if you keep a strong hand on the wheel and pay particular attention to where the car is on the road, but it’s a mental burden that you don’t have to deal with in many other sports cars.
The smooth roads and the race track are where this Mustang really stands out. The steering is better than it was at first, more feel, better weight, and the MagneRide suspension strikes a lovely balance between performance and comfort. This car is fully livable on the road, as any Mustang should be.
The first and last point regarding any unit in a GT350 should always be the noise it makes. Inside and outside the car, it’s a unique and perfect combination of Italian supercar scream and American muscle car growl. It is the item that will be mentioned first when this car is recalled in five, 10 or 25 years. From the first prototype in 2015 to the final production version in 2020, it has been an absolute smile machine. Even on the way out, Owens tells us that Ford sees the GT350 as “a clear demonstration of the engineering prowess of the men and women of Ford Performance.” The GT500 might be the last Mustang halo for 2020, but in death the GT350 still looms as a giant in the aisles of Ford Performance.
My last gasp of driving one alone reinforces its status as a high water mark for the Mustang. See you later, GT350. We will miss your roars and howls.
