We often find ourselves wondering aloud if the men and women who lived through the original muscle car era of the 1960’s realized what a special time in America’s motoring history it was. Now obviously, most people didn’t realize that one day people would pay at auction many times more what these cars costs new from the dealership. But some people had an inkling that these were indeed special cars for special times.

As one of the foremost voices in the American automotive scene, Motor Trend was on the cutting edge when it came to new cars. This vintage review of the 1968 Shelby GT500KR shows that they knew what they were talking about when it came to muscle cars.

Motor Trend had the Shelby for about six weeks, and had nothing but praise to heap upon the foremost Mustang in the Ford lineup. That said, they are not shy about pointing out a few shortcomings with this Shelby, among them the lack of good rear visibility.

But they spent most of the time talking about the awesome 428 V8 engine, the comparatively “posh” interior of the ‘68 model, and the “lush and fancy” dashboard. They call the car thirsty, and rightly so, though it is obvious that Motor Trend knew from the get go that this Shelby, like all Shelbys, would go on to be very special one day. How right they were.

Check out this vintage review of the ‘68 Shelby GT500KR if you really want some giggles.