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I'll chime in on this. I've been looking around for a new car after my E92 got destroyed, and the GT350 was one of my top competitors after driving. I've decided I'm going to find another E92 after some consideration. Why? Because every bit of the E92 felt like care and effort was put into. The GT350 was only good because of the drivetrain. Just sitting in the E92 makes it feel special, while the Shelby felt like they took a rental car interior, then slapped in some bucket seats and a plaque. It's not offensive, but doesn't feel nice to just sit in it. The E92 also has some nice driving traits over the GT350, as well, but I would pick the driving experience of the GT350 between the two.
So my quick review. The engine and noise completely dominates the experience. Put it in loud mode, and just drive around doing some rev-match downshifts. The noise was making me giggle the entire time, it was just fantastic, even in traffic. Brakes are excellent and very immediate. Shifter was rifle-bolt feeling, the exact feeling you want. Steering is pretty decent, some feedback, but not even close to the E92. Clutch also had very little feeling on it.
I didn't take it on any real curves, but did get a chance to do a light launch because of a freeway on-ramp light. Revved it up to about 2500, slipped the clutch a little, and punched it. This is basically where my disappointment started. The noise made it exciting, but it didn't make it feel much, if any faster than my E92. I think the entire reason for this is how long the gears are. 1st goes to 55 mph, 2nd to 80. Now, once you're at freeway speeds and go hammer down, you can feel the additional power if you're in the right gear. In gear acceleration in 6th was completely pathetic. I was doing about 65 mph in 6th, put some throttle on, and... nothing happened. It straight up does not accelerate at low revs in a cruise. Worse, after one hard acceleration, smoke was actually coming out of the hood of the car!
Got back in my E92 after, and started noted some things. The brakes and shifter were definitely worse. I wanted more noise from it, as well (just a 2.5 pipe mod). Steering and clutch felt much better and more right. The E92 also felt much more playful, like it wants to rotate a little. It also felt much smaller and lighter (I know the weight difference isn't huge). Seriously, the GT350 is huge! Plus, in the E92, it felt like the entire car was a quality product.
Wrapping up, it was seriously fun to drive, and the only modern performance car I've driven that I'd actually buy. It can kind of fit 3 people, if you squish the passengers. But the engine issues have no known cause, and it feels like people are dumping them pretty fast. Only touch it with a good warranty. I'd personally would pick it if I lived my life on the track. But on the street and for special occasions, I'd pick the E92.
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