Mustang Coupe

Make
Ford
Segment
Coupe

Those who have been following the development of the Ford Mustang Shelby GT350 and GT350R know that the two cars are pretty different even if they look identical. The GT350R is the hardcore version designed for track warriors. It has a minimalistic interior with no air conditioning, audio system or navigation (among other subtractions). To be fair drivers can get those things back by paying $3,000 for the Electronics Package, but what they couldn't get back were the missing back seats…until now.

For $999 owners can add back seats to the GT350R. Ford pointed towards customer demand as the driving force behind the decision. Now the customer is always right and these seats are optional, but it still seems dumb for people to demand more creature comforts in the GT350R. Why spend more for a hardcore car when you could spend less and not have to buy optional equipment? The GT350 checks in at $47,795 and the GT350R costs $61,295, both excluding destination fees, the gas guzzler tax and dealer markups. Both bad dogs are powered by the same 5.2-liter flat-plane crank V8 good for 526 horsepower at 7500 rpm and 429 lb-ft of torque at 4,750 rpm. The GT350R does get badass carbon fiber wheels stock, though.

Why someone would buy a hardcore car to make it less hardcore (and slightly slower) is anyone's guess. Here's hoping people let well enough alone and order the Mustang Shelby GT350R the way it was meant to be: Spartan as hell.