2019 Ford Shelby GT350

2019 Ford Shelby GT350 video

2019 Ford Mustang Shelby GT350 Test Drive and Review

[MUSIC PLAYING] KURT NIEBUHR: This is the best Mustang ever built. It's the 2019 Ford Shelby GT350. No other Mustang has combined on-road comfort with on-track performance in such a friendly and usable package, and it sounds great, too. But before we go into what makes the 2019 version that much better, don't forget to click Subscribe. And be sure to check out Edmunds for all your car shopping needs. So for 2019, Ford has made very few changes to the outside of the GT350. Let's have a look around the front. And it would take a pretty sharp eye to notice that they have modified the radiator blocking in the front of the car. More on that later. If you walk around to the side of the car, you will notice that they have a new design for the wheels. But even more importantly, it's the tires that they put on the wheels. These are Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 tires. The FP on the tire, that stands for Ford Performance. We're big fans of these tires, but Ford has worked with Michelin to develop a tire and a compound and a construction just for the GT350. It's all about helping the balance and making the car more friendly. So perhaps the most obvious change to the 2019 model is this, well, what Ford calls a swing. And it's kind of a mix between a spoiler and a wing. This wing was developed when they were developing the arrow for the GT500, which we're going to see pretty soon. And it literally is the same part on both cars. This has the optional flap, which you can buy, and it just screws in with four screws on the back. And that adds even more downforce and more traction at higher speed. Remember what I said about the front radiator blocking? Ford re-profiling all that to work in better conjunction with this swing. When it comes to the interior, there haven't really been any changes. You still get the great Recaro seats. These are not leather. They're cloth. They're very gripping. Very aggressive bolsters, as well-- so if you don't like climbing into your seat, you might not like this car that much. You get a suede and leather-wrapped flat bottom wheel. You get a shift lever which kind of looks like it belongs in the EcoBoost, if you ask me. I think the shift knob on the bullet and the regular GT are way cooler. But there are a lot of other cool bits and pieces to this car that you can't see, because, well, they're under the car. We should go inside and check those out. [MUSIC PLAYING] It's cool that Ford brought some of their parts and bits in, because you can't always see them when they're actually in use on the car. You've got this really interesting composite oil pan, very lightweight. You've got the whole clutch and flywheel assembly and shifter, that amazing flat plane crank, which really makes the car sound perfect. You've also got really beefy aluminum suspension pieces. And it's quite light. This one as well-- this is a very big piece of aluminum, as you can see. But it's also quite light. Why would you spend all that time and money to make the parts as light as possible? Well, it's so that when you want to add weight back in, you've got the space, like these 394-millimeter brake rotors. These are gigantic. [MUSIC PLAYING] Ford invited us to drive a bunch of their GT350s at the M1 concourse in Pontiac, Michigan. It's short. It's fast. Let's go see what it's like. [ENGINE REVVING] Listen to that sound, 5.2 liters, 526 horsepower. Oh, not much better than that. I love that sound, man. So all those new tweaks that Ford's worked on the GT350, how do they work on a track? Well, the front spring rates are up about 10%. The rear spring rates, they dropped those by about 5. And the rear sway bars, it's a little higher. Thankfully, what they did not change has anything to do with this 5.2-liter flat plane crank engine. Oh, good brakes, good brakes. [? Tack ?] it out, staying on the gas. I expected the car to be good, because the last one was really good. But this one just feels a little bit friendlier. The front is a little more eager. It's not too fast. The rear takes a nice set mid-corner. And you can just feed the power in. There's something else that Ford worked on, and that is ESC traction control calibration and all that. It allows you to put the power on really. Always traction in this car-- it's great. Good high speed grip, too. Man, these Michelins are good, man. They are good. Special mention should go to this six-speed manual. This is a Tremec, and it's unique to the GT350, the case, the brand, the ratios, everything. It is a great gearbox. This is a good car, a fantastic Ford, best Mustang ever. One more lap just for fun. Great all around performance, great balance. I wouldn't have an issue doing a track day and then driving the car home. So has Ford made the 2019 GT350 better? Yeah, they have, incrementally. All the little changes, especially the Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 tires, really make this car balanced, easy, and fun to drive. But it's not the only car in the market. There are other cars, like the Camaro ZL1 1LE. That's more of a bruiser, more powerful. But that's also kind of the same thing. You can get the Porsche Cayman S. It's lighter weight, more of a pure sports car, but it won't sound like this thing. There's also the BMW M2 Competition. It's like a little German muscle car. And I think that's the closest price-wise and performance-wise to the GT350. Which one would I pick? I have that. one. Don't forget to like, subscribe, and make sure to visit Edmunds for all your car shopping needs. [MUSIC PLAYING]

The 2019 Ford Mustang Shelby GT350 has subtle styling updates, such as aerodynamic drag-reducing parts and a Gurney flap, and a new set of Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 tires designed specifically for the Shelby. That's as good of a reason to get behind the wheel as any, which is exactly what we did.