Driven: Velocity Restorations Built the Ultimate ’68 Mustang Restomod, We Drove It

This is a heavily modified 1968 Ford Mustang fastback coupe given a new lease on life at the shop formerly known as Velocity Modern Classics, know going by Velocity Restorations. They're a restoration shop in Cantonment, Florida, just outside Pensacola. This isn't the type of shop that'll spend months, if not years, building wholly bespoke custom restomods out of anything a customer brings through the door and spend most of it waiting on parts. But if you want a Ford Bronco, Mustang, F-Series truck, or Chevy K5 Blazer customized to your exact specifications and assembled by hand like a Rolls-Royce in just 14 weeks, there's no better shop in the world.

You might not get to build whatever suits your fancy here if that's what you're after. But if you can accept a slightly less a la carte menu and stick to a tried and true formula that Velocity's developed to perfection, you'll get your money's worth and then some. autoevolution was privileged to be invited to the Velocity shop for an up-close introduction to their especially unique restomod repertoire. We love old Broncos and K5s as much as the next person. But their mid-to-late 60s Ford Mustang restomods are likely the most desirable machines in the joint. Suffice it to say, there's hardly another restomod on planet Earth built to the insanely high-quality requirements of this world-class Floridian production facility.

From a bare chassis, Velocity puts each of its custom rigs through a meticulous and strictly regimented build process overseen entirely in-house by a staff of over 160 skilled craftspeople, some of whom have been here since Velocity first opened its doors over a decade ago. From body mockup and paint (Brittany Blue in this case), engine installation, and interior trim to the fit, finish, and final multi-point quality control inspection, each step of the build process, from the first turn of a wrench until it's sitting in the showroom ready for shipping, is handled inside Velocity's 135,000-plus square-foot facility.

With at least a few million dollars of industrial metalworking and 3D printing equipment on-site, items like billet aluminum door handles and exterior fittings, along with 3D-printed interior trim pieces, are just as attainable for Velocity as a multi-billion dollar OEM manufacturer. In the case of this Mustang, the foundation is rooted in a high-end chassis manufactured to the specifications of the Roadster Shop out of Mundelein, Illinois. This chassis in this Mustang is the nucleus of a suite of performance hardware that'd make any gearhead salivate.

We're talking about a naturally aspirated third-generation Coyote five-liter V8. The staff at Velocity noted how much their customers adored their older Mustang builds from the 2010s with last-gen Coyote motors. Still, the recent arrival of the gen-IV Coyote marked as good of a time as ever to sunset these models in favor of slightly more modern hardware. Still, the same guiding principle that forged Velocity's older Mustang restomods is still here in force, just with a few more layers of refinement. With 460 horsepower to play with from the factory, there's enough power here for all but the most seasoned track junkies—certainly more than enough for the affluent clientele of this kind of high-end, pro-built restomod.

This generational icon of an engine is paired with an equally modern Ford 10R80 ten-speed automatic gearbox with overdrive on this, the Velocity Mustang Signature Series. That perfect blend of a smooth drivetrain and classic looks was. Said looks made me go all fuzzy inside when Velocity rolled open the metal door to the on-site storage unit for finished vehicles at their Florida HQ. To give you an idea of the value of these restomods demands, a Dodge Demon and Aston Martin DBS Superleggera coupe also sat parked in this room as trade-ins for Velocity products. That's right; this ultra-high-end restomod shop takes trade-ins and offers financing.

But none of that was on my mind as I got my first up-close look at the Signature Series Velocity Mustang I was about to drive. All I could think was how factory it looked from all but a few angles. You probably couldn't tell what lurks under the hood if not for the larger, chunkier tires. The same applied to the interior, at least on first impressions. But to sit in these Black Classic Stitch leather bucket seats, you need to place your hands on the in-house re-conditioned Ford OEM door handle that latches like a bolt action rifle every time you open the door.

The tactility of this mechanism is enough to delight, but the plush leather and supple seat foam supplied by the artisans in the trim shop make for a place you wouldn't mind sitting for a nice, long road trip or a day at the track. The polished wood of the steering wheel, textured to sink right into your fingertips like all steering wheels used to be, preserves the essence and the spirit of a classic Mustang interior. On closer inspection, it's all sprinkled with trinkets of modern creature comforts people typically only wish could be shoehorned into an older car. The leather-wrapped door panels, so often overlooked in other restomods, are something to behold too.

Items like power windows integrated into a mechanism on the door cards to look like normal hand crank controls show Velocity's dedication to authenticity while subtly adding modern features. That balance between old and new carries to the RetroSound Bluetooth stereo system paired with four Focal speakers and a rear-mounted subwoofer, along with the beefy modern HVAC unit from Vintage Air. Apart from perhaps a center infotainment screen, there's nothing about this restomod Mustang that isn't also on a modern car worth its salt.

You'll need to upgrade to the Velocity Mustang Street Series to net features like a double din infotainment touch screen with a backup camera and center console-mounted wireless charging port to go with leather-lined Recaro M bucket seats. But in truth, you don't really NEED any of that stuff. Although the Tremec six-speed stick shift you get in the Street Series is probably fireworks. One day, one day. But you know you're not missing out on anything in the lower-trimmed Signature Series from when you turn the key.

The second that tasteful metal-trimmed LED backlit Dakota Digital gauge cluster comes to life, and you hear that Coyote V8 and custom performance exhaust roar, everything seems right with the world. In a negligible amount of time, all your life's stresses melt into a sea of noise and just enough driveline vibration to remind you what's packing in the engine bay. Pressing the shift lock release button on the top of a beautifully-milled shift knob gives a tactile response much the same as this Mustang's door handles, and that's all before the car had yet to drive a single inch.

For some context, more experienced auto journalists I've talked to told me bone-stock late 60's Mustang can be about as fun to drive as a shopping cart in many cases. With four-wheel drum brakes, tires from nearly six decades ago, and a live rear axle, stock gen-I Mustangs had a few things working against it when driving enthusiastically, despite being a total eyeball magnet. But as I crept around the dirt lot in front of Velocity's HQ, I didn't get the impression it took a bodybuilder to turn this old pony car in one direction or another.

With just the right level of boost out of this Mustang's modest power steering unit, there's still plenty of sweet, juicy road feel transmitted from the tires to the steering wheel once you get going. If you're only used to driving crossover SUVs or economy cars, the way an engine like a Coyote V8 barely pulls 1,000 RPM as it trundles at 40 mph is enough to bewilder you. It wouldn't shock me if you could nab 30 MPGs out of a car this light and an engine so under-stressed if you could be an adult with the throttle. In fact, that's another area that a ten-speed overdrive gearbox comes in clutch.

But where's the fun in that? The way this Coyote plants you in your seat with one throttle stomp paired with that symphonic exhaust is a high no doobie or shot glass could match. That ten-speed transmission really can handle the monstrous engine in front of it, at least on first impressions. It also felt like that gearbox was working hard beneath my feet to get the most performance out of the five liters of American beef under this hood. Merging onto any highway across this country, no matter how mundane the destination, is an event to remember behind the wheel of this Mustang, but that should go without saying. Zero to 60, you may ask? It's mid-to-high three-seconds every day of the week.

Remember that this occurs without the interior squeaking or rattling the way restomods built to lesser quality specifications sometimes do. With a comprehensive upgrade to the notoriously shoddy late-60s weather stripping, Velocity-tuned Mustangs won't leak like colanders the way strictly OEM ones often did in their later years. Admittedly, there wasn't much in the way of corners on my route around Cantonment with Travis, my media rep from Velocity, sitting in the passenger seat. Nothing but some long banked curves linking otherwise very straight state-maintained roadways.

But with factory rack and pinion steering, four-wheel Fox coilovers, and Baer disc brakes at all four corners, it'd be pretty hard to re-enact your average Cars & Coffee V8 Mustang departure in this restomod unless you legitimately had zero respect for the machine you're driving. As a competent-handling American pony car, Velocity's Mustang is a cut above its stock brethren. In the short time I had behind the wheel of a Signature Series Velocity Mustang, there wasn't a single solitary second that wasn't anything short of sublime.

Don't get it twisted; the experience wasn't the same as a modern Mustang GT with a classic body overtop, as well-intentioned but sometimes misinformed people who haven't driven restomods might assume they are. You're still well aware what you're driving is from the same year the Saturn V rocket made its maiden launch. What you're paying for with a Velocity build is to meld these classic and modern paradigms with no fuss, no hassle, and no chances to mess it all up trying to build it yourself.

I would've had no problem driving back to the Northeast from Pensacola if Velocity had no qualms with it. But what struck me the most about my time with the ultimate restomod Mustang didn't have much to do with the power, performance, or refinement. Instead, it was the public's reaction to me driving this beauty down the road; allow me to explain. When I drove my Chevy Malibu airport rental car down the narrow state roads leading up to the Velocity shop, I had folks in lifted pickups flashing their lights and tailgating me like I was a Spitfire and they were a Messerschmitt if I didn't do at least 15 over the speed limit.

That certainly wasn't the case in the Mustang. I distinctly remember a Toyota FJ Cruiser pulling up behind me around a mile or two down the road from the shop. At this time, I was probably pulling around 1,200 RPM and doing about five over the 45 mph posted speed limit. If I were in that Malibu, that Toyota would've been up my tailpipe before illegally crossing the divider to overtake me with a middle finger out the driver's window in true Florida Man fashion. But in the Mustang, that FJ Cruiser was, well, cruising behind at two to three car lengths as if to give ample room to admire this fastback Mustang as we cruised along.

Knowing that had I been in that Malibu, this driver being ready to ram me off the road, had a profound impact on me as it convoyed behind us for a few minutes . I could almost see the smirk on the face of the guy behind the wheel before turning left into the distance; such is the power a classic Mustang has on people. It's a nexus of joy, an avatar of tranquility; it's automotive ganja, and a reminder that inanimate objects really can hold power over people. And that's only if you look at it from the outside; from the driver's seat, there wasn't a single aspect of the Velocity Restorations Signature Series Mustang that wasn't mind-blowing. Keep in mind, that includes the price, and what might that be? Try $305,400 before taxes and fees.

But let's be real: after seeing all that goes into just one of the 100-plus restomods that leave these walls a year, no one should be complaining about not getting a dime below sticker price. The comparison above to a Rolls-Royce isn't too far off from reality, after all. All that highly skilled staff and millions of dollars in equipment need to get paid for somehow. The price is almost a bargain considering what you get for the money. With that in mind, could anything but a five out of five score be appropriate? Not in our opinion.