Wow. My jaw is on the floor. Unfortunately not the futuristic floor of the new Ford GT, the SVT Raptor, OR the drool-worthy Shelby GT350R. I couldn’t be there to spoil the finish on the door handles with my clammy excited hands in person, so I’ve scoured the net for all of us who want details and visuals. Stay right in your chair, forget about getting a second cup of coffee, health shake or whatever wakes you up, because if you’re reading this as a vehicle enthusiast there will be more than enough excitement to keep your eyelids at full mast.
Since mention of the 2015 F-150 everyone has been curious about the idea of a new SVT Raptor. We initially heard that Shelby may not be transitioning into the new Mustang platform, so maybe the Raptor will fade into the shadows as well? Nope! They’ve lit the fuse leading up to the new SVT Raptor, and it will be in production officially by fall of 2016.
BUILD. Let’s get into the gritty details and start at the frame. It’s all-new, stronger and unique to the Raptor. The body is the same new-tech aluminum alloy as the F-150 which shaves off 500+ pounds of weight around the mid-line. The Atkins Diet had never seen numbers like that. Five-hundred pounds would make you more agile and capable too, like it does for the Raptor. They’ve redesigned the FOX Racing Shocks with MORE suspension travel and an all new terrain management technology integrated. Excited yet? Let’s move on.
POWER. Everyone requested the EcoBoost in a Raptor. It’s lighter they cried, so why not? Because apparently happiness is a carefully timed event. The new Raptor has a new high output version of the 3.5L EcoBoost engine with over 411 horsepower & 434 lb.-ft of torque to out perform the 6.2L in the 2014 body. Not to mention they gave it four more gears to help wrangle that power to the wheels. Yes. A 10-speed transmission. I told you this was uber exciting!
GRIP. They’ve redesigned the transfer case to make off-road mode easier and part of this change includes it’s ability to work much like an all-wheel-drive. Imagine a half mechanical, half clutch driven transfer case. You never looked cool chirping around corners in “4WD” anyways. And speaking of cool, with some 17″ BFG All-Terrain K02’s tucked under a brand new (and first-ever) dual exhaust you’ll turn some heads. Oh, and I almost forgot to mention the six different presets for driving conditions: Normal, Street, Weather, Mud & Sand, Baja & Rock mode. Yeah, I want to be on a phone call just to say “sorry, just one minute.. I’m putting my truck in BAJA mode”.
2016 Shelby GT350R
To put it in crude short form, it’s the track modified version of the already awesome Shelby GT350. Over 500 horsepower from the 5.2L flat-plane crank N/A engine & they’ve shed some weight & streamlined the aerodynamics significantly. Let me tell you how.
Less luxury, better airflow and more carbon fiber. Yeah, carbon fiber rims. That’s a first on a production car, and it slices off about 13 pounds per wheel. They didn’t stop there. They’ve heisted their own stereo, carpeting, back seat, sound dampening material, air conditioning, and even the spare tire.
If that sounds a little too rustic for you and you’d prefer to crank “life is a highway” by Tom Cochrane, there is a package to help you. Order it with the electronics package and cruise the Florida highways with 7 speakers, dual-zone air conditioning, an 8-inch touchscreen and even navigation to get you to bingo.
Super sticky Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 rubber wrapped around the 19-inch carbon fiber rims (yeah I’m not tired of writing that yet) will be accompanied by the MagneRide adjustable dampers to keep everything in contact with the asphalt as well. It’s a monster of the track in terms of production road cars and you’re wondering what could possibly outrun the GT350R?
Introducing the new Ford GT
Grandchild to the 1966 GT40, this is the 2nd homage to the legendary race car that was built to tackle Ferrari in the “24 Hours of Le Mans”. It’s design is stunning inside and out.
We’ve all been wondering how much power could be forced out of an EcoBoost. The answer is north of 600 horsepower. The 3.5L V6 twin-turbo is mated to a 6-speed paddle shift transmission and claims to have a 0-60 of around three seconds and a top speed of 200mph+.
Ford is promising the GT will have one of the best power-to-weight ratios of any production car and that’s a hefty promise. I hope they pinky-swore on that. There are aluminum sub frames at the front and back hidden by carbon fiber body panels and an active rear spoiler to help with down force and braking, which leaves the rest of the braking to the 20 Michelin Pilot Super Sport Cup 2 tires surrounding carbon ceramic brakes.
I wish my car had some ceramic.
Strap in, and hang on. The drivers seat doesn’t move, and doesn’t have to. The pedals and F1-style wheel will come to you. You don’t have to worry about hitting the signal stalk while signaling into your driveway either, because it isn’t there, and you’ll never want to go home. In fact, there is nothing between the wheel and paddle shifters. The dash is completely digital and configurable for multiple driving modes too, which makes the whole interior look that much more futuristic. 2015 Back to the Future fans eat your heart out.
The outside of the car is amazing. The folks at Ford have really outdone themselves on the curves and design of this car, and I sure hope I get to see one roll into the showroom here at Cambrian Ford. We’re Northern Ontario’s only SVT dealership so that means I will keep my clammy anxious fingers crossed that I get to put a few fingerprints on the glossy surface of one of these amazing machines.
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-Jer
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ds on an imaginary vehicle? Likely someone who has a few spare bucks laying around, because the 2015 Mustang GT pulled in $300,000 at the auction. You can safely assume that the first GT350 will auction for much more. What will you as a bidder be trading your money for? Dibs on creating the very first GT350 exactly how you want it. Your color, your interior and with whatever options they release it with. You get to bring the most powerful N/A car ever designed by ford, to your garage…..eventually.