Ford Mustang Shelby GT350 Review

Be still our beating hearts! Actually don’t. Let your staccato thrum synch with this beast’s marvellous serenade

By Shahzad Sheikh

We got an exclusive Dubai Drive of this awesome muscle car. To watch our 2017 Ford Mustang Shelby GT350 Review video now, click below.

I’m in Typo-Town. I keep aiming to hit the correct keys to spell out ‘Mustang’ but on the screen I keep getting ‘MustHave’. I guess it’s my inner voice of desire, trying to break through the obstinate wall of dreary logic, which says that no car really needs to have a V8 bellowing out 526bhp and 429lb ft of torque in a terrific tempo of temptation,that is sure to entice your chequebook out of lock and key.

Your mind says it’s too expensive (AED275,000 [$75k] for a Mustang?!); the decibel meter says it’s too get-you-fined loud; your eyes say it’s overt and vulgar (oh but it must – absolutely MUST – have racing stripes too); and you just know your financial advisor will have a heart attack each time you drain the fuel tank or shred the rear tyres – which you will, regularly.

Ford Mustang Shelby GT350 Review

And yet, that silly organ in your chest cavity (the one that ultimately rules the head with the simple threat: ‘I can just turn off your blood supply, you know’) cries out one retort and one retort alone: ‘I don’t care, I want one.’ End of.

Okay not, end of. How did we get here? You need a bit more exposition than simply ‘because’. Right? Or do you? Perhaps you’re already on the same page as me. And that would be this one!

Ford Mustang Shelby GT350 Review

Look, there’s no point doing a typical written review here – we’ve done several previously of Mustangs and you can find them in our Ford index. And anyway, this car kinda defies analysis in the conventional manner.

Yes I can talk about the reasonable practicality and daily-driveability of an undeniably pumped Mustang – it’s still a Mustang after all. I should certainly also mention that it has the most comfortable seats I’ve put my behind into so far when it comes to the latest generation of the Pony car – so that’s a benefit (chalk one up for reasoned argument there: ‘but honey, I had to buy the Shelby, because the seat is better for my back…’).

Ford Mustang Shelby GT350 Review

I can talk about the thumping but not overly intimidating performance that seems just about right in a car of this type. I could mention the excellent steering and the delightful dynamic compromise between sporty handling and muscle-car lairiness.

I might pen an ode of obsession dedicated to the Tremec six-speed manual boasting a slickness and surety not experienced since the great shifters of 80s and 90s BMWs and Hondas. And I’d praise the Brembo brakes for the sheer reassurance they grace you with.

There’s even an opportunity to bore you with the techy explanations of flat plane cranky ‘Voodoo’ that inhabits the otherworldly 5.2-litre V8 trying to burst out of the bonnet like a fledgling Xenomorph.

Ford Mustang Shelby GT350 Review

On the other hand I could – and probably should – simply confess that my faculties of objectivity flew out the window as I laughed out loud whilst wheelspining on the upshifts, not that you’d hear me cackling over the peace-shattering thundering glorious sound from the exhaust, as I flew past 100kph in ‘very quick’ (actually 4.0 seconds without the wheelspins) and onto about 290kph if I kept my paw down.

It’s one of those cars that just gets to you. Right there. Bang! It’s in. And nothing anyone says is going to dislodged the obsession. There simply is no point me writing a verdict at this point, because you’ve already decided – probably even before you started reading this – whether you want one or not.

And if you do want one, get in line!

Ford Mustang Shelby GT350 Review

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.