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A new Ford Shelby Mustang 'Heritage' package evokes the Ford vs. Ferrari era
A new Ford Shelby Mustang 'Heritage' package evokes the Ford vs. Ferrari era
Matthew DeBordDec 19, 2019, 22:27 IST
FordThe 2020 car and its ancestor.
Ford announced a special "Heritage" package for its stupendous Shelby Mustang GT 350 and GT 350R pony cars.
The package costs about $2,000 and includes some throwback livery options.
The legacy of the Shelby-tuned Mustang GT 350 dates to the Ford vs. Ferrari era, when the Mustang was just a year old and proving itself as a racing platform in the hands of driver Ken Miles.
There are Mustangs, and then there are Shelby Mustangs.
If you've seen "Ford vs. Ferrari," the Oscar-contending-film about Ford's triumph at the 1966 24 Hours of Le Mans, you know who Shelby is - Carroll Shelby, the salty chicken farmer turned race-car driver turned race team owner - and you might have noticed a Ford Mustang as a plot point.
But you might not know about Shelby's long history for Ford and its iconic pony cars.
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Ford wants to refresh your memory with an all-new 2020 "Heritage" package for its Shelby GT 350 and 350R 'Stangs.
The Ford Mustang GT 350 Heritage package isn't just about Carroll Shelby. Ford vs. Ferrari's Ken Miles also figures in the legacy.
"A year before Ken Miles set lap records at Le Mans in Ford's famed GT40, the noted race car driver and engineer made waves on the track in the first 1965 Mustang Shelby GT350 fastback coupe," Ford said in a statement.
We didn't see actor Christian Bale achieving this feat in the movie, playing Miles, but the story is that the stubbornly independent racer gearhead piloted the original GT 350 "to victory at Green Valley Raceway in Texas on Feb. 14, 1965," Ford said.
That was over a year before Miles and his co-driver, Denny Hulme, joined two other Ford GT40s in a 1-2-3 Circuit de la Sarthe finish that created the Ford vs. Ferrari legend.
A "Wimbledon White" paint job defines the package, with "Guardsman Blue side and over-the-top race stripes," Ford said.
The Shelby Mustang GT 350 is A LOT of car for $60,000 (and the GT 350R is a bit more for $73,500). This 'Stang makes 526 horsepower from a track-tuned V8 in 350 trim and 527 when you add the "R."
Ford upgraded the GT 350 and GT 350R alongside the rest of the Mustang lineup for 2020.
"These include revised front chassis geometry for improved steering feel, plus revised antilock braking and MagneRideTM tuning for optimized aerodynamic components resulting in improved ride, stability and handling for both road and track," Ford said in a statement.
The company added: "Shelby GT350R gets a redesigned high-trail steering knuckle leveraged from the all-new Shelby GT500 for 2020. It also features a new steering rack and recalibrated electric power steering control."
OK, that's a lot of technical detail.
I was lucky enough to take a GT 350 out on a racetrack in 2017 and let md tell you, it was already stupendous. Whatever for did to make it better just improves what might be the best value in weekend-warrior track weapons on the market.
The Ford Mustang GT 350 Heritage package adds about $2,000 to the GT 350 and GT 350R's price tag.
