Classic Recreations is back at SEMA for the first time since Velocity Restorations bought it out of bankruptcy. Its GT500CR Carbon is a Shelby-licensed 1967 GT500 with a carbon fiber body, a 1,000-horsepower supercharged Ford V8 and carbon-ceramic brakes, and the company quotes at least $500,000.
A 1967 Shelby GT500 with every body panel made of carbon fiber is on the show floor at SEMA in Las Vegas this week. Classic Recreations calls its GT500CR Carbon the world's only production, officially licensed 1967 Shelby GT500 built this way. Under the bare carbon weave and red stripes sits a supercharged Ford Coyote V8 making 1,000 horsepower. The car went public at the Concours at Wynn Las Vegas over the weekend and moved to SEMA when the show opened on Nov 3, 2026 (Classic Recreations via PR Newswire, CarBuzz).
It's also a comeback. This is the brand's first SEMA appearance since Velocity Restorations, a restomod builder in Pensacola, Florida, bought its assets out of bankruptcy in 2025. Classic Recreations says the car sets "a new performance standard" for its builds under the new owner. Each car is licensed by Shelby and recorded in the Shelby Worldwide Registry. CarBuzz reports that the company quotes at least $500,000, depending on what the buyer specifies (CarBuzz, TopSpeed).
The engine is a Gen 4X version of Ford's 5.0-liter Coyote V8, the same engine family as the modern Mustang GT. Wegner built it and added a Whipple 3.0-liter supercharger. A FuelTech FT700 standalone engine computer runs the engine and a traction control system, with a separate Vaporworx fuel controller. Power goes through a 10-speed automatic (a Suncoast-built version of Ford's 10R80) and a carbon fiber driveshaft to a Ford 9-inch rear axle (Classic Recreations via PR Newswire, FordMuscle).
Cody Dabney, director of production at Velocity and Classic Recreations, says the electronics are the point: "A thousand horsepower only means something if the driver can use it." He adds that this is "what separates the GT500CR Carbon from a Shelby with a big engine" (Classic Recreations via PR Newswire).
Classic Recreations hasn't given a weight, acceleration times, a top speed or a production count. It calls the GT500CR Carbon "ultra-limited." Its own description says each car takes more than 2,500 hours to build (Classic Recreations via PR Newswire, CarBuzz).
The reports mostly repeat the press release, but they differ in a few places. Classic Recreations says the body is finished in BASF Glasurit paint. CarBuzz and Carscoops describe bare, gloss-finished carbon with red-tinted carbon stripes, and that's what the photos show, so the paint looks like a clear finish rather than a solid color. The press release doesn't give a price. The $500,000 starting figure comes from CarBuzz. Carscoops says several earlier carbon-bodied cars from Classic Recreations sold for more than $500,000, but in July 2025 it described the company's builds as pushing close to $300,000. FordMuscle calls the car a replica in its headline. It's a new car built to the 1967 design and licensed by Shelby, not a restored original (CarBuzz, Carscoops, Carscoops, July 2025, FordMuscle).
The car means more because of what happened to the company in 2025. Classic Recreations filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in Texas on July 9, 2025, listing $1,000,001 to $10,000,000 in liabilities. Carscoops reported at the time that Shelby was understood to have ended its license shortly before (Carscoops, July 2025). In August 2025, Velocity bought the company's intellectual property, inventory and equipment in a court-approved bankruptcy sale. It also signed a letter of intent with Carroll Shelby Licensing (Velocity via PR Newswire). By November 2025, the license was renewed and production had moved to Velocity's plant in Pensacola. The plant now builds the steel-bodied GT500 and the carbon-bodied GT500CR, along with the Boss 429, Hitman and Shelby Cobra (Carscoops, November 2025).
There are a lot of 1,000-horsepower Mustang restomods. What makes this one different is the paperwork. The Shelby license and registry entry are what separate the GT500CR from the many GT500-style builds that aren't licensed. And very few of them have a full carbon fiber body. The specs read like a list of the best aftermarket parts, and the focus on traction control and electronic shocks suggests the car is meant to be driven, not just parked on a show floor.
Anyone spending $500,000 or more should start with the company's history. Velocity says it isn't responsible for contracts signed with the old Classic Recreations, and it offered customers with unfinished cars new agreements with new pricing (Velocity). Velocity calls itself the largest bespoke restomod company, but a buyer should still get the build schedule, payment stages and the Shelby registry documentation in writing. Specs like weight and performance haven't been published, so ask for them too. The license and registry entry should help resale, because they're what a collector will check first. Since the car is built in Florida, US buyers can visit the plant and won't face import paperwork.
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