2016 Ford Shelby GT350/GT350R Mustang: First Drive

What Is It? 2016 Ford Shelby GT350/GT350R Mustang; front engine, rear-wheel-drive, two door muscular coupe

Price: $47,795+ (GT350) - $63,495+ (GT350R)

Competitors: Chevrolet Camaro Z/28, Porsche 911 GT3

Alternatives: Dodge Challenger Hellcat

Pros: Truly unique-feeling flat-plane crank V-8; stunningly competent on a racetrack; R model roughly $10,000 cheaper than comparable Camaro.

Cons: Odd clutch release takes some getting used to; difficult to use all 8,250 rpms without finding one’s self in hand cuffs; and, er, needs more cowbell?

Would I Buy It With My Own Money? Without a second thought.

How do you test a track-focused car — one bearing the name of the great Shelby — when offered just four laps of Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca (including in and out laps)? Ford markets the GT350R as being faster than the monstrously capable Chevrolet Camaro Z/28, and yet our first drive felt as intimate as a handshake.

Ford shouldn’t have kept its light under a bushel basket: the GT350R is truly phenomenal. It’s every bit the car Ford promised it would be, and potentially more.

It’s not hard to grasp the significance of the GT350R versus the Z/28 in the decades-long battle for Detroit muscle car dominance. When Chevy invited us for its first drive event at Barber Motorsports Park last year, we were gifted the keys to the 505 horsepower track-ready muscle car and told we had an entire day to do as we please: “Just let us know if you need more tires,” Chevy said. It also said we could bring along some competition, so we armed ourselves with a Nissan GT-R to compare it against.

Why did Chevy do that? Because it had faith in its creation, and the engineers wanted us to experience it under our own terms. Ford’s few laps, conjoined with some 40 other outlets, left us wondering whether its faith was not as great. But here’s what we did learn:

First, we drove a base GT350 along northern California’s Pacific Highway, a road where the scenery appears plucked from Tolkien’s imagination and giant whales bask just meters off shore. The actual curvature of the road is probably lovely, too, but unfortunately you spend most of your time staring at the Honda Pilot’s tail lamps in front while tourists exercise the art of rubbernecking.

This part of the day wasn’t an exercise in handling. Instead we focused on the changes Ford has made to the base GT, massaging it into the GT350 —a moniker left dormant since 1970, and a car in ’65 and ’66 that perhaps defines Carroll Shelby’s legacy as deeply as his iconic Shelby Cobras. The new Mustang GT finally ditches the solid rear axle in favor of independent suspension, and the GT350 is the first time we’ve seen its potential realized.

Much of the components on the GT350 are bespoke. The front track has been increased versus the GT, while spring rates and bushings stiffened. The ride height has been lowered, and MagneRide features for the first time ever on a Ford, allowing the shocks to adjust to the road’s characteristics every 10 milliseconds. It’s not as pronounced as Chevy’s Magnetic Ride system, but it does ensure the car’s inherent stiffness remains far more livable on the streets. The six-speed manual gearbox — the only gearbox available for both the GT350 and GT350R — is direct and precise, if a tad notchy. And the clutch release is odd, as if it sticks when fully depressed, then releases abruptly to the biting point. This requires precision and a steady foot when launching, lest you embarrassingly stall.

Up to speed and the steering rack is quicker than a base GT; my initial feelings determining it was too fast — you touch the wheel and the car darts, like holding a caffeinated frog. After a while, though, I became accustomed to its speed, and on the track (we’ll talk more about that later) it made absolute sense. And just like in the Mustang GT, the electric steering in the GT350 has wonderful feedback.