Revology 1967 Shelby GT500 review: the bar for resto Mustangs just got much, much higher

Hey, look, another Mustang resto.

Bite your cynical alter ego’s tongue, please. This is a 1967 Shelby GT500, built by the fine folks of Revology Cars, which means it’s not just another restomod slapped together to make a quick buck off of people who refer to all classic Mustangs as ‘an Eleanor’.

Does it now?

Indeed. If you recall our last run-around with a Revology Mustang, there was much bristling around the label ‘restomod’ from company founder and CEO Tom Scarpello due to the association the term has with the roughshod junk flooding the Mustang market.

After an exhaustive deep dive into how Revology makes its products – including a walkthrough of its Florida facility – we’re here to tell you that is very much not the case here.

Where’s Revology at these days?

Physically, in Orlando, Florida. But business-wise, they’re in a good place. Revology now lives under the umbrella of Knighthead Capital Management, which doesn’t mean much to the average Joe on its own, but is relevant here because Knighthead also has a controlling stake in Singer, the famous Porsche restoration company.

Though the two companies operate independently, to be able to call Revology ‘the Singer of Mustangs’ is worth the association alone. It’s a great shorthand for the level of quality Scarpello and crew are committed to with their offerings.

Enough business talk. Power! Speed!

Yes! This Shelby GT500 is fitted with a Ford/Roush 5.0-liter supercharged V8 that screws up 710hp and lays it all down to the rears by way of a six-speed manual. You can hear it screaming out the back of the Borla exhaust Revology had tuned specifically for this car and it sounds as powerful as it feels.

Now we’re talking. How does it drive?

It doesn’t feel right to simply say ‘pretty good’ without talking about build quality first, and my summary is barely going to do the process justice.

Aw, boo.

Stick with us, this is cool. Let’s start by saying Revology builds its cars like an OEM, which was evident throughout a tour of what is basically its mini assembly plant. There is no ‘let’s take an old Mustang and shove aftermarket bits’ here, there is an agonizing design and build process that has a legacy automaker’s level of scrutiny throughout each stage, most of it unsexy but no less fascinating. I sat through a 30-minute presentation about making a better powered window, and was transfixed by the level of importance this and other oft-overlooked components receive.

Returning to the Shelby, this GT500 benefits from a number of updates made to the recent batch of Mustangs, including a revised assembly process that now includes the use of structural adhesives to improve rigidity.

As I climb in, Scarpello is eager to point out a number of upgrades. The seats? New and sourced from the Mazda MX-5, because the answer is always Miata. Even in other cars, apparently. They’re just a better fit, physically and thematically, than what the aftermarket offers. Pedal geometry adjustments and tweaks to the gearbox have been made, which Scarpello points out as a fix to one of the observations I made in the ‘Bullitt’ Mustang I drove before.

These and other improvements are quick to reveal themselves, and the Mustang proves to be as easy to drive down a road as any of the other (remaining) modern manual-drive muscle cars. All the while, there’s nary a whiff of rattle and shake associated with a retooled vehicle of a bygone era. It’s a brand new, old Mustang.

Sounds like a pretty showpiece. Can it drive, though?

Yes indeed. My last drive with Revology was on rather tame, straight roads that let me play with the power delivery but not much of the dynamics. This time, that oversight has been corrected by means of… a race track.

In Revology’s backyard is the new Circuit Florida, a 1.7-mile course with actual elevation, something of a rarity in the flat, boggy swamps of central Florida. There are enough straights, kinks and chicanes to give any car a thorough shakedown, including this powerful, analog GT500. Such was Revology’s confidence in its resto that the only limitation was to be back by lunch. Tacitly, ‘go like hell’.

With the thin, wooden steering wheel and cueball shifter at hand, it feels like the fantasy we all have of this Shelby come to life, and I’m worried this track shakedown won’t live up to the hype. There’s also the slight worry that I’ve been mollycoddled by modern cars and their software-heavy traction systems, and being out of practice with such a back-to-basics ride will end with me skittering this bespoke $300k Mustang into a wall.

Mercifully, the Shelby Mustang – this specific one – exceeds my expectations. Roaring down towards a hairpin with a wide-open throttle is a treat in itself: modern power up front (while everything you can see and touch is classically styled) tickles a particular part of a gearhead’s brain.

Such was Revology’s confidence in its resto that the only limitation was to be back by lunch. Tacitly, ‘go like hell’

Deep braking into the first hairpin is another reminder of the old-and-new-school blend. Modern six-piston brakes on the front slow the pony car down reliably, while the four-piston rears clamp down on the squirrelly rears.

Predictably, the Shelby rolls into turns, but not excessively. If anything it adds to the experience, and it’d be more than a little disingenuous if it shot around the circuit like a tightly-tuned modern track toy. Still, the double-wishbone front suspension maintains control while the rear axle reliably lays down everything the supercharged power plant throws at it.

If there’s a modern analog for how Revology’s Shelby feels, the closest comparison would be Dodge’s Challenger R/T from a few years back. The restored Mustang isn’t nearly as heavy-feeling or wide and boaty, but it’s powerful and easy to handle despite the sense that it’s pushed to its limits.

On that topic, the Revology Shelby GT500 is very communicative through its touch points, making it simple enough to find those limits before they sneak up on you. Or comfortably tail-happy if you push beyond them. Aaand slide…

All the while, the classic-style coupe proved to be incredibly durable. Once my brain recalibrated for the old-school level of handling, any sense that the Shelby needed to be treated like a delicate showpiece evaporated with each passing lap. It endured its thrashing in the hot Florida sun better than expected and, indeed, better than I did.

At the end of my session, the Shelby would’ve been ready to go right back out after a splash of fuel, displaying a level of actual usability that other Mustang restorers can’t guarantee. That alone is a gauntlet thrown at their feet.

What’s the final takeaway?

Revology’s Shelby GT500 is a showcase of craftsmanship that’s in good company with the likes of Singer, surely the leader of upscale restos the world over. The fact that they’re now corporate cousins speaks volumes to those in the know.

What that means is there’s a standard of quality present here that goes beyond the aesthetic. The rebuilt GT500 has modern-day power, vintage looks and a high level of build quality that allows it to be put to proper use rather than leaving it as a garage-bound object of fantasy. Frankly, for the $342,500 asking price, so it should be.

Thankfully, time spent putting the Revology Mustang through its paces demonstrates that proper craftsmanship is worth paying for. Be on notice, Eleanor-cloners, the bar for Mustang restomods is much, much higher now.