RPM Member Warren Faris "dubbsfaris" Is The New Owner Of A 2011 Shelby GT350 "R"Mustang - 624 HP Version
An RPM Exclusive Story
By Scott Jensen / RPM

"Shelby's got something really big on their hands, and it's exciting to be part of." - Warren Faris

Warren is also the owner of a beautiful 2008 GT500 Convertible. A track event at the Shelby Bash in Las Vegas January 2009 and ride along with our mutual friend Gary Patterson was where Warren caught the track bug, and began considering upfitting his Mustang with a SuperSnake package. After discussing what might be the "best track Shelby car" with Gary, Warren was advised to hold off and save his pennies for "something special coming".



Warren remembers hearing the rumors of the Shelby GT350 last November - Which were later confirmed by Shelby's Amy Boylan making an announcement at the January Barrett Jackson unveiling.

Gary told Warren that this is what he needed and had waited for.

Warren called Amy and expressed his interest in the GT350. Amy told him how a base 2011 5.0 Mustang was required, so Warren ordered the GT, gave his deposit to Shelby and got things started right then and there. All of this off Gary's recommendation, so you know that Warren is a faithful Shelby guy.

Shelby issued him 2 tickets to the unveiling of the Shelby GT350 at Barrett Jackson. It was love at first sight !!! (Well, except for over abundant GT350 logos. Warren had hoped for "Powered by Ford" emblems and a traditional "Tri-bar" pony on the grill.) Apparently, many enthusiasts shared this opinion and mentioned it on various forums - Low and behold, the current production version have exactly those items. Kudos to Shelby for that !!! "I was really impressed that Shelby paid close attention to the critiques of Shelby owners and insiders," said Warren.



Warren ordered his Shelby GT350 as a NA (naturally aspirated / non-supercharged) Version, with an upgrade to fully wrapped stripes. His thought was that surely a supercharger package would become available later with higher horsepower and priced comparably to Shelby's $7000 supercharged option. Warren priced it separately through Ford Racing including installation, and as it turns out the Shelby priced option was very competitive. About that time, he got a call from Roger at Shelby telling him about the brand new 624 horsepower upgrade option. - Warren went for that !!!

While waiting for is GT350 to be completed, he decided to order some special plates for his very special new car. As you might have guessed GT350 was already taken, so Warren went with another famous moniker and some Texas plates that say 350 R. In a long string of seemingly fortunate coincidences throughout his Shelby purchasing process, it turns out that is exactly what Shelby decided to designate the 624 horsepower version of the GT350 as - The Shelby GT350 R. How cool is that ?



On Tuesday, October 12th - He got a call from Roger Sorel and John Luft saying "I heard your car is ready, we'll see you on Friday." Warren bought his plane tickets, made arrangements for a friend to arrive with his truck & trailer (Jeff Harris - RPM Member "SVO") and they arrived in Vegas on Friday, October 15th to take delivery of the Shelby. Warren was picked up by Shelby's limo at the airport and brought out to the Museum, where he was greeted by the Shelby staff, a few friends, and many curious onlookers and cameras and video cameras were at every angle. It was an overload of special attention !!!



John Luft made special arrangements to be there as well, and Roger treated Warren to a VIP Tour of the Shelby Museum and various production facilities.

It seems like Shelby is not only dedicated to making the best Mustangs ever, but backing it up with an exceptional customer service and buying experience.



After all the hoopla, it was time for Warren to be given the keys and take possession of his car. He invited Gary along for the inaugural test drive. Seeing as the car was brand new, Warren insisted he was going to take it easy and just get a feel for the Mustang. Upon getting out on the freeway and rowing through the first 4 gears, he looked down and notice he was doing 125mph !!! Warren told Gary "I'm gonna get a lot of tickets in this car."



We've all seen the specifications and numbers for the GT350's, so I wanted to hear about the FEEL of the Shelby. I asked Warren for his impression of the new GT350 from an owner and driver's perspective.



He said "It doesn't feel like a Mustang. It looks like a Mustang, but it really is a Supercar." Warren said that it is hard to put the feel of the car into words, but that the torque is constant. He told me that this is due to the fact that the high revving engine and 3.73 gearing transitions from one gear to the next in such a way that you never leave the sweet spot of 4,000 to 7,000 when you have your foot in it. Warren told me that you do not hear the supercharger at all, but instead the amazing note from the rear center exiting exhaust. The exhaust has no drone, just a wonderful and unmistakable sound.



Warren was also fortunate in that Ford Racing did not have the suspension components available in time, so these first GT350's come with the Eibach MultiPro coilovers from the SuperSnakes. That combined with the 2nd Gen Goodyear Supercar tires makes for an incredible track car. In fact, if you look at the numbers for performance and handling - The only production cars that even come close to the GT350 in acceleration vs. handling are the Porsche Turbo and the Corvette ZR1.



I asked Warren how the GT350 compares to his GT500. He said "I went from a 93 Mustang Notch to the GT500. The difference between the GT500 and the GT350 feels like that."

Warren finished by saying "Shelby's got something really big on their hands, and it's exciting to be part of."



The car is going to be at a really great event this Sunday. The San Antonio Mustang Club Auto Show is raising donations for the "Dare to Love" Charity to benefit abused & neglected children from 11AM to 4PM. They are hoping to provide funds for food, clothes and money for schooling & activities that CPS provides these kids with.

Visit http://www.facebook.com/l/84e0fHeRZ74otheAizkDP0sCGQw;

And

http://www.samustang.com for more details.

Warren is very passionate about this and other various outreach programs he participates in, and says "The car and I will be there, rain or shine."

Congrats on the beautiful new Shelby GT350, and "Thank You" from the RPM Team for your commendable support of local charities.

**drool**

VERY nice ride, congrats Warren!

Very nice guys!  I wish he had it a few weeks earlier when we were all in Terlingua, but hey!  Looks like you guys had a blast!

That car is amazing. I need one to

Great job on the article Scott!  You are truly a magician with words!

Thanks for all the nice comments guys!  The car show was a great success, and the GT350 had some real competition for attention.  There were so many beautiful and customized cars and trucks, it was hard to believe it still got so much attention!  That said, I spent the better part of the day giving tours and answering questions!

Warren

Very cool.  I know someone who is picking up his GT350 now.  Been waiting months for it.

Quote from: NASTY03GT on November 17, 2010, 12:10 PM

Very cool.  I know someone who is picking up his GT350 now.  Been waiting months for it.

Hmmm I'm very curious to hear more about this, what's they're name?

Do you know if they picked they'er cars number, and what package did they opt for?

His name is Tony S (don't want to post whole last name openly on forum).  He drove it all the way back from Vegas with his daughter along for the ride.  Very envious, he also has a new GT500 vert   Here are some pics:

Great job on the article Scott!  You are truly a magician with words!

Thanks for all the nice comments guys!  The car show was a great success, and the GT350 had some real competition for attention.  There were so many beautiful and customized cars and trucks, it was hard to believe it still got so much attention!  That said, I spent the better part of the day giving tours and answering questions!

Warren

Congratulations!! You sir have a BEAUTIFUL car !! Again Congratulations I wish I was lucky enough to be able to have one

Quote from: SVO on November 21, 2010, 09:19 AM

Quote from: NASTY03GT on November 17, 2010, 12:10 PM

Very cool.  I know someone who is picking up his GT350 now.  Been waiting months for it.

Hmmm I'm very curious to hear more about this, what's they're name?

Do you know if they picked they'er cars number, and what package did they opt for?

His name is Tony S (don't want to post whole last name openly on forum).  He drove it all the way back from Vegas with his daughter along for the ride.  Very envious, he also has a new GT500 vert   Here are some pics:

Do you think he could adopt me