When you hear about how people say they’d rather listen to a naturally aspirated engine than a turbocharged one, this video shows what they generally mean.
While we’ve heard the GT350 in all of its glory before, this is the first time we’ve seen a proper demonstration of its active exhaust system and how much of a difference flipping that exhaust switch next to the launch control can make.
In other words you’d need the best of the best in terms of custom exhaust systems in order to get a turbocharged car to sound even remotely as throaty as the GT350 can.
Ford was already onto something when they took the GT350R to London and made onlookers “jump out of their skin” upon hearing the pure savagery of that 5.2-liter V8 engine, good for 526 HP (534 PS) and 595 Nm (429 lb-ft) of torque.
You can easily make the case that the GT350 is loud enough even without the active exhaust doing its thing, and besides, there’s a certain authenticity to naturally aspirated engines that you just can’t manufacture in any artificial way.