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When I was a much younger person, I asked my dad, “Why doesn’t Chevy just make new ’70 Chevelles?” I was terrified that the A-body supply was going to dry up before I was of driving age, and making more was a no brainer. Surely GM would sell more 1992/1970 Chevelles than 1992 Cavaliers. My dad smiled and assured me that we weren’t going to run out. Yeah but…

If you’re wondering what this has to do with the sweet 1966 Mustang GT350 in front of you, I should tell you that this isn’t really a ’66. It’s all new; nothing on it is older than a human toddler. Enter Tom Scarpello, founder of Revology Cars Inc. in Orlando. A Ford-guy through and through, Tom earned his stripes (oval) while in charge of Ford’s SVT, having a hand in every aspect of vehicle development. I figure Tom either had my baby monitor bugged, or saw the growing demand and shrinking supply of Ford’s pony car, so they decided to step up and fill a niche. Most likely the latter, but it seems my idea wasn’t so farfetched; ahead of its time, maybe.

Starting with a brand new, Ford-licensed steel body, Revology builds new Mustangs. The new cars are more than an assemblage of repop parts though, with modern touches like LED lighting and a hidden antenna. Revology even goes so far as to add reinforcement beams in the doors, three-point seat belts and a collapsible steering column. You’re getting about as close to a 2017/1966 Mustang as possible here.

This particular unit has a bunch of Shelby accessories, including the hood (with scoop), quarter windows, side scoops and mirrors, plus stripes and badging. With the 17” Vintage Wheels Works V45s tucked in tight, it’s got the ‘60s look, but the underpinnings have been brought up to modern standards. Thirteen-inch disc brakes in each corner with six-piston calipers bring the pony to a halt in a hurry, while the power rack and pinion steering and unequal-length front control arms allow finessing of the turns that’d make Bud Moore jealous. Naturally, out back is a Ford 9” boasting 3.89 cogs, an Eaton Truetrac differential and 31-spline axles. It’s located with a three-link and panhard rod and coilovers for the bounce. What may surprise you is that the rearend has been fitted with an electronic parking brake.

Twenty-first century tweaks continue under the hood, with a 5.0L Ford Coyote engine doing work. The Coyote is Ford’s answer to GM’s LS-series, and let’s say the Blue Oval boys came back up swinging. On the low side of the spectrum, these engines are rated at 412hp and things escalate from there. Behind this modern, twin cam marvel is a T-56 six-speed from Tremec, making for thrilling acceleration and mellow cruising.

Inside you’ll find more era-mixing, with Shelby seats and a reproduction Shelby steering wheel on a tilt column, sitting right next to a double-DIN navigation screen and VHX-1060 analog/digital instruments (courtesy of yours truly). Those manual window cranks are indeed for the windows, but they’re power switches in disguise. Power locks with remote, air conditioning, and blue tooth functionality for the stereo system are also hiding in plain sight, blurring the line between resto and late model.

I wasn’t this big of a dreamer when I was a child, I just wanted an old car, but Revology really has something going here, making what’s new, old. Their particular brand of Mustang has a lot of appeal to those who don’t want to invest countless hours, dollars, tears, units of effort, etc. into resurrecting an old hulk, only to find it continually requires maintenance (read: more hours, dollars, tears, units of effort). It’s the best of both worlds; new car features without losing the soul. And soul is what this hobby is about.

January 2017

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