DEARBORN, MI (Aug. 2006) -- Ever since the Shelby GT500 was unveiled as a Ford concept car during the 2005 New York International Auto Show, we've been busy telling the world just how much pure performance has been engineered into this very special Mustang. And after we featured the production version on the March 2006 cover of Inside the Oval, the official publication of Ford Racing, the GT500 has been one of our favorite topics. It's been difficult for us to contain our excitement over the GT500's sleek, functional body design, or the impressive acceleration from its supercharged 5.4-liter V-8's 500 horses, or the surefooted handling of its race-proven chassis.

It's one thing for us to say that the new GT500 is the most powerful production Mustang ever, because the numbers don't lie. But it's quite another for us to convince you that no other modern-day performance car has come closer to delivering the kind of exhilarating driving experience only found behind the wheel of a classic, big-block American muscle car. For our money, when it comes to giving you real bang for the buck, there's nothing else quite like piloting a new Shelby GT500 at even twice the price.

But you don't have to take our word for it anymore. Even before the GT500 began to arrive in dealer showrooms this summer, it was gracing covers and winning acclaim in the enthusiast press as the first round of preview drives and road tests were hitting the newsstands. From the so-called "buff-books" to all the Mustang-themed magazines, from newspaper columns to Internet web sites and blogs, the 2007 Shelby GT500 quickly became the darling of performance-savvy journalists the world over.

The experienced staff at Car and Driver set some high expectations when their first-blush GT500 test drive in the July 2005 issue netted a 4.5-second 0-60 mph time and a quarter-mile sprint from a standing start in the high 12-second range. Like us, Car and Driver instantly made the connection between the new GT500 and its forbearer of some 40 years ago: "They say those who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it, but Ford's Special Vehicle Team has very carefully studied the Mustang's history - specifically, the chapter on the 1967-70 Mustang Shelby GT500 - and is gleefully set to repeat it, in spades, with no less an authority than Carroll Shelby himself adding his blessing and the use of his name."

The editors at Road & Track got right to the point in their July 2006 GT500 evaluation when they wrote, "Unquestionably most pulse-quickening is the sledgehammer acceleration." Their counterparts over at AutoWeek went a bit further in their June 2006 review by saying that, "as a whole, the GT500 is a fun car to drive, with tons of torque all over the tach right up to its 6,250-rpm redline." And in case you thought all that power means the new Shelby would be a handful to drive day-in and day-out, the staff down the road at Automobilemagazine brought it all into perspective when their July 2006 report noted the GT500 "goes fast, stops well, corners hard enough to scare dates, and should be comfortable to live with on a daily basis."

While we realize that the magazines with the word "Mustang" in their titles are among Ford's biggest fans, they're also often our toughest critics. That said, we couldn't wait until the hotshoes over at Muscle Mustangs & Fast Fords got their chance to go play with a GT500 at the dragstrip. Not surprisingly, they finessed some eye-opening performance numbers out of the new Shelby: How about a 12.26-second quarter-mile pass with a blazing 117.8-mph trap speed? Although their August 2006 review tried to capture the staff's feelings by saying simply, "It's remarkable how much brute power this automobile has," the MM&FF editors clearly let their numbers do their talking.

There's no doubt that as Ford's high-performance flagship for 2007, the Shelby GT500 isn't a car for everybody. But many who have tested it agree that it is truly the rebirth of one of Ford Motor Company's most iconic performance vehicles of all time. Perhaps the editors over at Motor Trend summed it up best in their July 2006 issue when they wrote: "No one in the world builds a car this charismatic, this accomplished, with this much performance, for the money."

For now, we'll just try to keep from saying, "we told you so..."