The mere idea of putting a high-revving, flat-plane crank V8 into an American muscle car is so infectiously appealing, we find ourselves counting the days until the 2016 Ford Mustang Shelby GT350 and similarly-powered GT350R finally arrive.
If you wonder precisely why we’re so excited for the new Mustang Shelby GT350 and its superb 5.2-liter V8, just watch the video below. You’ll understand.
Far be it from us to say that there’s anything necessarily wrong with a cross-plane crank V8. In fact, it’s a fine engine configuration, popularized over the decades due to some distinct advantages like reduced vibration, a warm and “burbly” exhaust note, and generally less noise.
But the flat-plane crank V8 of the coming Mustang Shelby GT350 has its own set of likeable attributes. It’s louder (vibration = noise), sounds more raspy and visceral, and thanks to an inherently lighter design, it can rev as high as 8,200 rpm in this application (or so we hear). Plus, that reduction in weight compared to an equal-displacement cross-plane crank V8 means marginally better power-to-weight, and front-to-rear distribution.
All of this is purely academic, of course. We may know that the new Mustang Shelby GT350 has one heck of a powerplant, but we have yet to gain a tactile appreciation for what that means. This, again, brings us to the video below, released by Ford Performance. Things like this, which allow us to hear the Ford Mustang Shelby GT350 rip holes through the fabric of space-time, are for now the closest we can get to experiencing the engine ourselves.
Keep the sound recordings coming, Ford.
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