hey I'm Carlos Lago and up next is a
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not that's cool I won't be offended at
all i'll be offended really be offended
- Hi, Randy. - Hey, Carlos. - How ya doin'? - I'm great, Man, I'm havin' a ball.
I'm having a good time too
and I would like to believe that if
there were a superhero named Captain Rad
yeah and he were in charge of Ford
product
yeah you might have come up with this
car (lightly laughs) I like it too. I've driven the
Shelby GT350R before, in fact, quite a
bit so the gt350 our means of course is
not permitted for children under the age
of 17 without adult supervision haha
what I really need good idea Big 5.2
liter flat-plane-crank V8.
a lot of power 525 horsepower a lot of
revs 8200 RPM redline yeah baby man from
a Ford. so what we're going to do we can
go left down here we're gonna do is
we're gonna put the exhaust in loud mode
anything coming [Carlos] Uh, let's see, no you're
good it's got a little blind spot window
that's nice that it's helpful to take
the the right route here Oh, you put
in loud did you
Why would you not have it in loud?
- That's the real question. - [Randy] Uh. 'Cause you're in the
neighborhood
Hooked up, Carlos! (laughs) This-- - [Randy] But really, you know what
else though, I felt like I was revving it out,
right? that was about 5 grand
I had 3200 RPM left it's taking this
car to redline is such an experience.
- It's revving and it's revving and it's- - And we're at a road. (laughing) Wow!
that's what happens we have a long way
to go
that was third gear every single time I
could take this car to redline I look
look down at the tach and I go, are you serious
are you serious i still have another
2,000 rpm to go
Me too. It's amazing! It's a broad power
curve it just keeps going It builds and
builds and builds. - [Randy] Just keeps building. and
I keep surprisingly short
shift for this car all the time 'cause you
don't believe if you were to
shift based on sound and feel. Yeah. it would
never feel like you were going to kiss the
redline that's 5,000 rpm Yes. It sounds way more.
And then it just keeps going.
Oh! Oh, oh, oh, (laughing) close ratio gears, it just rocked
Keeps it-- - [Randy] On that 2-3 shift. Right in the power band. Yeah!
It's a ve-- - [Randy] I liked that! It's a very specia
motor
and it's a wholly unique motor. So, what makes
it unique is its of course across plane
crank v8but it's not like any cross
plane-crank V8 out there that I can
think of Doesn't have the two intake
manifolds that you get on the Ferrari yes
right And the firing order has
to be different because of other
complications
you know they couldn't get the exhaust to
fit correctly so it has a different
firing order and that gives it a
character and sound like no other v8
engine out there and revving, or a power
band and a rev range that's just bizarre
yeah it's a very unique sound it's a
little more
it's like a cross between a revving
European V8 yes and a rumbling American
one
absolutely it's across
and I like that it's unique I don't like
that it doesn't necessarily follow sound
engineering principles, right? There's
actually some compromise
It's a big stroke, high-revving motor
that happens to have a flat-plane-crank
V8, so yeah, you'd have to wonder about
long-term durability and it's shaking
itself apart if you need me track it a
lot [ Carlos] I'd hope, of course you imagine
that it's gone through all kinds of
durability testing practices at Ford and what not
but i would imagineThere's still something at the
back of your head, going like, "Ah". (laughs)
- It is really composed, I got to say. so
you know, the center piece of this car
is this engine it dominates the entire
conversation of the driving right Yeah, it does.
You know, it's so obnoxiously loud but
wonderful And so unique, I mean, it is a
great marketing point absolutely to be
so different and kind of exotic it's the
bragging point of this car right but on
top of that you also have carbon fiber
wheels i love that and you have really
sticky tires you have really well
developed suspension across the entire
board, this has the magnum ride suspension
that GM, you know, Delphi created it, GM
used first Ferraris used now it's done here. - [Randy] I see, 'cause it
is actually riding quite well yes
compared to some of the other sporty
cars we've been in today and what that
that system of gives you is a breath of
capability You know, it's this huge window of
operation where a car that has an R
badge on it you could conceivably daily
drive this car without any issue it might Yeah, this is very
much a track car, isn't it?
yeah and you might go to jail because it
makes you drive like a idiot.
But, it's comfortable. I'd worry about that.
Yeah, right? Yes. I say this a lot 'about I say this a lot 'about
the measurement of how good a car is - [Randy] Woo!
how much of a jerk it makes you drive
like and this is like off the chart in that scale. It is, it is.
You know, this is a car that-- Turns me into a hooligan. You
want to turn the stability control off and
pop the clutch through every single intersection.
yeah 'Cause man, it's rewarding.
yeah but that's the sign of a extremely well
developed car, right? yeah it is good you
handling remember the boss 302 of course
Of course, which one? - [Carlos] Yeah. Well, there was the
Boss 302, the Laguna Seca. Back when I
was a kid there was one back when you
were a kid two years ago two years ago when I
was a kid right if you're ready last
month I remember that one. Wait, the Boss, or the puberty.
Pretty good hole there at the apex.
I'd say so!
Didn't upset the car though.
Man, it just, it takes the power and it just grips, it's great!
There's a lot of bite on this thing and
it's funny to think that you're short
shifting it
yeah Yeah, I really feel like I'm revving it
out I'm not, am I? No, it's amazing, I mean this, and the rev,
the power band is like a rotary.
is like a rotary. oh yeah you know
yeah, it just goes and goes-- - [Carlos] You know, you just keep going and going-- - [Randy] And goes.
I mean, the only difference is this one's actually
going fast haha Yeah, you know what? they
seem fast at the time
absolutely But 1979 was a very different
world
Absolutely. (car engine revving)
Oh, look at this. (car engine revving)
Hooligan! (pleasant orchestral music)
(pleasant orchestral music) check that hood real quick is no worries
i had a little moment there I thought I
saw it try to pop on us. Oh, no, we're good, we're
good
It's just that the prowl of the
the Mustang body is rather high
yeah It's got a high cal and a high nose. yeah
Clearing the plenum on that flat
plane crank but it makes me want to do
bad things this is a car that
conceivably you could see this car
coming with a sign saying like you know Yeah
maybe don't spend more than 30 minutes
at a time in it at risk of your own
sanity right? (chuckles) Your driver's license.
Yeah, like for the sanctity of your driver's license,
maybe limit your time in this
car for the betterment of society. (pleasant orchestral music)
This motor pulls very hard and very strong
and urgently, at higher RPM there's
there's that really high RPM shift, between
the shift there's that backfire and
crackle
That sounds so racy and so exotic. and you
drop right into a fat part of a torque curve.
yes That (imitates turn thud) just transfers the weight back,
kicks the nose up, that's why I thought
the hood might come over again every
[Randy] On that shift just-- That we have comes back to
that engine, right? It just dominates-- - [Randy] Yeah.
- The entire part of the car.
Yeah, and I a real live manual transmission.
- Yes, which is a good transmission.
Actually, really good. - Really nice, and really nice buckets.
a lot of lateral support which is great
yes good visibility
out of the front at least
you're tall if you're talking up and I
am
and a really nicely balanced minimal
understeer yes kind of chassis which is
really good which is really good
Want to go to King City, or you want to go
back home? Ah, let's flip around. Okay. I mean, well, only
because we have stuff to do
And you're tempting me to hooligan
again If we didn't Because of these farms, I don't
want to set a bad example if we didn't while these guys are watching us.
If we didn't have stuff to do
I'd say, "Yeah, let's keep driving
"to Mexico." - [Randy] Places to go, cars to try. Right, well you
know I could stay in this for a long
time
Me too, I'm a big fan. As soon as I
got the key to this car I kind of didn't
want to let them go. you know we normally like
when we're swapping between cars we
leave the keys in the cup holder so
other people can just-- - [Randy] Oh. (chuckles) Hop in and drive, right?
This car, these are the keys I want to keep in my pocket. it
has a very satisfying sound too, doesn't it?
It just really sounds like something hot.
You know, some cars are just loud.
this is loud and like makes you smile
Because of-- - [Randy] Yeah. - It's not a pretty sound. No, it's But
an aggressive one, right? - [Randy] It's aggressive.
It's race car. It's kind of like Dillinger
Escape Plan. I know you don't listen to death metal
but. (laughs) not much No, but an extremely dissonant,
extremely powerful sounding vehicle
Oh, really, I might nee--
The hooligan meter's off the charts right now. I
I find it very satisfying. very satisfying
very satisfying. And feel, I'm just really pleased
at what Ford has done with this Shelby
version of the Mustang what are your
thoughts on the steering and chassis
- The steering is direct and accurate, it is
not like it has great feel. Okay, yeah yeah yeah.
But it's good enough.
yeah it's good enough and the chassis is
so far above and beyond every other
Mustang before it
Yes, even including Bosses and the Laguna Secas.
[Randy] Oh, yeah, oh yeah, they feel like antiques.
i drove one just very recently a very
good boss yeah the Laguna Seca version
when you're a kid not the one from when
I was a kid and yeah it's an antique Yeah.
Compared to this car. This chassis is
so sophisticated that it actually
compares well to BMW, I feel. this car is
in a different league. From the other
Mustangs, you mean or? From the muscle car. Oh. This is not
a muscle car anymore. No. - [Carlos] Or the muscle car
definition needs to change.
Because this is genuine sports car stuff.
This is exotic sounding, great handling,
makes you drive like a jerk all that
stuff bottled up into one. Makes you a
better driver you don't have to be a
great driver to go fast this car and we
have stability off, yeah? I think we do.
Yeah, looks like we do, I see the sign right there. The tires are so sticky.
These Michelin Sport Cup 2's are a
special compound
yeah On the shelving, I don't know how they
talked Michelin into that. [Carlos] They all do, right?
I told my friends in Michelin
they need to make them all like this
it's that good It works really well on this
chassis, really well on this car.
Oh my gosh, and the shock damping is just
right The car just has the
slightest amount of oversteer but
it's not even a slide. yeah It's just balanced!
of couple degrees, yeah. Yeah, a couple of degrees
it's balanced It's me being able to feel
the front and the rear
working together
yeah yeah There's a harmony front to
back
oh yeah right for sure
(car engine revving) Feel that tail move a little bit there?
I love how the rear just scoots around the
corner Like it just pushes the front end
along it has that really nice sense. It's following it, right. - [Carlos] Yeah, it
really good, even from my seat.
Following around, in control. yeah and the power
adds to the rear grate. Yes. It doesn't detract
from it
yes In some cars, we've complained about that.
It didn't put power down well. Or other cars
that were twitching under power. Yeah.
The GT350R is not, and it's
actually
significantly better than a GT350.
really? A GT350 is a little more loose.
okI would adjust the GT350, if I owned
one first thing I'd do would be put a front,
bigger front and a spray bar. Yeah, yeah. (car engine revving)
This car is
extremely successful track car. (laughing)
And it's kind of amazing, it's, what, 55 grand, 60
grand?
It's a good value, you could buy one
for that it's an amazing car that price
point for you know okay must be a
Mustang aside the performance and just
this motor this engine. It's unlike
anything else in this segment and above
or below right (car engine revving) Yeah.
It's absolutely got good top end, it just doesn't
let go (pleasant orchestral music)
It does seem to be pulling harder
and harder as the revs climb. Yeah.
Where's the power peak, do you know what our peak - Power peak is going
to be right off redline, if i recall
correctly I can tell you it's way up there.
It's all up there.
And that's really cool, I-- But it's still strong
at four to five thousand. structure strong you think. Strong enough. - It's so strong, you think
that you're almost done with the revs, as
you were mentioning earlier and you're
not it just keeps going and keeps going
and keeps getting better. - [Carlos] Going and going. How do they do that? It's
absolutely bizarre Yeah. But really really fun.
(car engine revving) Feel the way it accepts the power? Yeah.
into that power and the car accelerates,
cornering in a balanced fashion the
power doesn't upset the car's balance. It
kind of maintains the same balance and
exits the corner in a big fat hurry. (car engine revving)
Even low RPM effectively, you know, in this car. Yes.
- You know, what's cool, we all love
high revving naturally aspirated motor. Yes
Ah, the direct response. - [Carlos] That makes the car special,
the direct response reaching for that
power peak feels special
yeah You know, because you feel it drip in
more and more yeah right i can't stand
an engine that falls off yes or even
that doesn't gain It's like I want more. Yeah.
I want a reward for the revs. and that's going
to be the real you know as we had this
turbo charged performance engine future
ahead of us this is going to be a
rare-find thing to have.
yeah. It's a very uncommon thing to
have this kind of special engine with
kind of characteristic so if you don't
have yours get it because this is really
special really special we were
talking earlier before about the Alfa 4C. Yeah
It has a little turbo charged engine with good power.
Yes, yes. But, it doesn't pull strongly as the
the revs build Nope. It needs an engine with a
power band like this
yes That builds with revs and has that
sporty feel ya
Just for the feel of it. Yeah, not for the
actually speed, just for the excitement
factor yeah. Because, you know, that's the stuff
that numbers can't measure. You can put a
number on acceleration being can't
remember on the excitement. That's right.
And a car that just feels thrilling is more
fun, anyway, than a car that's just faster.
That's part of the definition of sports
car. Right? (chuckles) So, I mean, you can't put
number on this motor I mean you can put
rpm on it and stuff but the excitement
that you get off this thing is harder to
quantify outsider saying. No, it rocks, it's
special you know because of these
reasons. So, that's why, I mean, it's
It's like a band you'd be reading about. Yeah.
You can't get the sound from a story in a
magazine. You got to try it, you got to
drive one. Almost like if-- - [Randy] You know, these aren't
easy to find
yeah. There's not many of them around. It handles
way way way better than a stock Mustang does.
Absolutely, it's the best driving
best thing ever you're totally right
without a doubt
Well, as we enter back into the Best
Driver's Car cue, thank you very much, Randy.
And as I stop for this stop sign, I
remember to mention that the brakes are
(chuckles) We haven't spent so much
time with them, have we? - [Randy] We haven't, and
they're successful really good braking
system maybe even too good for some
people's taste yeah it's a big tow
yeah all you want on that brake pedal is
a big tow. - [Carlos] Very gentle. Because they have a lot of bite.
yeah you get a lot of stopping power. [Carlos] We go there.
From just a little bit of a pressure on
the pedal
It's a very firm pedal, very low
travel in the pedal but i actually have
a big fan of that I think I'm gonna put
it right here between behind behind behind that fence.
put it in that gap where the. - Down there?
Down there, yeah, yeah, by the Jaguar. - [Randy] Too dirty. What, oh, it's fine, that's
where it was, where it was, walk all that way.
Yeah, I don't want to, I'm lazy. but that come on come
Come on, come on, you put this figure through
exercise
Carlos thanks for letting me. Happy to, Randy! Take you
around in the Mustang Shelby. We'll have to do a bunch
more and you can find more episodes on
the same place for watching this episode
so see you next time
thank you
here's what you missed last week on
Daily Fix exclusively on Motor Trend On
Demand Cadillac CTS 6 and one Jonny Lieberman
just so you kids at home know how luxury
works metal leather would always wanted
to build a drift muscle car I
wanted to be more fun on a track
than I do on the street sure trucks from this era
trucks are the new muscle car but what
did you learn to drive manual on this is a Mazda
323 1994 Toyota Camry nice I'm
Carlos Lago and if you didn't watch last
week's Daily Fix you should do that now
its exclusive on Motor Trend On Demand