2006 seems like forever ago, doesn’t it? At the very least, it feels like a different lifetime. Social media was still in its infancy and the world felt a lot bigger back then. 2006 was also a big year for Ford. The Blue Oval was bringing the Shelby Mustang back to life after a 25-year absence. Ford went all-out in marketing the return of the Shelby nameplate, and one commercial, in particular, effectively hammered Ford’s point. The Shelby Mustang was a beast, and there really was just one road in the world that could have a proper dance with it: the German Autobahn.

The ad, called “Germany,” puts the spotlight squarely on the 2006 Shelby Mustang GT500 and what it could do on a stretch of road that didn’t have any speed limits. It’s a fascinating commercial to look back on given that the Shelby Mustang is now deep into its third generation.

You don’t often come across car commercials that age well. But they do exist because Ford’s “Germany” commercial from 2006 is one of them.

Mind you, this was the first time that people were introduced to the “GT500” tag so curious minds were just as intrigued. Ford successfully provided the answer by leveraging the GT500’s potential when it’s unleashed in the only road in the world that can accommodate its rampaging qualities.

The ad, which was part of Ford’s “Bold Moves” campaign, starts at a German port where dock workers lower a large crate that revealed a 2007 Shelby GT500. A dock worker foreman quizzically looks at the muscle car before asking the GT500 owner if he couldn’t find a car he liked in Germany.

Ever the confident sort, the American owner replied “No, I couldn’t find a speed limit I liked in America.” The ad then cuts to the Shelby Mustang on an empty road —presumably a stand-in for the German autobahn — with the words “Bold is 500 hp.”

It’s one of those commercials that aged well as time passes by. It was a great watch in 2006. It’s a great watch in 2020. And it should still be a great watch in 2030 when the fifth-generation Shelby Mustang arrives, hopefully in a more glorious packaging than a wooden crate.

2006 Ford Mustang Shelby GT500 specifications