1965 Mustang Shelby GT350 Crowned Ford Frenzy Champion
Photo: Ford
Though there were no buzzer-beaters or perfect seasons denied, the Ford Frenzy tournament was not without its own drama. Ford’s answer to March Madness sought to determine the best Blue Oval vehicle of all time, and it has done just that. With the dust settled, the 1965 Mustang Shelby GT350 is cutting down the nets — or whatever a car does when it wins something like this. Probably nothing because it’s a car and not a sentient being.
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The No. 2-seeded 1965 Mustang Shelby GT350 steamrolled its way to the finals, cruising past major contenders like the 1965 GT40 MK1, 1966 Ford Bronco, and even the 1908 Ford Model T. In what you can only describe as poetry, it met its latest descendent in the finals: the 760-horsepower 2020 Mustang Shelby GT500.
The 1965 Shelby GT350 won going away, taking 61.7 percent of the 2,910 votes cast on Twitter. Though this was a pretty clear blowout, it was a closer contest than the GT350’s two previous bouts, in which it crushed the Model T with 78.8 percent of the vote and sailed past the original Bronco with 77 percent.
So, what does the 1965 Shelby GT350 win? Adulation. Glory. The thrill of victory. But other than that, nothing. And it’s probably fine with that. Because, again, it is a car and not a living entity with feelings.
Ford Frenzy bracket “a passion project”
If you’re one of those kinds of people who hates lists and has to tell everyone how you would have done it, you can direct your complaints to Ford’s heritage and brand manager, Ted Ryan, and his team.
Or, actually, you know what? Don’t direct your complaints anywhere. Keep them inside. The world doesn’t need more toxic fandom than it already has. They’re not releasing the Snyder Cut of this bracket, no matter how much you yell about the Mustang Mach-E.
“It was hard to come up with an initial list because we didn’t have any criteria,” said Ryan. “We were just picking cars like people pick colleges in March Madness brackets. We sort of made it up.”
Because it’s for fun, folks. Ford fun. Ryan confirms as much, saying: “We don’t tell anybody what characteristics to vote on, because it’s just supposed to be fun.” Again: It’s for fun. Spare your anger for like the prison industrial complex or far-reaching wealth and income inequality or something.
And was it fun? Why, yes. About as fun as following a bracket and voting on Twitter can be. That’s the power of Ford, y’all.
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Kyle S. Johnson lives in Cincinnati, a city known by many as “the Cincinnati of Southwest Ohio.” He enjoys professional wrestling, Halloween, and also other things. He has been writing for a while, and he plans to continue to write well into the future. See more articles by Kyle.