Ford Mustang Shelby GT350 VS BMW M2 -TRACK REVIEW One Track Mind Ep. 4
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00:00I suppose this is an unlikely comparison.
00:17You would think that the M4 is the better rival, but the M2 with the DCT and this Shelby
00:22GT350 come in at just about $70,000.
00:25And when you see my racing driver Colin set a lap time later on, you'll see that they're
00:29closer than you think.
00:31These two have different philosophies.
00:33The M2 is a lightweight, refined sports coupe with a smooth, turbocharged inline six.
00:39And the GT350 is a hardcore, fire-breathing muscle car with a shocking V8.
00:44The M2 is a sophisticated active differential that uses an electric motor to apply a calculated
00:49amount of lock to the diff, giving you power to the correct wheel when you need it.
00:53The GT350 just has a regular Torsen mechanical diff.
00:56The M2 manages 0-60 in 4.3 seconds, while the GT350 can apparently manage it in as low
01:01as 4.1.
01:02And it also comes with line lock, so you can do easy burnouts.
01:05How awesomely childish is that?
01:08It's clear that the M2 sees itself as a serious German sports car.
01:12Arguably it's the most playful of the M lineup, but it still sits there like it wants to have
01:15a conversation about compression ratios, while the Mustang just looks like it wants to beat
01:20you over the head with your own legs.
01:22This particular GT350 belongs to the co-president of the Ontario Mustang Club.
01:27And after it had a minor thermostat malfunction this morning, he hustled it down for us just
01:31in time.
01:32So now that it's here, it can go up against the M2, where they both belong at the track.
01:44The BMW M2.
01:47Literally, I've been waiting, I'm not even sure how long for this car.
01:57Alright, so we've got the DCT, right, this is not the manual, but honestly that is not
02:00a problem at all, because immediately the shifts are crisp, they're fast, it just feels
02:06awesome.
02:07Oh my god.
02:16So I'm running in Sport Plus right now, which will allow a little bit of slip, right, but
02:20not that much.
02:21I'm not going to turn the traction control off completely.
02:24Oh, the back comes around so easily.
02:29It's got just a really solid front end.
02:32Yep.
02:34Yep.
02:35It's a third gear around here.
02:38Wonderful.
02:39Brake, downshift, brakes feel fantastic.
02:46Late apex.
02:48This is, some have said, actually many have said, this is the spiritual successor to the
02:54E46 M3, or the E36 M3, because it's the right size.
02:59The M4 is big, the M3 now is big.
03:03This feels small, it feels light.
03:05This is just what you want in an M car.
03:12It still feels actually fairly high up, it doesn't feel like super rock planted, do you
03:17know what I mean?
03:18But it just kind of dances through the corner, there's just such a wonderful front end.
03:24The M2's electric power steering is very clever.
03:27They designed it so that it turns off the motor coming out of the corner, so you feel
03:31genuine weight through the steering wheel as it tries to come back to center.
03:35It doesn't feel like an old M car, but it feels good.
03:44If I was going to buy one, I would probably still buy the manual, but I'm not worried.
03:50Not right now.
03:51I have a free racetrack and a BMW M2, possibly the greatest M car in the last 10 years.
04:00It loads up the harder you push it into the corner, and the front end just digs in, it
04:09just digs in.
04:10All right, I want to talk about the sound a little bit.
04:13It's not really lighting my pants on fire, if I'm honest.
04:18It sounds good, but it's lacking the frantic nature of the old M cars.
04:29If you've driven an E46 M3, it has a rasp to it that just kind of like hits you right
04:34in here.
04:35Do you know what I mean?
04:36And the E92 M3, that small block V8, it just wails, it wails and it wails.
04:43This kind of feels muted a little bit.
04:52In an age where cars are so electronic, and there's so much interference, this is a
04:59remarkably pure car.
05:01It really is.
05:04It feels really unfiltered for a car that you could easily commute to work in every
05:08single day.
05:11Tail comes around, a little bit of opposite lock.
05:14This is a car that you can steer with a throttle.
05:18Yep, just like that.
05:21The M2 is very well balanced and very easy to drive fast.
05:28You have oversteer on tap and it rotates at the limit easily, but the fancy rear diff
05:32does a really good job of keeping it all controllable.
05:34Even though the M2 is very, very good, I was worried I was going to like the Mustang more.
05:39The M car is supposed to have a lot of charisma, right?
05:43And this does.
05:44But yeah, we're about to go drive a GT350.
05:47That could be amazing.
05:49Yep, it was.
05:52It really, really was.
06:10Oh my god, this car is just mind-bendingly awesome.
06:15Call me sold on Mustangs, that's all it took.
06:18Oh my god.
06:23Oh my lord, listen, listen!
06:29It just sounds like freedom.
06:33This car is nowhere near as refined as the M2.
06:37Like not even in the same ballpark.
06:39Covered in hard plastics, the car feels hollow and plasticky, but that's not what this car is about.
06:46This car is about a 5.2-litre flat-plane cranked V8, which makes an astonishing noise
06:53and revs to 8,000 RPM.
06:56Yeah, it's completely unrefined.
06:58Yes, yes, it is.
07:00Without a doubt.
07:01There's literally, like, look at this.
07:03This is where you put your elbow.
07:04That's hard plastic.
07:05It's like shiny, cheap plastic.
07:06It looks like a Fisher-Price toy.
07:08But pretty much as soon as you get past 3,000 RPM, the interior becomes irrelevant immediately.
07:16I've got the exhaust in loud mode, because obviously.
07:19Yeah.
07:20526 horsepower.
07:22526 horsepower.
07:26It's like there's five Miatas under the hood.
07:31Literally haven't found a need to leave third gear yet.
07:35Okay, so flat-plane cranked V8.
07:37Why is that special?
07:38Here's the reason why I care about this car.
07:40I'm not, in all honesty, I'm not a huge V8 fan.
07:42I'm actually not.
07:44I find them to kind of feel, like, warbly and unrefined.
07:46They're amazing when you get a really good loud one, of course.
07:49I love that.
07:50Like, anybody does.
07:51But the flat-plane crank changes the exhaust pulses, so there's not an uneven pulse coming out of the exhaust.
07:55Things like Ferraris have flat-plane crank engines.
07:59Unlike a Ferrari, though, it doesn't sound hyper-exotic.
08:02It still sounds angry.
08:03It still sounds American.
08:05The V8 has a higher compression ratio and less friction than the regular Mustang V8, and it feels well-engineered.
08:11On the straightaway, it just sounds sensational.
08:19Oh my, oh my god.
08:22The engine sounds unbelievable.
08:29Can you hear that?
08:31I hope you can hear that exhaust.
08:34Oh my god.
08:36Okay, I gotta talk about things like how it drives.
08:38I forgot.
08:39The engine is kind of just blowing me away right now.
08:42It actually feels incredibly flat in the corners.
08:44It doesn't feel that big.
08:45The front end, when you're driving it on the road, it kind of feels big.
08:48But then...
08:50Jesus, that's amazing.
08:51And then it shrinks down on the track, actually.
08:54The front end feels planted.
08:56Steering isn't as good as the M2, believe it or not.
09:03Okay, German cars can take a page out of this book, please.
09:06I turned the traction control off with a toggle switch.
09:11All cars should just have a toggle switch.
09:14Off, please. Thank you.
09:16And you know what?
09:17I thought this car was gonna be scary.
09:20It's not actually scary to drive.
09:22Like, the power delivery is so linear and so predictable.
09:26Throttle response is fantastic.
09:29The engine is just... how do I describe it?
09:31It's just there for you.
09:33Right when you need it.
09:35Right now.
09:37Like, every single time I look down, I'm like, oh, I should probably shift soon.
09:40I'm at 4,000 RPM.
09:42The M2 feels a little bit better balanced.
09:47It feels like the front end will get turned in quicker.
09:50This feels smaller than it is, but it still feels big compared to the M2.
09:55So, the M2 is gonna have it in the infield.
09:58The M2 is going to have it in the infield, but there is nothing that M2 can do about this V8.
10:03I don't think it has a chance.
10:05The GT350 doesn't feel as engaging as the M2 in fast corners.
10:09It doesn't rotate as readily, and its size shows in the really tight stuff.
10:13It will understeer if you don't drive it right.
10:15The shifter and clutch are just okay, and sometimes you feel like you have to fight it to drive it fast.
10:20But the engine makes up for all of that.
10:22I headed back to the pits, and Colin was suiting up to set a lap time in the M2 first.
10:26He had told me before that he's not a huge fan of newer M cars,
10:29so I went over to try to convince him that he would like it.
10:31Actually, you don't like any BMWs, do you?
10:33I like the older ones.
10:34Okay, well this feels like an older one. I promise you it feels like an older one.
10:37We'll find out. We'll find out.
10:39We're gonna find out.
10:40I think that this is going to win in the infield.
10:44You think so?
10:45Yeah, I honestly think it is.
10:46I think it has a chance.
10:47Yeah, but I mean, the GT350 is insane on the straightaways.
10:51Straightaways, the GT350 is gonna win.
10:53Yes, 100%.
10:54Having driven those already, I think in power to weight, it's gonna win.
10:57Yeah, so this, just the way that it turns in initially,
11:01it's going to get through the infield so much faster.
11:04I'm hoping it could do like a 1.22 or 1.21.
11:07That's what I'm hoping it'll do.
11:09I haven't driven it, so I'm just guessing.
11:11Yeah, alright, let's do it. Let's do it.
11:15I'm going to keep my mouth shut and let you watch Colin's driving.
11:18The M2 is in the top left, and the GT350 is in the bottom right.
11:21Pay attention to how consistent he is with his apexes.
11:24You were looking at the fastest lap he could do with each of these cars.
12:24There's your answer.
12:25There's your answer.
12:26The M2 takes it by winner.
12:28It's a draw.
12:29I think it was a tie through the straightaways through the straightaways.
12:32If you're going to go for it, then you're going to have to try to win,
12:34and you're going to have to try to keep the car going.
12:36We all have to try to squeeze out what we can in the gap,
12:38and what we're able to do from the straightaways,
12:40and it's going to be exciting watching Colin's drive,
12:42and we're going to show you guys some more to help you win the track.
12:45Thanks for watching.
12:46And I'll see you guys later.
12:55by four tenths.
12:56Doesn't get much closer than that.
12:58Round two, in the Mustang's natural habitat.
13:02All right, here we go.
13:03Left foot hard on the brake.
13:04Foot down.
13:07Go.
13:08Oh!
13:09Oh!
13:10Oh!
13:10Oh!
13:11Oh!
13:12Oh!
13:13Oh!
13:14Oh!
13:15Oh!
13:15Oh!
13:16Oh!
13:17Oh!
13:18Oh!
13:19Oh!
13:20Oh!
13:20Oh!
13:21Oh!
13:22Winning, ladies and gentlemen!
13:24Oh my God!
13:26I think you got a bad start.
13:28This car is unbelievably good off the line.
13:31It just, it just went.
13:34It just went.
13:35I could see that.
13:36We gotta do that again.
13:43So childish.
13:44So childish.
13:45I'm in a sophisticated German sedan, coupe, whatever.
13:50All right, we're gonna run again
13:51because Colin said he didn't get a very good launch
13:55in the GT350, and that car deserves a good launch
13:57because it should, it should take this car.
14:01This thing, that was absolutely a rocket off the line.
14:03I couldn't even believe it.
14:05I couldn't believe it.
14:06Okay, launch control is on.
14:08Jay's gonna send us off from the front this time.
14:11Ready?
14:14And.
14:23Oh!
14:25Oh my God!
14:28Come on!
14:32Oh, that's fun.
14:34Win for the Mustang!
14:36Every time I shifted, I was pulling on you a little bit.
14:39I could see that.
14:39Yeah.
14:40I think at top end though, I started pulling away again.
14:41Yep.
14:43There was a big delay after I let off the brake
14:46for when I actually went.
14:47I thought I saw that, I wasn't sure.
14:49It was like easily a half second.
14:51That might be worth doing it one more time.
14:53Oh yeah, for sure.
15:01We did run after run, and even when everything went right
15:04with the M2's launch control,
15:06the Mustang still took almost all of the races.
15:10So by the end of the day, the BMW did a 121.0 on the track
15:14and a 121.4 for the Mustang.
15:17That's incredibly close.
15:19And it's a really different philosophy
15:21between the two cars, obviously.
15:22Big, massive, crazy power, tight German engineering.
15:25So on the infield, the BMW made up the time.
15:28On the straights, the Mustang didn't quite make up the time.
15:32But if the straightaway was this much longer,
15:35the Mustang probably would have taken it on the track.
15:37Now in the drag strip, bit of a different story.
15:40We did a couple of different runs.
15:42Things got a little bit confusing
15:43with how the launch control works in the M2.
15:45But in the end, the Mustang took it by just that much.
15:49Overall, that high-end power from that V8 just wins.
15:53And it should, it's a muscle car.
15:54Now, which one would I have?
15:57That's really the question.
15:58Because at first I came out and I was like, you know what?
16:00I want the M2 100%, I'm a BMW guy.
16:02And as an all-around car, it wins 100%.
16:06It's way more refined.
16:08It's pretty much as quick in every respect.
16:11It's easier to drive fast.
16:13But honestly, I would take this car
16:17just because of everything that happens past 6,000 RPM.
16:21End of story.
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