Photo: Hi-Tech Automotive

The first-generation Ford Mustang Shelby GT500 was born with a silver spoon in its… radiator. The 1967 model year was the last one to roll off the assembly line at the original American plant in Venice, California, when Carroll Shelby was still involved in the program. Later on, Ford took over the project and did everything in-house, while Shelby was out.

More than half a century after it rolled out the production line, the car is massively popular, a stardom that the Ford v Ferrari blockbuster seriously influenced. As if the model needed any endorsement at all…

Following the ever rising demand, Hi-Tech Automotive decided to swing into action and built the 1967 Shelby GT500 in 2023.

The reproduction model comes with an official license from Carroll Shelby Licensing. It’s got a brand-new body and sports a fully independent suspension.

The car comes, though, as a fully assembled and painted rolling chassis. It’s got no engine or transmission, so customers will be able to choose from a variety of powertrains.

The original 1967 Shelby GT500 came with the 428-cubic inch (7.0-liter) V8 engine with two 600 CMF Holley four-barrel carburetors on top of a mid-rise aluminum intake manifold. The V8 generated 355 horsepower (360 metric horsepower) and could run the 0 to 60 mph (0 to 97 kph) in 5.5 seconds on it way to a top speed of 130 mph (209 kph).

The reproduction Shelby GT500 features, though, an interior in Nappa leather and modern electronics.

Every component is produced to the exact standards of the era, with no compromise on quality. According to Nick Price, director of Hi-Tech Automotive, the company’s target is to remove the inconsistencies that are characteristic to restomods.

The car that comes out of their shop is not a restored original, he says, but rather a modern-day reproduction of that vehicle built brand-new from the group up. Instead of ‘restomod,’ the team that worked on the car calls it a ‘REPROmod,’ a combination of the terms ‘reproduction’ and ‘modification.’

The experts at Hi-Tech boast an 18-year experience in manufacturing vehicles for Superperformance and Shelby Legendary Cars.

Their latest project starts at $230,000, with an expected on-road cost of over $270,000, since the one who buys it will need an engine and a transmission to be able to drive it home.

Hi-Tech Automotive will build only 20 such examples in 2024. All will be sold on a first-come, first-served basis. This means that there is little chance of bumping into a reproduction 1967 Shelby GT500 in the street.