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Ford Mustang Shelby GT350 bids farewell after five years of bliss

The Shelby that introduced us to Voodoo and oodles of fun without forced induction will be no longer.

Sean Szymkowski
It all started with Gran Turismo. From those early PlayStation days, Sean was drawn to anything with four wheels. Prior to joining the Roadshow team, he was a freelance contributor for Motor Authority, The Car Connection and Green Car Reports. As for what's in the garage, Sean owns a 2016 Chevrolet SS, and yes, it has Holden badges.
Sean Szymkowski
2 min read
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This is one we will truly miss.

Jon Wong/Roadshow

You know what they say: All good things must come to an end. And the Ford Mustang Shelby GT350 is very good. That makes its end a tough pill to swallow, but one we must take nonetheless. On Thursday, Ford confirmed the Shelby GT350 and the even racier GT350R will exit production this fall.

Ford made the announcement just as we received seat time in the GT350 Heritage Edition, which honors Carroll Shelby's original 1965 GT350 models with a shade of Wimbledon White and Guardsman Blue stripes. Effectively, the Heritage Edition acts as the GT350 and GT350R's swan song. If it has to go, I guess the lovely retro colors are a great way to see it out. On its production end, Ford said, "With the 760 horsepower Shelby GT500 now in full stride, we will finish production of Shelby GT350 and GT350R this fall as planned. This makes the way for new additions to excite our passionate Mustang fans for the 2021 model year -- including the limited-edition Mach 1."

The GT350 quickly stole our hearts here at Roadshow with a lovely naturally aspirated 5.2-liter "Voodoo" flat-plane crank V8 engine, which not only performed well but provided one of the best American V8 soundtracks money can buy. Thankfully, it's sticking around in the Shelby GT500, though Ford slaps a supercharger on it in GT500 application -- there's something about a naturally aspirated engine that's always mighty appealing.

While there's no replacement for the GT350, the new Mustang Mach 1 will strive to carry the car's torch for the time being. Ford revealed the limited-edition Mach 1 earlier this year with 20 extra horsepower over a standard Mustang GT for a total of 480 hp. Essentially, it builds a bridge from the GT to the now-discontinued GT350. It's also bundled with a boatload of Ford Performance parts and even gets the GT350's six-speed manual transmission with rev-matching downshift capability. We're still months away from the Mach 1 reaching dealers so we don't know how much it'll cost, but it should come in less than the GT350, if I had to take a guess. Perhaps the mid-$40,000 range?

While we can't wait to saddle up a Mach 1 and have a go, we will undoubtedly miss the GT350.

2020 Ford Mustang Shelby GT350 Heritage Edition: Steeped in history

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