Car and Driver - USA (2019-10)

(Antfer) #1

  1. COMPARO. CAR AND DRIVER. OCT/2019


A-pillar block the view through sweeping
left-handers. Look to the right and your
view is letterboxed by the rear view mirror
and the dash-mounted infotainment
screen. The rough edges also feed into per-
sonality, though. The tight cockpit means
you wear the Supra like a batting glove. It
provides the sensation that this car is
nearly as small, light, and nimble as the
Miata but with the song of a straight-six
and the right amount of power for a
sports car.


1st Place: The Ford
With its menacing mug and wannabe-
race-car stripes, the Ford looks as if it’s
breaking laws even when it’s parked. Oper-
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grip, and disturbing the peace every where
it goes, this car is almost certainly break-
ing at least one law if it’s in motion.
Claiming the lowest weight-to-power
ratio in the test, the Shelby should have
been the quickest car, especially through


Ford Mustang Shelby GT 350 The sound and the fury of an
8250 -rpm V-8, race-car-like reflexes, a mountain of grip.
Always-on intensity, busy ride, attracts police attention
everywhere it goes. There’s nothing else like it.

the quarter-mile. But the clutch on this
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because we couldn’t unstick the Miche-
lins during the launch. With the engine
bogging out of the gate, this Ford snatched
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test car did. The naturally aspirated Ford
lacks the turbocharged torque of its com-
petitors, so you’ll have to stir its six-speed
gearbox often and use the full sweep of its
tachometer to make haste wherever you
go. These are happy chores, though. The
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yowl under load that speaks to us on an
equally primal level.
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now reactions to every driver input. The
Shelby changes directions with race-car
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brake pedal reacts to the smallest squeeze
without ever being grabby. The Michelins
even shrink the Mustang’s dimensional
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than 16 inches longer than the Cayman,
yet the Ford beat the Porsche around the
skidpad and hounded it through the
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competes with our assembled group,
Beard wondered if we needed a 911 or a
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extreme. The highly bolstered Recaros
hug better than a weird aunt, but they’re
also constricting after a couple hours in
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