Ann Arbor — Auto startups are all the rage this decade as entrepreneurs see a historic shift to electrified and autonomous vehicles. On the electric front, companies like Rivian, Fisker, Lightning eMotors, Lordstown and Vinfast aim to recreate the magic that made Tesla the industry’s highest-valued automaker. Tesla, meanwhile, dreams of a self-driving jackpot alongside startups Cruise, Waymo and Zooks, which are flooding select cities with the latest self-driving bots.
But while these automakers chase huge market caps for a new world order, other startups are going back to the future.
Startups like Revology, which is manufacturing a stable-full of classic 1960s Mustangs upgraded with state-of-the-art tech. If more startups follow (Los Angeles-based Singer Design does resto-mod Porsche 911s), it echoes the automotive future predicted by industry icon and ex-GM Vice Chairman Bob Lutz in 2019.
“We are approaching the end of the line for the automobile because travel will be in . . . fully autonomous modules. You will call for it, input your destination and go to the freeway,” wrote Lutz in a much-buzzed-about Automotive News op-ed. “Like racehorse breeders, there will be manufacturers of race cars and sports cars and off-road vehicles. But it will be a cottage industry.”
Perhaps like the 51,000-square-foot Orlando “cottage” where Revology churns out its ponies. Now in its sixth year of production, Revology is growing with eight models to choose from, including best-sellers the1966 GT convertible and 1967 Shelby GT500 that I tested here. While the company has a sliver of the production orders from massive startups like California-based Rivian (not to mention market cap) it has moved production in-house and is nearly doubling output to 64 vehicles this year.
“Our customers want V-8 engines,” smiled CEO and founder Tom Scarpello from the right seat before I drowned him out by flattening the throttle and letting loose 710 horses down Huron River Drive.
With disposable income to buy Revology’s $200k-plus cars, Scarpello’s customers look a lot like Lutz’s “well-to-do (drivers who), to the amazement of all their friends, still know how to drive.”
Customers like Edsel Ford and Ford Executive Chairman Bill Ford who — while touting an all-EV Ford future — makes no secret about his love for classic ponies. Bill Ford has a 1966 Revology GT Convertible on order.
“The V-8 engines are part of the experience. You just feel it,” said Scarpello after I brought the GT500 back to earth at a dull roar. “We talk to our customers about making EVs with classic Mustang bodies, but they don’t want electrification.”
What they want is that timeless Mustang style — our growling, ’67 GT500 stopped people in their tracks as we cruised through Ann Arbor — but without the hassle of owning an aging classic with 55-year-old wiring. They also want the latest amenities like a touchscreen, backup camera, Apple CarPlay, push-button start, and — well, Roush power.
Sourced from Roush in Livonia, the supercharged 5.0-liter Coyote V-8 under the hood puts out an astonishing 710 horsepower compared to the original’s 335.
The first company to license Ford and Shelby heritage models and refresh them with modern know-how, Revology offers these models for order on its website, just like a big automaker:
-1966 GT Convertible ($255,700)-1966 GT 2+2 Fastback ($263, 470)-1966 Shelby GT350 ($283,660)-1967 GT 2+2 Fastback ($249,855)-1967 Shelby GT350 ($271,950)-1967 Shelby GT500 ($320,600)-1968 GT 2+2 Fastback (248,345)-1968 GT500 KR ($320,600)
Scarpello knows muscle. He started in manufacturing with Ford in 1988 before going back to school for degrees in finance and marketing. Working for Ford’s SVT performance division from 1998-2004 — which inspired vehicles like the Ford GT — inspired Revology’s mission.
“That was a great time,” said Scarpello. “We worked at a company within a company. A lot of that philosophy I’ve adopted with Revology. We’re taking an existing (Mustang) design and modifying it to make the cars more fun to drive. We want to keep their style and character and make them modern in the way they function.”
He has slowly built his business — first sourcing bodies from Dynacorn in which to stuff the Herculean engines from Roush. But over time, he has learned manufacturing integration, and now his ponies are made in house on a single chassis to better fine-tune the product. That has led to changes like a new 8.8-inch rear axle.
“We are able to control the packaging. WE need to have the dimensions exactly right,” said the Revology chief. “We are loading so much more power into the body than the original design.”
It’s a fine balance. At the reins of the GT500 (car #163 that Revology has built), I found the beast remarkably poised like a modern Mustang GT even as I gripped a wood steering wheel right out of the ‘60s. In addition to the old school six-speed manual, about 50% of customers opt for Ford’s state-of-the-art, 10-speed transmission. I could even Bluetooth my phone — if you can hear it ring.
Revology has added minimal sound-deadening material to keep the V-8’s raw emotion. Other throwbacks include high beams that are still activated by your foot toggling a floorboard button.
Part of what’s driving the industry to electrification is prohibitive, mutli-million-dollar fines to discourage V-8 engines. But Scarpello’s cottage flies under those regulations as long as he makes fewer than 325 vehicles a year with industry-proven engines and chassis equipment..
He’s a long way from 325. But as he ramps up production — his cottage now employs 92 elves — other manufacturers are eager for him to maintain the Detroit legacy.
“Chevrolet and Dodge have both expressed interest in doing similar, classic Camaro and Challenger models,” he smiled. “Though they haven’t said if they’d provide the capital.” Scarpello financed the company himself, and he has been careful not to get ahead of his skis.
“Very few costumer products have had the life cycle that Mustang has had, and that really resonates with people,” he said. Indeed, Ford is just rolling out its latest, seventh-generation pony on a global scale, which in turn complements Revology’s classics. “It’s a global phenomenon — we have customers in 15 countries.”
Henry Payne is auto critic for The Detroit News. Find him at hpayne@detroitnews.com or Twitter @HenryEPayne