Avalanche Warning
Lethal Performance already has its next project on deck—a Shelby GT350
By Steve Turner
Photos by lilredcoupe and courtesy of Ford Motor Company
That didn’t take long. Once the details on the Shelby GT350 pricing hit the web, the team at Lethal Performance immediately placed its order for its next Mustang. Yes, the company just checked off all the right boxes on the order form at Weikert Ford in Lake Wales, Florida, for a new 2016 GT350, which is bound for project-car glory.
If you are casual follower of Team Lethal’s project car antics, you might expect the company to order a Track Pack or an R-model. However, if you look a little closer, you will see that the company is always trying to push the envelope of streetable performance. After all, that’s just what its customers seek.
“We chose the Technology Package over the Track Pack as we felt it offered us more of what we wanted for a car that will be driven on the street,†Jared Rosen of Lethal Performance explained. “We can always add an external oil, transmission, and diff cooler after we take delivery of it. Same thing with a strut-tower brace and spoiler.â€
That sounds like a solid plan. Choosing the options is only one part of the struggle when you are ordering a new Mustang. Selecting a color—especially when the car will be a billboard for your business—is tough. It was an easy choice for Jared, however.
“The first time I saw that Avalanche Gray color I just knew that was it; Plain and simple, it’s pretty sick,†he said. “As for the stripes, we pondered over them and decided against it as we can always add some graphics or vinyl to the car like we did with our other S550s.â€
The car is on order now, but once it arrives, we have a pretty good idea of what will happen next. Faster than you can say “baseline,†this Shelby is going to go from stock to Lethalized, and we plan to be right beside it to document the progress.
“Our plans for the car are to enjoy it just like we have with every other Mustang project we’ve been involved with,†Jared added. “I’d be lying if I said we weren’t going to tear into it and slap a big Whipple and some American Racing Headers on it, as that’s usually the path we go down. I guess we’ll just have to see what happens when we take delivery of it.â€
They say the waiting is the hardest part, but based on our prior experience covering these Lethal projects, we’d say it will definitely be worth the wait. And, yeah, if an R-model allotment suddenly becomes available, don’t be surprised to see them step up to one of those and add in the Electronics Package.
As much as I love a big blower on my mustang, I don’t feel like it fits the dynamics of the car since it is so track focused. I’d like to see Lethal do a big NA buildup with some nasty cams to see how the 5.2 FPC responds. Just for something a little different
Who knows what they will do before they get to the blower? I’m sure there will be a few GT350 builds that go the NA route. We’ll get to enjoy some variety with these cars, just like most other Mustangs.
Sorry but if they bolt a pig of a blower on the front of this beautifully balanced track machine they are dead to me. Buy a damn GT and do that crap but leave these future collectibles to those of us who appreciate the tireless hours engineers put into this car to dial it in as perfectly as possible within the constraints of a production car.