With quite literally millions of models sold, it can be difficult for any particular version of the Ford Mustang to really make an impact and stand out from the rest. It’s an iconic brand, and an important part of automotive history and a consistently popular car since the first ones rolled out of dealership showrooms midway through 1964.

Over the last 55-plus years, Ford has given us some fantastic editions of the Mustang, culminating in the 2020 Mustang GT500, a muscle car precisely tuned to completely redefine the muscle car segment. It has some of the biggest and craziest numbers of anything that isn't called Dodge or Demon, and its on-track performance rivals that of thoroughbred sports cars. It's a revelation, a turning point for the humble pony car.

But it isn't the only gobsmackingly good Mustang that's come out in recent years. There is another which, if we're being fair, does a much better job at paying homage to the original. It's the Classic Recreations GT500CR, a resto-modded Mustang in the Singer 911 sense of the term. It's a modern reinterpretation of Carroll Shelby's original vision for the GT500 Mustang, and it can be yours for an eye-watering $214,000 USD.

Other than the name and a handful of styling cues, these two cars couldn't be any further apart. But, how does the ultimate Mustang of today stack up to the best classic Mustang your modern money can buy?

Engines: Connected At The Heart?

2020 Ford Mustang GT500
via motorauthority.com

One of the biggest headlines around the 2020 GT500 is its engine: a brand-new 5.2l supercharged V8, codenamed "Predator," which puts out a staggering 760 horsepower. Its design is based on the GT350's "Voodoo" V8, which is in turn based on the 5.0l "Coyote" V8, but due to the increased power output of the supercharger, Ford had to ditch that car's flat-plane crankshaft design in favor of a conventional cross-plane crank, cutting down the staggering 8,250-RPM redline to just 7,500 RPM. Such is the price to pay for insane horsepower.

Reviewers have praised this new engine, Car and Driver saying "it sounds every bit as menacing as it is." Its output is good for 0-60 in 3.5 seconds and a top speed of 180 miles per hour. All this in a car that starts just under $73,000. That is incredible value for money, but is it the best Mustang V8 you can get?

Not if your budget can extend to cover the staggering $214,000 for a Classic Recreations GT500CR. Being hand-assembled and built to order, that car can be had with a selection of engines, including a 427 ci. crate motor from Ford Performance which puts out 545 horsepower. That's the primary engine choice, but if you'd prefer something more modern, you can option a 5.0 "Coyote" engine out of a Mustang GT or even Ford's 3.5l EcoBoost twin-turbo V6. The price tag, however, is big enough to make even the most insufferable "nice V6 bro" types sit up and take notice of your 6-pot Mustang.

But the V8 is the engine to have, and there's no question that the 2020 GT500's engine is the more technically impressive, but for those seeking the true classic muscle car experience, the 427 in the GT500CR is the better option.

RELATED: Ranking The Fastest V8-Powered Sports Cars

DCT vs 5-Speed Manual: Bigger Than Old vs New

Interior of the Classic Recreations GT500CR
via pinterest.com

Possibly the biggest differentiation between these two cars is the transmission selection. The 2020 Mustang GT500 is available only with a 7-speed dual-clutch transmission, a first for a Mustang. There is currently no manual option for the GT500. But when you have 760 horsepower at your disposal, does it even matter?

Where performance is concerned, it doesn't, and in fact, you get certain go-fast benefits from a well-tuned DCT that is impossible to replicate by shifting gears yourself. According to the Detroit Free Press, Ford claims this new transmission can shift gears in 80 milliseconds, or roughly 1/3 of the blink of an eye.

So nowadays the performance argument for a manual transmission does not hold water, but what about the experiential one? Surely, nothing can replace the feeling of using both legs to operate the pedals and the satisfying "snick" of a good shifter. Pulling a paddle behind the steering wheel and letting the engine match revs for you cannot come close to the feeling you get when you nail a heel-toe downshift, can it?

Much of the value of the GT500CR is the experience of the thing - something we can only interpret from the words of the lucky few who have driven one. The numbers are irrelevant when the car is built with such intricate detail and quality materials. It's a time capsule, a car that takes you out of this dumpster fire that is the year 2020 and back to some semblance of the 1960s, cruising around Detroit in your GT500 looking for Mopars to embarrass.

Which one is the better transmission then? Once again, like the engines, the modern 7-speed DCT is a marvel of automotive technology and the fact it's available for the relatively low price of the GT500 is all the more impressive. But, once again, the GT500CR's 5-speed Tremec manual transmission has it beat for the experience alone.

RELATED: Who Is To Blame For The Death Of The Manual Transmission?

What Is Shelby’s Name Worth To You?

Classic Recreations GT500CR
via motor1.com

Now, it's undeniable that these are both astonishing cars and phenomenal interpretations of the Mustang philosophy. However, neither one of them technically received Carroll Shelby's official sign-off. Yes, the GT500CR is based on a 1967 Mustang, but it has been torn apart and rebuilt to such an extent that the only thing it really shares with the old car are some body panels. The rest of it is all-new underneath.

The new GT500 is also astoundingly good, and it would no doubt have impressed Mr. Shelby very much, but it is also not a Carroll Shelby-designed car (though Ford technically sells it as the "Ford Shelby Mustang GT500"). This matters very little when comparing these cars on performance, design, engine, and transmission options or looks, but it does factor into a conversation about value. If you shell out $214,000 for a GT500CR - as six-time F1 world champion Lewis Hamilton did - you're getting something that has been torn apart and built by an independent shop with no affiliation to Shelby American or the man himself.

The question then becomes whether or not this matters to you. It probably shouldn't, but people spending as much as a two-bedroom condo on a hand-built reinterpretation of a classic muscle car may take issue with their new car's lack of direct lineage to its history.

The win for value absolutely has to go to the 2020 car though. 760 horsepower, 0-60 in 3.5 seconds and a top speed of 180 mph for well under $100,000 is staggering, and we can only hope that the low barrier of entry doesn't cause insurance rates to spike due to the number of accidents associated to the model...

RELATED: The True Legacy Of Shelby American

Winner: 2020 Mustang GT500

2020 Ford Mustang GT500
via roadandtrack.com

The 2020 Ford Shelby Mustang GT500 is the overall winner, for its unbelievable price to horsepower ratio, its clever gearbox, and the way it merges classic American fast-car philosophy with modern amenities and technology to create something groundbreaking. The Shelby GT500CR, however, is simply a more stunning car, a more remarkable creation of something unique and special, and it would win this comparison if it wasn't for its astronomical price tag. Not even nostalgia can offset a sticker price that big.

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