From the September 2015 issue
The new rev-happy 5.2-liter V-8 in the Mustang Shelby GT350 is one of the most compelling reasons to visit a Ford dealership in 2016. Code-named Voodoo and sharing its basic architecture with the Mustang GTs 435-hp, 5.0-liter Coyote engine, this new powerplant is an altogether wilder animal, producing 526 horsepower at 7500 rpm and 429 pound-feet of torque at 4750. Camaro Z/28s, beware.
Voodoo harbors in its belly a flat-plane crankshaft with throws spaced every 180 degrees, like a four-cylinderand also like a Ferrari V-8. The leaner crankshaft with lighter counterweights has lower rotating inertia than the 5.0-liter and provides evenly spaced exhaust pulses in each bank for better breathing.
Along with greater specific output, the result is a hellacious exhaust note unlike any other American V-8; the fury is Wagnerian as revs build to the 8250-rpm redline.
Ford sweated the 5.2s components to shave a few pounds from the 5.0s mass, and it will assemble the mills by hand at its Romeo, Michigan, engine plant. Its witchcraft V-8 will power the $49,995 GT350 and the $63,495 GT350R. Both prices include the Voodoos $1300 gas-guzzler tax.
2016 Ford Mustang Shelby GT350
Exhaust
Short-tube, 4-into-2-into-1 headers inflict minimal backpressure as they plumb the flat cranks heartbeat into the GT350s variable exhaust system. They also allow for closely mounted catalysts that improve cold-start emissions.
Intake
Long intake runners within the plastic manifold contribute to the engines broad power band, as do a gaping, 87-millimeter throttle body and a large-volume air filter.
Block
The reinforced aluminum block has the same bore spacing and deck height as the 5.0, but 94-by-93-millimeter bore-and-stroke dimensions yield 5163 cubic centimeters (or 315 cubic inches) of displacement. Voodoos larger bores necessitate plasma-transferred wire-arc cylinder surfaces instead of Coyotes iron liners.
Heads
Ford optimized the aluminum 32-valve top end for high-rpm breathing and reduced mass. The hollow steel intake valves and sodium-filled exhaust valves are larger and more widely spaced than the 5.0s, and are actuated by monster camshafts providing 14 millimeters of lift. Fords Ti-VCT variable valve timing helps manage the 12.0:1 compression ratio.
Fuel Delivery
Ford spared the expense and complication of direct injection for this low-volume engine.
Crankshaft
The 5.2s connecting rods attach to the flat-plane crank at 180-degree intervals versus a normal V-8s 90 degrees. A carefully tuned crankshaft damper helps manage the vibrations, and holes drilled throughout reduce weight. Both the crank and rods are made of forged steel; the pistons are constructed of forged aluminum.
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