So in today’s episode of “what to do in Northern California in November”, we took a trip to Sonoma Raceway and Napa Valley.
The Shelby GT350R was the car of choice today. I've had it for a few months now, and I have had it out to Sonoma Raceway for a few track sessions, then to Thunderhill Raceway at a slightly higher level of "push", and finally again to Sonoma Raceway to almost take it to its limits (more accurately, to MY self-imposed limits). So now with 1,000 miles on it, the tires are already toast...
The outside edge of the Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2s are subject to lots of wearing in stock format, even just while street driving, due to a lack of negative camber, so they look pretty worn on the outside edges after just 1000 miles and a few track days. Darrell Anderson at AV8 Supercars will be installing camber plates so that we can dial in a bit more negative camber for better turn-in and less outer edge wear. So we drove the "Orange-a-Stang" (nickname credit to my friend Robin) to Darrell's shop at Sonoma Raceway. A short 40 minute drive from home to the track took us across the bird-full marshland along Highway 37.
We watched some local track action as I dropped the car off. While there, I got to inspect the damage my friend just did to his blue GT350R. This is what happens when you get on the power just a tiny-bit too abruptly in turn 8 at Sonoma. No bueno. Keep in mind, this is a driver who is accustomed to a GT3RS and a Formula Mazda, so he knows how to drive. The Shelby R is a beast, but demands respect.
We moved into the family sedan and headed out to pick up wine at a few wine clubs we belong to. First stop at Walt in Sonoma Square. In addition to a few little tastes, we got fed and picked up our latest wine club allocation. A magnum of Walt “Bob’s Ranch” Pinot Noir would be perfect for thanksgiving turkey, but we already have enough Pinot Noir!
Next stop, Del Dotto historic wine caves on Atlas Peak. The fires last year came very close to this great facility. Picked up some limited member-only Zinfandel and Sangiovese. Go here, folks. Tour the wine caves.
Then we headed up north along the Silverado Trail... the best route through Napa Valley, IMHO. The grape leaves are turning yellow post-harvest. Great time to be up here.
Twenty minutes later, we arrived at one of my favorite tasting venues... Duckhorn Vineyards.
Today was Winter member pick-up, and we were grabbing some Howell Mountain Cabernet and Stout Vineyard Cabernet. Both excellent, but hard to beat the 2011 “Discussion” Cabernet they poured us...and the “Ten Degree” Pinot Noir from their sister winery Goldeneye. A good day at Duckhorn. A must-stop if you come here to Napa.
After walking off my few tastings, and having a fantastic plate of pasta carbonara at Pizzeria Tra Vigne in St. Helena, we headed home. As the sun slowly descended on this magical valley, we vowed to be back soon. If the weather is right, next time we will bring a drop-top.
I'm a car guy from way back, and if you've read any of my prior blog posts, you'll know I have a penchant for import cars (except for my all-American Jeep Wrangler). So this car is a bit of a departure for me, but it speaks or itself. This week, the newest occupant of Dave's Garage is a new 2018 Shelby GT350R.
I've been taking my Porsche Cayman S to the track for years, and have had track and road time in everything from a Skip Barber Formula car to a Porsche Carrera and from a McLaren MP4-12C to vintage cars like my Datsun 2000 Roadster. When the Shelby GT350R came out, I was intrigued, as it was reported that the company had benchmarked the car against the track-ready king-of-the-hill: the almighty Porsche GT3. I was skeptical about the Shelby claims, I'll admit, but the positive reports kept coming in and then a friend of mine got one. This was a guy who has had lots of amazing cars like AMG, McLaren, Porsche, Ferrari, and who hits the track with a Formula Mazda open-wheel race car as well as his GT350R. When he told me "You gotta try this car, it's fantastic!", how could I say no? I test drove his car and I was hooked.
I ordered the car in March from a dealer that could get me an allocation for a new 2018, ordered as I pleased (Many thanks to Mike Storkan and the whole team at Bill Brandt Ford !!). My intent was to have the car in its basic, stripped mode, as the Shelby engineers intended, with no A/C, no NAV, no back-up camera. I noticed that the majority of used GT350Rs out there typically had the optional "electronics package" added. So I figured my car would be unusual now (and into the future) if I avoided that option. But alas, my timing was off. It turns out that my car was slotted for production in May, 2018. A new federal law as of May 1, 2018 requires that all cars delivered in the USA now have a back-up camera. The Ford people let me know I'd be required to take the electronics package option, as that was the only way to have the back-up camera included. Oh well, I thought, at least I won't get so dang overheated driving the car to the track on summer days (have you ever been to Thunderhill Raceway on a 100 degree July day??). I'll admit, I do like the back-up camera.
My initial reaction to the car is that it is very solid, and feels smaller than it looks. There are a number of really nice track-focused functions and apps on the car, and a few selectable gauges that I didn't expect but really appreciate, like cylinder-head temperature, transmission oil and rear-axle temperature. And the car makes those amazing noises you've heard about. Wonderful bark from that flat-plane crank V8 as you run through the RPM range and lots of burble and pop on downshift blips and deceleration. The selectable suspension damper mode is simple and definitely makes a difference in ride feel, and the steering feel is digitally adjustable, along with other things I'll figure out as I get more time with the car. For my first 100 miles,
I am extremely impressed with the throttle response, suspension feedback, the turn-in feel, and the overall quality of the car. I think it may the absolute performance bargain champ available (admittedly, I have not driven the 2018 Corvette Z06, which has an MSRP of about $10,000 more than the Shelby). Also, I love the Recaro seats and was extremely pleased with the beautiful metallic paint in what Shelby/Ford calls "Orange Fury". Well named, and I just wish it showed up as spectacular in photos as it does in the California sunshine.
Well, the car is home now, settled into the garage with the other "Skittles / M&M" colored cars. It certainly cuts an imposing figure, and once the break-in miles are done, I'll be sure to report back on how its track manners stack up to its look and initial feel.
