Meet the Shelby GT350R-C, the GT350R’s Wicked Sibling

Shelby GT350R-C (Credit: © Ford)

If you think the Shelby GT350R is an awesome piece of machinery, then you have yet to meet the competition version of the mighty muscle car. This is the GT350R-C, and Ford has built it exclusively to tackle the track with other near-production racecars in the IMSA Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge.

Like its production counterpart, the GT350R-C features the 5.2-liter flat-plane-crank V-8. Flat-plane-crank technology is typically reserved for exotic supercars and racecars, but Ford had the guts to stuff it in the GT350R and now into its competition sibling. In the GT350R, this engine produces 526 horsepower and 429 pound-feet of torque, making it the most-powerful naturally aspirated engine the blue oval has ever built. Unfortunately, there is no mention of the output in the GT350R-C, but I am willing to bet it is about stock.

In addition to the powerful V-8, the GT350R-C also takes on the GT350R’s advanced independent suspension, but with some tweaks for better track performance. These tweaks include revised spring rates, larger anti-roll bars, a lower ride height, track-tuned alignment specs, stiffer bushings, and new cross-axis ball joints up front.

On top of these performance upgrades, I am certain that the GT350R-C will drop a few hundred pounds in heft. Lightweight materials, a stripped-down cabin, and other lightweight racing bits will likely be all it needs to shed these pounds.

The GT350R-C makes its track debut this weekend at Watkins Glen in preparation for the IMSA Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge.