The Ford Motor Company’s (N.Y.S.E:F) latest Mustang Shelby GT350R-C is set to make its racing debut this weekend at the IMSA Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge at Watkins Glen, New York. The GT350R-C has been modified on the bases of its predecessor the Boss 302R and will have a 5.2 liter V8 engine under its hood. Performance details are not officially out but from the looks of it, it has the same identical front fascia and rear wings to the GT350-R as well the side sills. According to the President of IMSA Scott Atherton, “American muscle cars have a storied history in the Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge, and we eagerly anticipate the start of a new chapter with introduction of the Shelby GT350R-C. Mustang has earned icon status through its racing heritage going back to the completion Mustangs of the 1960s and this new race car will undoubtedly add to the legend.”
Apart from the engine, the Shelby GT350R-C also benefits from similar suspension setup to the road car, albeit with some modifications such as revised spring rates and antiroll bars, lower ride height, a unique track-tuned alignment setting, revised bushing and cross-axis ball joints in the front. The changes made are indeed a must if you want to use a muscle car on the race track. The GT350R-C race car will be managed by Ford partner Multimatic Motorsports and have appointed Billy Johnson, Scott Maxwell, and Austin Cindric and Jade Bufford as the drivers of the Mustang for its racing debut. “Like so many Mustangs before it, the Shelby GT350R is a car born to race. We’re taking it to the track as the GT350R-C and we’re ready to see what it can do against the best competition in the world,” said Ford Performance global director Dave Pericak.
