Shelby GT350 Mustang Has 8,200 RPM Redline

Ford’s upcoming Shelby GT350 will be a horse of an entirely different color than the GT500 that so eagerly left strips of smoking rubber residue.

As you almost certainly know by now, it uses a 5.2-liter flat-plane crankshaft V8. Among other things, that design allows for the engine to rev more freely than the cross-plane crankshaft designs typically at play in a big American V8. Rev higher it can and it will. Courtesy of Road & Track, the world now knows that the newest Mustang will wring out to 8,200 RPM marking a significantly wider range than the 7,000 RPM that the normal 5.0-liter Coyote V8 is capable of. That also means it has nearly 2,000 RPM of extra breathing room than the GT500, which is limited to 6,250. Ford still hasn’t officially announced final output specifications for its new screamer, but it will make at least 500 hp and you can probably expect some sort of an uptick in that figure before the first models reach showrooms.

Apart from that, the R&T interview is also revealing that this will be the first Mustang to ever achieve zero aerodynamic lift. It might not be immediately apparent form the outside, but the GT 350 has a long list of aerodynamic changes that ought to make it into a serious track weapon. Apart from a reduced ride height, it also has a ducted belly pan, a front splitter and hood ducts designed to reduce lift at high speeds.

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[Source: Road & Track]