When the term "muscle car" comes to mind, it is only natural to think about the drag strip and quarter mile times. Since the 1960's, American cars such as the Chevrolet Camaro, Dodge Challenger, and the Ford Mustang have been fighting over the right to be named "king of the drag strip". Although the quarter mile and 0-60 mph times are still a relevant way of measuring the straight-line speed of a car, it is the racetrack where a car can be tested thoroughly. The race track has usually been the weak point for traditional muscle cars, but recently American automakers want to prove that they can engineer a proper track worthy car to rival the best from Europe or Asia. Up until recently, the new Chevrolet Camaro Z/28 had the claimed fastest lap time around the Nurburgring Nordschleife, the current benchmark for lap times. However, Ford might have just stolen that crown away from GM.
Recently, at the Detroit Auto show, Ford debuted the new Shelby Cobra GT350 Mustang and the more extreme version, the Shelby Cobra GT 350R Mustang. Ford has yet to release any information regarding performance, including no 0-60 mph time, quarter mile time, or top speed. They have confirmed, however, that the GT350R will have "more than 500 horsepower and more than 400 lb-ft of torque". Evo is now reporting that the GT350R has lapped the Nordschleife in a blistering quick 7:32.19. To put that time into perspective that is over 5 seconds faster than the 7:37.47 lap time that the Camaro Z/28 posted, and just as fast as the 7:32.92 lap time that the Ferrari 458 Italia posted.
What is officially known about the Shelby Cobra GT350R is that it will have a 5.2 liter V8 under the hood and weigh 130 lb less than the regular Ford Mustang GT. It runs a staggered wheel tire set-up with 305/30ZR19 front and 315/30ZR19 rear Michelin PilotSportCup 2 tires wrapped around lightweight carbon fiber wheels.
Source: Autoblog
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