Shelby GT350 makes 392kW

The hardest revving, most powerful naturally aspirated V8 that Ford has ever produced won’t be available in cubic centimetre-loving Australia.

Official figures (with raunchy video) have been released for the 5.2-litre V8 under the bulging bonnet of the sadly left-hand drive only Mustang Shelby GT350 and GT350R.

Ford had previously said the 200cc-larger, all-new donk would make “more than 500 horsepower, with a torque peak above 400 lb.-ft,” though it turns out the big block unit will crank out 526hp (392kW) at 7500rpm and 429lb.-ft (582Nm) at 4750rpm.

Without turbochargers to rely on, Henry has made the slightly oversquare (94mm bore, 93mm stroke) 5163cc engine rev all the way to 8250rpm – the highest cut out of any Ford V8 ever.

That said, 90 per cent of peak torque is on tap between 3450rpm and 7000rpm, and Ford makes a point of the “racetrack friendly” 3000rpm gap between power and torque peaks.

An aluminium engine block is said to reduce weight, while the flat-plane crankshaft that is “typically found in a Ferrari sports car or in racing applications,” has piston rods made of high strength forged steel to cope with big rpm.

Attaching the rods to the crank at 180-degree intervals rather than the usual 90 degrees vastly improves engine breathing, says Ford, while contributing to “a uniquely exotic, delicious engine note” that presents a “change in the characteristic sound of an American V8” – check out the video and judge for yourself.

No fancy direct injection here, but a single 87mm throttle body is the largest Ford has used on any production engine ever. Ford is also doing away with modern trends by offering only a single manual transmission offering, a six-speed Tremec TR-3160.

Of course all this is moot for Aussies unless a specialist importer such as Mustang Motorsport can get its hands on a car, and sell it to you before the end of the year when its low volume import regulations end as the regular ‘Stang becomes officially imported.

The only choice then (or if you take a US holiday) is a road-friendly Shelby GT350 or hardcore, track-focused Shelby GT350R.

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