Car and Track was the first syndicated television show involving car tests. Watch as host Bud Lindemann heaps praise on a (then) brand new 1968 Shelby Mustang 500KR after giving it a "thorough ring out".
Car and Track originally ran from 1967-1975, testing a variety of new cars at the time. Luckily, thanks to Speedvision re-airing the original Car and Track shows in the late 90s and early 2000s, the show was not entirely lost to the digital age. Many of you are likely familiar with the excellent vintage Car and Track tests because my weekend predecessor, the great Murilee Martin ran several Car and Track tests earlier in the year.
This particular Car and Track review has something we rarely see these days, someone driving the snot out of a Shelby Mustang of the 1960s, especially a 1968 Shelby Mustang 500KR. The last two letters of the model designation gave the models the self proclaimed title of "King of the Road". Host Bud Lindemann made it pretty clear from the start of the program that Car and Track was smitten with the 1968 GT500KR. Car and Track mentioned few negative points besides the ownership potential of getting "a little bit tired of proving to every hot car on the street that his cobra-ized mustang is truly the king of the road" and of course the fact they had to return the car.
Lindemann did add the Mustang's fuel consumption and lack of rear visibility due to the "flat as a poker table" rear window to the short list of complaints. These mild concerns couldn't take away from a car with the beauty and performance the 1968 Shelby had at the time. The 428 Cobra Jet V8's 360hp were the "fangs of the cobra" and propelled it to a 14.5 second ¼ mile. Properly equipped with a standard transmission, we bet there would be more in the GT500KR. Host Bud Lindemann perfectly sums up the GT500KR drool factor at the end of the review; "The people that own them love them and those of us that don't would sure like to."