---
title: "Will the Ford Mustang Shelby GT350 Get a Dual-Clutch Gearbox?"
description: "New report suggests flappy paddles could be coming to America's revviest muscle car. "
date: "2016-10-06"
modified: "2016-10-06"
authors:
  - name: "Will Sabel Courtney"
    job_title: "Contributor"
    link: "https://www.thedrive.com/authors/will-sabel-courtney"
url: "https://www.thedrive.com/muscle-cars/5463/will-the-ford-mustang-shelby-gt350-get-a-dual-clutch-gearbox"
categories:
  - "Ford News"
  - "News"
  - "News by Brand"
tags:
  - "Coupe"
  - "Ford"
  - "GT350"
  - "Mustang"
  - "Shelby"
  - "sports car"
---

# Will the Ford Mustang Shelby GT350 Get a Dual-Clutch Gearbox?

![](<https://www.thedrive.com/wp-content/uploads/images-by-url-td/content/archive-images/ford-mustang-shelby-gt350-dual-clutch-transmission-gearbox-dct-hero.jpg>)
*\<em\>www.thedrive.com</em>*

Have your dreams of [scaring the crap out of a Cars & Coffee crowd](<https://www.thedrive.com/muscle-cars/5409/watch-this-ford-mustang-shelby-gt350-nearly-crash-into-a-crowd>) been constantly hampered by a weak left leg? Fear not, friends: [Ford may be adding a dual-clutch transmission to the Shelby GT350](<https://www.autoblog.com/2016/10/06/ford-shelby-gt350-dual-clutch-automatic-transmission/>) in the not-too-distant future.

The news comes from *Mustang 6G* and *Road & Track*; the former claims to have found evidence of the planned dual-clutch gearbox (though it doesn’t specify what exactly that evidence is), while [the latter claims to have seen the information and considers it accurate](<https://www.roadandtrack.com/new-cars/future-cars/news/a31050/mustang-shelby-gt350-dual-clutch-automatic/>). The evidence reportedly suggests the DCT would be added as an option, not as a replacement for the current six-speed stick.

Much like the Shelby GT500 that preceded it atop the Mustang herd, [the GT350](<https://www.thedrive.com/new-cars/2915/2017-shelby-gt350-offers-the-sexiest-mustang-colors-yet>) and [GT350R](<https://www.thedrive.com/muscle-cars/3097/the-mustang-gt350r-is-a-screaming-exotic-at-muscle-car-prices>) are only available with a traditional manual gearbox, the way God and Steve McQueen intended. But as every good car enthusiast should know by now, offering a two-pedal version of a sports car isn’t the mark of compromise it once was. Today’s dual-clutch transmissions (and even some torque-converter slushboxes, like [the Chevrolet Camaro ZL1’s 10-speed automatic](<https://www.thedrive.com/muscle-cars/4330/did-the-2017-chevrolet-camaro-zl1-set-a-7-23-nurburgring-lap-time>)) shift faster than mortal men can.

Indeed, the list of automakers that no longer offer stick shifts in sports cars seems to grow longer by the day: [Ferrari](<https://www.thedrive.com/supercars/5378/the-ferrari-488-gtb-instant-review>), [Lamborghini](<https://www.thedrive.com/accelerator/477/calling-mom-from-a-lamborghini-aventador-sv>), [Jaguar](<https://www.thedrive.com/new-cars/2235/five-things-you-could-buy-instead-of-a-jaguar-f-type-svr>), [Audi](<https://www.thedrive.com/supercars/5366/audi-r8-is-the-true-everyday-supercar>). Even Porsche no longer offers a manual in its maximum-attack 911s, such as the Turbo and GT3. (Word on the straße is [the next 911 GT3 will offer a six-speed stick](<https://www.thedrive.com/news/2432/the-next-911-gt3-will-have-a-manual-gearbox>), but that’s another story.)

And as much as it pains us to admit it...even when the choice is available, sports cars enthusiasts are choosing two-pedal gearboxes in large numbers. [The Chevy Corvette](<https://www.thedrive.com/article/4302/the-mid-engine-corvette-is-a-terrible-idea>), that eternal bastion of traditional sports car values, is more likely to leave the factory with its eight-speed automatic than not; [slushbox ‘Vettes outsold stick shift versions by more than three to one in the 2015 model year](<https://www.thedrive.com/news/4687/23-percent-of-2016-chevrolet-corvettes-had-a-stick-shift>).

It’s still not clear whether the GT350 would use a six-speed DCT or a seven-speed one like the one found in [the 2017 Ford GT](<https://www.thedrive.com/news/5280/watch-three-ford-gt-prototypes-testing-in-colorado-then-get-pulled-over>), but we shouldn’t have to wait long to find out. According to *Mustang6G*’s sources, the 5.2-liter V8—which Ford has said will remain exclusive to the Shelby GT350 and GT350R—[will stay in production through at least 2019](<https://www.mustang6g.com/?p=9966>), before the next-generation Mustang arrives around 2020. With a mid-cycle facelift expected for the Mustang for the 2018 model year—possibly including [a new GT500 with a 10-speed automatic](<https://www.thedrive.com/news/3216/an-800-horsepower-shelby-gt500-mustang-might-be-in-the-cards>)—we wouldn’t be surprised to see flappy paddles hanging behind the GT350’s steering wheel by this time next year.

## Author
Will is the former managing editor of *RIDES Magazine* and the former online editor for *0-60 Magazine*. He has worked for *Time Out New York* and *Rolling Stone*, and was the creator of *College Cars Online*, the first automotive blog specifically targeted at college students and young professionals.

### Author social links  
[Instagram](<https://instagram.com/willsabelcourtney>)  
[Twitter](<https://twitter.com/willscourtney>)