This year's SEMA Show will be packed with aftermarket builds based on the sixth-generation Mustang, but there's at least two companies that will bring restomods built around the first-generation muscle car. One of them is Ringbrothers, which is planning to showcase a 1965 convertible with a wide body and a supercharged engine. The other one is Revology Cars, which prepared something a bit more conservative, in the form of a 1966 Shelby GT350 replica that's identical to the original car. At least on the outside.
Revology's new project is actually a restomod, in the sense that it marries a vintage-looking body with a modern interior and drivetrain. However, while most restomods also come with modern exterior elements such as wheels, carbon-fiber bumper and wild paints, this project remains true to the 1966 Shelby GT350's design and white-and-blue livery.
The GT350 isn't Revology's first build that mimics the original car on the outside. The company also offers a convertible and a 2+2 coupe, both based on the 1966 Ford Mustang. They're not exactly affordable, being priced from more than $150,000 before options, but it's not a bad price given that you get a pristine-looking Mustang with modern underpinning and all the comfort you have with a 2017-model-year car.
Continue reading to learn more about the Ford Shelby GT350 By Revology Cars.
1966 Ford Shelby GT350 By Revology Cars
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- Model: 1966 Ford Shelby GT350 By Revology Cars
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Exterior
Ford doesn't provide too many details about the car's exterior, but Revology's build looks very authentic in the rendering. The licensed, Dynacorn Classic body appears to be very accurate compared to the original GT350, while the 17-inch custom vintage wheels wrapped in Bridgestone Potenza tires add to the feeling that you're looking at a true-blue GT350. Speaking of which, it is finished in the most familiar classic Shelby livery, with Guardsman Blue stripes and accents highlighting the white body. The reproduction Shelby does have a few modern touches, including LED headlamps, taillights, and turn signals.
Interior
Note: 1966 Shelby Mustang GT350 pictured here.
There are no pictures of the interior to run by as of this writing, but the vintage cabin layout includes a number of modern devices. First up, the Revology Cars added a fully electronic air conditioning with heating and defrosting functions from Vintage Air. Further comfort comes from the heated and ventilated seats with power fore and aft adjustability and manual recline. These are supplied by Glide Engineering.
The Dakota Digital gauge cluster is also as modern as it gets and features LED lighting, while an LCD message center brings the GT350 into the 21st century display-wise. Finally, because no show car is complete without a solid entertainment system, this vintage muscle car comes with a Pioneer in-car entertainment system with navigation, Bluetooth, voice recognition, and reverse camera. A power amplifier and eight speakers provide just enough watts to make your neighbors dance like crazy to your favorite ZZ Top songs.
Drivetrain
Not surprisingly, the reproduction GT350 gets its juice from a modern engine. The unit in question is a 5.0-liter "Coyote" V-8 and judging by its claimed 435-horsepower rating, it's safe to assume that its identical to the one offered in the stock sixth-generation Mustang GT. The V-8 mates to a Tremec T-56 close-ratio six-speed manual transmission, which is great news given that most modern drivers favor automatics.
Note: 1966 Shelby Mustang GT350 pictured here.
But while the engine and transmission aren't out of this world as far as specs go, the restomod GT350 features several aftermarket parts, starting with a Borla, 2.5-inch stainless steel exhaust and Ultimate Headers tube headers. The muscle car also sports a Dynotech 3.0-inch steel driveshaft, a Currie nine-inch LSD center section with a 3.89 ratio, and a double-wishbone front suspension and three-link rear with torque arm and Panhard rod. Stopping power comes from Wilwood four-wheel disc brakes with six-piston up front, four-piston rear calipers to the rear, and slotted, ventilated rotors. Finally, an E-Stopp electronic parking brake keeps the car locked in place.
Note: 1966 Shelby Mustang GT350 pictured here.0}
Granted, Revology's project for the 2016 SEMA Show is pretty much a standard restomod, but that's far from being bad news. Restomods are perfect for events such as SEMA, especially if their drivetrains include aftermarket and race-bred components. But, what makes this Mustang special, is the incredibly accurate body work. There's no hint that this is just a reproduction outside the LED lighting, which would make it extremely popular with Mustang enthusiasts should Revology decide to turn it into a production model. The good news is that the company might just do that, at least judging by its official website, where the GT350 already has an options sheet, but the bad news is that it will cost close to $200,000.