Picture Car Confidential #2: Revology 1968 Mustang GT

Much as I admire the craftsmanship and ingenuity of many restomods, I wouldn’t call myself a huge fan. Personal preferences and quality concerns aside, they rarely get cast in movies, and for good reason; no one who cares a whit about historic verisimilitude wants to see a slammed Malibu, riding on 21st-century dubs, in a scene meant to be set in the 1960s. It breaks the illusion, not unlike the way 22-inch rims on the Superformance Daytona Cobras, standing in for the originals in the movie’s “Shelby American” shop, shattered the sense of reality in Ford v Ferrari. (For me, anyway.)

What about a modernized classic Mustang that is not a restomod, because it shares no parts with an original factory car? I came away from a recent weekend spent with Orlando-based Revology’s take on a 1968 Ford Mustang GT 2+2 Fastback thinking it would make a fine candidate for future movie work and an equally excellent choice as a car I’d like to own. That is, were it not for the price tag approaching $300,000 standing squarely—like a pair of 340-lb. defensive tackles—in my way. The level of appreciation I felt for it, though, bordered on shocking.

Sure, it looks for all the world like the famous Highland Green Mustang Steve McQueen drove to glory in Bullitt—and who doesn’t love that? But it drives more like a fast, modern car, with many of the conveniences we’ve come to appreciate: quality air conditioning, Bluetooth, a touchscreen, and fuel-injection, to name a few. Yet it throws up almost none of the usual compromises, annoyances, and bad smells that rocking a 56-year-old Mustang might. And from the outside, it looks pretty stock if you ignore those four-wheel discs peeking out from underneath the period-friendly (and only slightly oversized) alloy wheels.

While many a tribute to the Bullitt ‘Stang has been built—including Ford’s own recent and hardly unworthy efforts—this one claims no association with that star car. It is, in fact, manufactured from whole cloth with Ford’s blessing and a host of engineering improvements and quality modern parts. A brand-new, fuel-injected, 460-hp and 420 lb-ft Ford 5.0-liter DOHC V-8 is a good place to start, while a Tremec T-56XL six-speed, close-ratio manual transmission adds utility and refinement to the finished product we drove. Its four-wheel disc brakes from a modern Shelby help it outperform any ‘60s Mustang on the trip back down from hyper-speed. (A 10-speed automatic—the fruit of a Ford-GM transmission partnership—is an alternative.) 

According to Revology founder Tom Scarpello, who spent decades in senior manufacturing positions with Ford (surely a benefit in his negotiations with the company) and Nissan, no top-speed testing has been done, but 145 mph seems a fair bet, along with fuel economy in the neighborhood of 18 mpg combined.

Speed and powertrain upgrades warrant commendation, but that’s before you get to what are arguably the two most important upgrades, a seriously reinforced, seam-welded body with extra spot welds and carefully selected suspension mods. Built on a production line in its sophisticated Florida factory with all-new panels, the reimagined Mustang’s monocoque is based on the ‘65–’68 Mustang convertible’s unit body, which was more heavily braced to compensate for the open car’s lack of roof. Revology further strengthens the tub with reinforced frame rails at both ends of the car and a subframe connector that joins subframes front and rear, with an added X-brace lending further flex resistance. Up front, a Detroit Speed Aluma-Frame front suspension package is pressed into service, its tubular upper and lower control arms and coil-over shocks offering additional wheel travel to aid ride quality while the addition of a Detroit rack-and-pinion steering rack makes for an early Mustang with steering faster and more communicative than any we’ve ever experienced. The package is rounded out by a reimagined rear suspension, with three-links keeping the solid rear axle and body in check over rough roads and through the corners.

An unmistakable benefit of Revology’s decision to revisit the body structure and suspension is unheard of rigidity, enabling ride, steering, and handling qualities that bear little resemblance to the original or, at the risk of repeating myself, most restomods. Rattles, creaks, squeaks, and groans—fundamentals of most O.G. Mustangs—are nowhere to be found.

With large-but-not-too-large Michelin P245/45ZR17 Pilot Sport 4S riding on 17x 8 Torq Thrust alloys, their charcoal finish complementing that exquisite Highland green, it wasn’t long before passers-by and other motorists—spanning all demographic bands—were giving us thumbs-ups and shouts. That is, if they weren’t demanding extended Q&A sessions.

Simply put, the car looks great, and not just on the outside. Finishes are superior, as are seats (made in-house) and door panels. Electronic gauges, which closely ape the originals, look most harmonious, with convincing leather for the dash top and added dark walnut trim on the dash and console that not only looks better than the original Mustang but looks better than most any modern veneer. Window cranks are cleverly redeployed as controls for the electric door windows. The whole appearance is classy and sturdy-feeling in a way that no ur-Mustang ever was. A one-year bumper-to-bumper unlimited mileage warranty, along with two-year powertrain and five-year rust and corrosion coverage, makes the case that much more compelling.

Driving the Revology ‘Stang was a revelation, for it is fast and relaxing. An endless parade of admirers waved on a 100-mile drive out to Bridgehampton for the tony car show, The Bridge, where Revology held hold court with our loaner car and the outfit’s lovely dark blue 1965 Mustang convertible. (Early cars are all they build.) It all attested, along with a stream of serious inquiries to Scarpello and his crew, to the vehicle’s desirability. Why anyone would buy a $300,000 Bronco when you could have one of these is frankly beyond me.

Having already built 240 such Revology Mustangs through the years with virtually no marketing and with almost 150 employees, Scarpello feels like his company is poised for a growth spurt. One goal, he said, might be a ground-up offering of his company’s own conception.

Still, considering the many years he spent in the automobile industry, one couldn’t help but wonder why Scarpello felt the need to start building cars for himself in the first place. He was disarmingly frank: 

“I just didn’t really feel like I was fulfilled. I had a great career and Ford is a great company to work for; I have nothing but good things to say about Ford. I had great opportunities and things that challenged me. And Nissan was also really interesting. I got to live all over the world for them. I lived in Japan [where he met his wife,] I lived in Hong Kong, in Mexico. But I kind of always realized that if one day all of a sudden I wasn’t there, they would just replace me and things would just keep moving. 

“So it’s like, how important was I really? What contribution was I really making and what was the meaning and all of that? And I just thought I really want to do my own thing and I thought about it for a long time – well, what is it that I want to do and I kept coming back to running an auto company, which makes no sense. It’s like the most crazy, stupid thing, I might as well go start an airline. But you only live once, you’ve got to go for it, this thing’s been gnawing at me all those years and I thought, ‘you know, who else has got a better shot at it? I’ve been doing this my whole life. I understand how cars are designed, how they’re built, how they’re sold, the whole process from the beginning to the end. I can assemble a team with experts, and we can do this.’”  

So far, we’d say, so good. You could probably even make a movie about it.

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A man of many pursuits (rock band manager, automotive journalist, concours judge, purveyor of picture cars for film and TV), Jamie Kitman lives and breathes vintage machines. His curious taste for interesting, oddball, and under-appreciated classics—which traffic through his Nyack, New York warehouse—promises us an unending stream of delightful cars to discuss. For more Picture Car Confidential columns, click here.