That Time Ford Built a Fake Mustang GT350 to Celebrate Nothing

The V8 engine returned for 1975, but power ratings remained below early 1970s levels for decades. Ford eventually offered a few decent ponies during the 1980s, such as the Fox-body-based Mustang SVO, powered by a turbocharged four-cylinder with up to 205 horsepower.

But FoMoCo was still desperate to recapture its former muscle glory, and that resulted in a few questionable marketing decisions. One of them was to build a fake Shelby GT350 model for the 1984 model year.

As the Mustang SVO broke cover for 1984 as the first performance-oriented model in a long time, Ford also rolled out a limited-edition GT350 version. Offered in both hatchback and convertible body styles, the GT350 was finished in Oxford White only as a tribute to the original Shelby GT350 of the 1960s. All came with Canyon Red interiors, far from accurate but an appealing contrast to the white body.

But the GT350 had two major issues. First, it was a plain Mustang GT sold with either the 5.0-liter V8 or the turbocharged, 2.3-liter four-cylinder rated at 175 and 145 horsepower, respectively. The V8 version was just as powerful as the SVO in 1984 but devoid of any performance-oriented upgrades to the suspension and powertrain.

Second, Ford launched it to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Mustang—naturally, because it couldn't celebrate the Shelby GT350's 20th anniversary with a car that was unrelated to Carroll and his performance packages. However, because the Mustang GT350 was launched in 1983, it actually arrived too early for the Mustang's 20th anniversary.

The original Mustang went into production in March 1964, which means that it debuted as a 1965 model. But because it was produced alongside the 1964 Falcon, early models are widely referred to as 1964 1/2 models. Still, they all had 1965 VINs. This basically means that Ford couldn't really celebrate the Mustang's 20th anniversary until the second quarter of 1984 with a car built for the 1985 model year.

All told, the 1984 Mustang GT350 is a fake Shelby model that celebrates nothing. Poor marketing decision-making at its finest.

Ford built around 5,200 units of the Mustang GT350, a trim that was quickly buried into the history books. The fake GT350 is so forgettable that only used car ads like this one remind us that it ever existed.

There's absolutely no reason why a Mustang enthusiast would want one, but just in case you like weirdo cars, this one has only 62,000 miles (99,780 km) on the clock and costs $9,100. It's the second 1984 GT350 that popped online recently, following the one auctioned off by Barrett-Jackson in May 2020.

That low-mileage GT350 failed to sell as the reserve was not met, yet another sign that no one wants to spend money on a fake Shelby, even if they're in mint, as-new condition.

As a brief reminder, Ford and Shelby split up in 1969 following a series of GT350 and GT500 models. Although Ford continued to sell Shelby Mustangs in 1970, all were leftover models from 1969. Carroll shut down Shelby American in January 1970, and no other Mustang featured a Shelby badge until 2005.

While Ford was developing the Mustang GT350 in the 1980s, Carroll Shelby assisted Dodge in creating the 1983 Shelby Charger, a high-performance variant of the front-wheel-drive Omni. Shelby also designed the Omni GLH for 1984. The success of these Shelby-branded Dodges prompted Carroll to set up a new automobile company in 1985.