Road & Track Magazine set out to choose the very best performance car for 2016. The competition was between 8 excellent performance models, and the Shelby GT350R Mustang has come out on top. Not only did they give it their top honors but it won by a landslide, beating the Bentley Continental GT3-R, Cadillac ATS-V, Chevrolet Corvette Z06, Dodge Viper ACR, Ferrari 488 GTB, Mercedes-AMG GT S, and Porsche Cayman GT4.
According to Road & Track, "The only way the team at Ford SVT could get 526 hp from 5.2 liters - the fabled 100 hp per liter and then some - was to reengineer the whole thing into a bit of an insane race motor." They go on to say that the "GT350R is the Mustang that all Mustangs have been waiting to become."
Larry Webster, editor-in-chief at Road & Track went on to say "With a flat-plane crank and Sport Cup 2 tires, the GT350R is a Mustang turned up to 11. Not only does the car have soul and harness so much firepower with such ease, but the real achievement here is that it's so approachable. It's a car you can't help but love.”
To be eligible for Road & Track Performance Car of the Year, a car must be new for this year or feature significant functional changes and live at the very top of the street-car performance pyramid with a competitive lap time. Additionally, cars must connect with the driver on both road and track and engage a visceral, emotional reaction in the man or woman holding the steering wheel. Road & Track's testing process takes place over the course of one week during which the editors and writers evaluate the year's best cars on both the street and the race track.
