Arguably, one of the most polarizing two-door to four-door sportscar conversions is the 2021 Mustang Mach-E. Purists argue that the Mach-E might be a descent vehicle, but as the argument goes, the Mustang moniker should not have been attached to it. After all the original Mustang never came in a four-door version. That was enough inspiration for one Artist to find out what a classic 1968 Ford Mustang GT500 would look like as a four-door Mach-E-like classic.

Greater acceptance of four-door sportscars

The idea of a four-door sportscar used to be frowned upon. The old school of thought was that only two-door vehicles could be a sportscar. Although various attempts to make a four-door car sportier were out there, none really took hold of consumers to any great degree until the Porsche Panamera, fashioned after the 911 model, and the Aston Martin Rapide, fashioned after the DB9. Suddenly, classic and elegant lines somehow morphed into good looking vehicles. Slowly thereafter, other manufacturers have been rolling out their own versions.

Upsetting Mustang purists

If anybody wants to upset a Mustang purist, this is the way to do it. An Artist with the Instagram handle, wb.artist20, took a classic Ford Mustang and stretched it to form a four-door counterpart. But, it was not just any classic Mustang. It was one of the most iconic and rare Mustangs, a Shelby GT 500 KR. The rendering is below.

The Mustang Mach-G

The Artist calls the rendering of the four-door Shelby the Mach-G. The crossover-like car seems to sit slightly higher than the original, probably to give it greater SUV-like chops. Also, the most striking design feature in the rear, the classic fastback roof-line, has been massaged to allow for the extra two-doors and rear-seat headroom. This, of course, is the most striking differentiation from the original classic.

The car upon which the Mustang Mach-G is based

The 1968 Shelby Mustang GT 500 KR is one of the most iconic Mustangs for a reason. Not only was it a Shelby, but it was also the King of the Road, hence the KR naming. It was equipped with a Police Interceptor, 7-liter, 4 barrel, Cobra Jet, V8 engine. According to Car and Driver, horsepower was conservatively rated with 335 horsepower for insurance purposes. But, the reality is that back in 1968 that car was putting out over 400 horsepower and could do zero-to-sixty in under 6-seconds. Did I mention that was 1968? That zero-to-sixty time is what exotic supercars were finally able to achieve in the 1990s. 

Values of the 1968 Shelby GT500 KR

Hagerty places the value of a 1968 Shelby GT500 KR starting at $94,100 for one in fair condition. A Concours ready sample is valued at $205,000. Only 1,053 were produced and the value of the rare model has been relatively steady for the last year. One recently sold at the Barrett-Jackson auction for $178,000 in January of this year. There is one currently on listed on eBay. You can view it here.

The rendering of the Mach-G on a stretched GT500 KR is certainly one that makes people pause. Is it the idea of a classic icon being violated, or is it an acknowledgement that more and more sportscars are being stretched into four-door versions that causes the pause? In either case, this rendering is certainly an icebreaker at the watercooler.