For poise, go Porsche; for noise, it’s Mustang
The team at Driving recently had some fun at the Calabogie Motorsports Park in Ontario with some really fast cars. We pit a Ford Mustang Shelby GT350 against a Porsche 911 Carrera.
CALABOGIE, ONT. Any comparison between a European icon and an American standard-bearer is always going to be reduced to demagogy. Choose a Jaguar, Mercedes or, say, a Porsche 911 Carrera 2 like we tested at Calabogie several weekends ago over a Camaro or a Mustang GT350 and you’ll be branded a “globalist” traitor quicker than Donald Trump can denounce free trade. Favour a Ford or a Chevy over a ‘pur sang’ continental and you’re an unsophisticated NASCAR apologist.
Typical Mustang owners get pretty defensive if a 911 wanders into their “space,” while fans of the Porsche are more likely to take public transport than drive a Ford. In other words, the chances of, say, an auto journalist trying to weigh the relative merits of both cars on an objective basis — getting a word in edgewise is as likely as The Donald and Hillary conferring on foreign policy. The only thing that matters is who can shout loudest.
And that, friends, is the big honking Shelby. Ford has resolutely stuck with a naturally aspirated engine for its top-flight performer, trading turbochargers for flatplane crankshaft à la Ferrari’s 458.
And, like the 458, the Shelby’s dual overhead cam 5.2-litre V-8 literally thirsts for revs. Compared to the Porsche — a low-rpm grunt monster even in this, its tamest Carrera “2” guise — Ford’s “Voodoo” V-8 (526 hp at 7,500 rpm) is a two-stroke motocrosser with a constant need for shifting of gears and wide-open throttle.
It’s the soundtrack that really sets the Shelby apart. Now that Ferrari’s 488 is turbocharged, the top-of-the-line Mustang is the most glorious exhaust music eight naturally aspirated pistons can make. By comparison, Porsche’s flat six — a sonorous engine in any other comparison — sounded like a Camry four-banger with a couple of spark plugs missing.
That said, Porsche’s latest turbocharged engines are gems. One of the worries when Stuttgart announced that it would be adding blowers to all its engines was that their superbly linear throttle response would be overwhelmed by a wave of turbo boost. Turbochargers may add power, but those great swells of torque can be exhilarating in a straight line or injudicious when you’re trying to feather your way out of a tricky hairpin.
Not with the Carrera. Other than the fact it’s more powerful — 370 horsepower for the twin-turbo 3.0-litre, versus 350 for the old naturally aspirated 3.4-litre — there’s little difference. Finesse is still paramount, and it still sounds like a killer sports-car engine.
And like all Porsches, the new Carrera is a model of balance between power and poise. Where the Mustang could get a little wayward, even with its stability control on, it was almost impossible to put a wheel wrong in the Carrera. The Carrera is one of those rare cars that makes you a better driver than you really are.
The Shelby, meanwhile, is simply challenging. As one of our testers put it, the Porsche has been bred to serve the driver, but, in the Mustang, the driver quickly realizes who’s boss. One second you’re V-8ing around the track in full Wagnerian bliss; next the tires are screeching as if the needle just jumped about 10 tracks sideways, and you’re wondering if you’re about to do irreparable damage to the sheet metal. Yes, the Shelby has stability control. Yes, we had it on. But it has almost as hard a time at containing the 5.2-litre’s enthusiasm as the driver does. So, in the end, which is best? The easiest answer is that the 911, like most Porsches, is all about letting even the moderately talented turn lap after lap at a track day with something approaching aplomb and confidence. The Carrera will allow you to explore your limits with a decent chance that you’ll escape the day without bent metal. It may never absolutely thrill, but then neither does it frighten.
The Shelby, on the other hand, is for those who voluntarily watch horror movies. Yes, it will turn on you faster than The Donald kicking babies out of conventions. But there’s no motor like it (especially at $62,599, some $40,000 less than the Carrera’s $102,200); it will chase a 911 Turbo S in a straight line and it’s got more heritage in its roofline than an entire museum full of Mercedes. So, it’s a tough call. As for me? I’d vote Hillary. I’ve always been something of an effete bourgeoisie.