If your reaction to the 2016 Ford Mustang Shelby GT350 unveiling this week included thoughts along the lines of, "Man, I cannot WAIT for the convertible," well, you will in fact be waiting a long time. Like, forever.
Unlike the GT500 that preceded it, don't look for Ford to pull the wraps off a ragtop at the Chicago Auto Show (where the GT500 verts usually made their debut). A convertible, we're told, was never in the product plan. And the reasoning is simple (and obvious): the GT350 is about maximum performance and carving up road circuits. Cutting the roof off would reduce stiffness so much, that the point of the GT350 would be negated. It's the same reason we didn't see a Z/28 convertible from Chevy.
That's not to say a max-perf convertible can't happen with the right chassis. For that, you need only look at the Corvette Z06, whose ragtop version is still a huge leap ahead of the old car. Frankly, I think GM should troll the universe and use a convertible automatic to set their undoubtedly fast Ring time, but I digress.
Also not in the cards for the GT350? An automatic—no surprise, as the GT500 never got one either. And sorry, Australia, while you guys are getting a right-hand-drive Mustang, the Shelby will only be built in a left-hand-drive configuration.
The best part of the GT350 story is that the car in LA isn't even the true Z/28 stalker. That'll be the still-behind-the-curtain GT350R (to put it in context, the R will be the Laguna Seca to the GT350's Boss 302), and it should be ultramega great. Look for that one—with better brakes, tweaked aero, stickier rubber, and more—in Detroit come January.
