zzdcar
Home
/
Reviews
/
Culture
/
The Shelby GT350's Namesake Is Way More Random Than You Think
The Shelby GT350's Namesake Is Way More Random Than You Think-December 2024
2024-02-19 EST 22:12:48

Image for article titled The Shelby GT350's Namesake Is Way More Random Than You Think

The animated and opinionated car reviewer Jason Cammisa has a new shakedown of the . It’s fairly cinematically impressive, but to me, the most interesting nugget of knowledge he shares is the origin of the original GT350’s name.

The GT350 didn’t have 350 horsepower or 350 cubic inches of displacement. The name was pretty arbitrary: The distance between Carroll Shelby’s two shops was 350 feet.

The car site has a little elaboration on this piece of history, specifically an excerpt from Colin Comer’s book :

This new Shelby Mustang needed a name. Carroll Shelby has told the story many times of how the GT350 name came to be. Shelby wasn’t enamored with the name “Cobra-Mustang” that Ford had been tossing around. Nor was he impressed with any other names that his team kicked around, like “Mustang Gran Sport” and “Skunk.” In fact, he wasn’t really concerned with naming the car at all, but Ford needed a name for legal and marketing reasons. According to Shelby, nobody could agree on any of the many names thrown about, and in one of numerous meetings held on the subject, Shelby, no doubt frustrated with corporate politics, turned to Phil Remington and asked him what the distance between the race and production shops at Shelby American was. Remington’s response was “about three hundred and fifty feet,” to which Shelby said, “That’s what we’ll call it–GT350.”

Shelby’s reasoning for such a hasty decision? “The name wouldn’t make the car, and if it is a bad car, the name won’t save it.”

A generic alphanumeric name that signified nothing also had practical applications: Shelby could upgrade and improve the car whenever it wanted without having to change the name and let the competition know what it was up to.

I kind of like “Mustang Skunk,” but that’s probably why I don’t work in marketing. Obviously, 350 was a hit because it seems as good enough for 2020 as it was for 1965.

As for the rest of Cammisa’s video, the conclusion you might have guessed from “ICONS” in the title is that the present-day Mustang GT500 is a beast. Significantly, Cammisa and company found out that “less than two tenths of a second separate the Ford Mustang GT500 and ” on a flat-out track test. Wow.

Comments
Welcome to zzdcar comments! Please keep conversations courteous and on-topic. To fosterproductive and respectful conversations, you may see comments from our Community Managers.
Sign up to post
Sort by
Show More Comments
Culture
I Can't Get Enough Of This YouTuber Who Builds Tiny, Fully Functional Scale-Model Cars
I Can't Get Enough Of This YouTuber Who Builds Tiny, Fully Functional Scale-Model Cars
I love tiny, of . I have a that is roughly half the size of a normal cat, and she’s perfect. I own a 2013 , which is like the miniature version of a normal-sized vehicle (at least here in Texas) — but beyond that, I also own a Hot...
Dec 1, 2025
Watch ABS Fail When MotorWeek Tests A 1997 Chevy S-10
Watch ABS Fail When MotorWeek Tests A 1997 Chevy S-10
MotorWeek’s is some of the on the internet. The long-running automotive news magazine has a treasure trove of tests after being on the air for over 40 years. Where else can you find detailed instrumented testing of long-forgotten cars like the or a ? MotorWeek’s recent Retro Review upload is...
Dec 1, 2025
Toyota Is Moving A Prewar 700-Ton Press Machine Halfway Around The World
Toyota Is Moving A Prewar 700-Ton Press Machine Halfway Around The World
closed its São Bernardo Plant in November 2023, marking the end of its first overseas production facility. The closure caps off a period of continuous car production in São Paolo, , lasting over 60 years. The plant was home to a Komatsu 700-ton press that predates itself. And now...
Dec 1, 2025
I Entered My Lifted Miata In A Real Off-Road Race, Here's What Happened
I Entered My Lifted Miata In A Real Off-Road Race, Here's What Happened
I have two automotive loves: The first is the Miata, the second is off-road racing. For a while I raced air-cooled Volkswagens in the deserts of California and Nevada and I was lucky enough to co-drive in a class 11 stock bug in the Baja 1000 a few years...
Dec 1, 2025
Subaru Had It Right All Along
Subaru Had It Right All Along
When first came to the United States, it sold small funky cars that were decidedly un-American. As the company grew its own identity and became more established in the U.S., it became the first automaker to offer an all-wheel-drive passenger car in 1975. Subaru was also an early-adopter of...
Dec 1, 2025
2024 Kia EV9: What Do You Want To Know?
2024 Kia EV9: What Do You Want To Know?
At long last, we are about to get behind the wheel of for the first time. Sure, , and sure, , and sure , but hey — what can you do? Anyway, before we get behind the wheel of this three-row electric beast, we want to know what you...
Dec 1, 2025
Copyright 2023-2025 - www.zzdcar.com All Rights Reserved