The Mustang GT350R Is a Screaming Exotic at Muscle Car Prices

Its name evokes tire shredding and stoplight foolery, but the Shelby Mustang GT350R wants you to know it's sick of being typecast as a street fighter.

In fact, thank you very much, the GT350R would like an invite to the supercar party. Shedding its rough-trade image, the newest Shelby Mustang has a free-revving, flat-plane-crank V-8 with raspy Italian undertones, carbon-fiber wheels weighing less than the tires around them, and a track-day focus that, at long last, puts Detroit on the same playing field as Stuttgart and Maranello.

Goodies like a Tremec six-speed gearbox, a Torsen differential, 15.5" Brembo brakes, magnetic ride shocks, and more downforce at 100 mph than a Porsche 911 GT3 deliver a holistically dynamic driving experience. Add a back-loaded torque curve and you get pony-car attitude at a higher all-around performance level than we'd ever thought possible from a Mustang.

Just listen to it on the straights at Thunderhill.