Restoring Order

Five things we learned by reading over the Shelby GT350 order guide

By Steve Turner
Photos courtesy of Ford Motor Company

In case you missed it during all the excitement of the Ford Performance announcements at the North American International Auto Show last week, the order guide for the Shelby GT350 leaked onto the Internet. Since the car had already been announced, that isnâ€™t much of a surprise. However, we spent some time perusing the documents, and we learned a few things.

Perhaps the most interesting revelation in the Order Guide is that part of the GT350R diet is an aluminum rear bumper bar.

Here are five interesting things that we discovered in the guide:

5. Package Deal: There are three distinct packages you can order on the GT350. There is a Tech Pack (67T), a Track Pack (60T), and an R Package. You canâ€™t order any of these packages together, but you can add in the Electronics Package (67S) to the Track Pack or R-model to get an audio system, air conditioning, and more. The other options are few, but they include upcharges for a black painted roof (94B), an over the top racing stripe (47S), or Triple Yellow paint (H3).

If you want all the available gadgets, order the Tech Pack. However, if you do so you canâ€™t get cloth or Recaros. You can, however, add some tech back into the Track Pack or R-model, but you canâ€™t add a rear seat to the R.

4. Take A Seat: You can put the creature comforts back into a GT350R, but you canâ€™t order one with a back seat. While it stands to reason, you also canâ€™t get power seats in the R-model, even if you do opt for the electronics package. If you do order the Tech Pack, you can only get Leather/Miko Suede seats. Only Track Packs and R-models can get Cloth/Miko Suede base seats or Recaros.

3. Full Color: The top performance in the Mustang line is available in variety of colors, including the GT350-specific Avalanche Gray. As we noted earlier, this relatively robust color palette does not include the Liquid Blue paint that took the world by storm at the North American International Auto Show. As popular as this paint scheme seems, we would not be surprised to see it appear as a production option at some point.

While you canâ€™t order the GT350 in the coveted Liquid Blue seen on the show cars, you can opt for the GT350-only Avalanche Gray. You can also opted for the over-the-top racing stripe or a painted black roof. It also appears that Triple Yellow is an extra-cost option. — While you canâ€™t order the GT350 in the coveted Liquid Blue seen on the show cars, you can opt for the GT350-only Avalanche Gray. You can also select an over-the-top racing stripe or a painted black roof. It also appears that Triple Yellow is an extra-cost option.

2. This Year?: Interestingly, the order guide describes the car as a 2015 Shelby GT350. Given the carâ€™s launch later this year, and the fact that 2015 Mustangs have been available for some time now, we have always thought it would be a 2016 model. Could this be an oversight in the guide? Perhaps the car was meant to launch earlier, and the delay wasnâ€™t accounted for on this paperwork. Since Sync 3 is listed on the sheet, and this feature is slated to debut in the 2016 model year, we are going to say the year is an oversight. Of course, it doesn’t really matter. These cars can’t hit the streets soon enough for us.

1. Weight Loss: The GT350R is serious about dropping weight. We knew that ordering one meant forgoing an audio system and air conditioning, but the order guide made a few more weight concessions clear. You also lose the floor mats and the tire mobility kit, so you might wanna have AAA in case you get a flat on the way to the race track. Even more interesting is that the R gets an aluminum rear bumper bar. We can see this being a popular upgrade item for any S550.

Of course, the more we learn about the latest production Shelby, the more we want one. What did you learn from studying the order guide?