We’ve shared a couple of articles about Classic Recreations, last year we mentioned about its new venture of turn-key performance cars with CR Supercars. The first offering was Villain – a 1968 Mustang built with some impressive hardware, including modern powertain and suspension components, that make this classic a contender.
Classic Recreations is the only licensed and factory authorized builder of Shelby Mustang continuation cars, so they know classic Mustangs. Owner Jason Engel said in a press release, “For years we have proudly hand-built the only officially licensed Shelby Mustang continuation cars in the world, but that doesn’t mean we are stuck in the past.”
So what does that mean for this Oklahoma-based builder? It means that even more modern powertrains than the Coyote will be offered in the 1966 GT350R and 1967 GT500CR Shelby Mustangs it builds. Under the hood of these continuation cars, you have your choice of engines, including the Coyote or old school 427, or you can choose to have the modern EcoBoost in four-cylinder or V6 varieties.
Ford’s 3.5L twin-turbocharged V6 makes 365 horsepower and 420 lb-ft or torque with a pair of Honeywell/Garrett GT15 turbochargers. The 2.0L EcoBoost is rated at 300 horsepower and 360 lb-ft of torque with a Borg-Warner turbocharger and Ti-VCT twin independent variable camshaft timing.
But for those who really want to turn up the boost, the V6 can be had with bigger turbos to produce the GT-like 600 horsepower, and yet will still be reliable enough to drive regularly. Both of these lightweight engines offer a considerable weight savings on the car, and with a modern suspension they’ll be ready to take on the track.
Both the manual and automatic transmission is available, and for those who feel that the EcoBoost is a little too much modern, they can opt for the Windsor package with power ranging from 420 up to more than 1,000 horsepower. Times are changing – and Classic Recreations is keeping up with those changes. Pricing for these Shelby continuation cars will be in the mid $100,000s.