Time for some angry ponies from North America – all 900 of them packed into a 2022 Ford Mustang GT500KR (King of the Road). Shelby started the KR moniker way back in 1968, and only brought it back a few times making this high-horsepower model very special indeed. This Shelby 60th Anniversary Celebration, a 2022 GT500KR, had an upgraded 5.2 litre V8 engine which produced a whopping 900 horsepower – definitely not for the faint-hearted. Since gasoline is not cheap these days, driving a real one would require a good amount of disposable income. Thankfully Solido is giving us a cheaper alternative – a budget-friendly model which I will be reviewing today.

This model is packaged in a standard Solido 1:18th scale presentation box.   Looking at the model inside a box, I am very pleased with the specification Solido chose. I feel light blue stripes break up grey colour well, and silver rims are my favoured choice – but we all have our own preferences. The main body shell is crafted in die-cast metal, with plastic aero bits. Opening doors allow interior access and are the only opening parts. This is in line with their current offerings in this scale.

The metallic grey paint is applied evenly and I do not see any obvious signs of paint over-spray. Light blue stripes running through the length of the car and lower part of the doors are good but not perfect – they are however acceptable on a budget model.

Door shut lines are on point and I do like the inclusion of windows on both doors. They fill the frame tightly and give the model an overall enhanced look while protecting dust from entering inside. Speaking to other fellow collectors, I got a feeling that inclusion of windows is an important feature.

Inside, this Mustang’s interior is predominantly black, however, it is nice to see the addition of colour in a few areas to break things up a little. Seats are a good example, with red accents on the side bolsters, headrest and width of the seat. White Shelby, white and red GT500KR scripts in the form of a decal brighten things up and remind you this is not a plain Ford Mustang. The steering wheel and dashboard also have visible colour in either decal or painted form. This is true on the inside of door inserts too. The overall interior finish is very acceptable.

At the front, you will notice an iconic snake badge right in the middle, and Shelby’s 60th Anniversary celebration decal just above the engraved GT500 script. A Shelby script is also present on the lower front lip, leaving no excuses of identifying which Ford Mustang this really is. No descriptive license plate is therefore required, and a full front bumper is now visible. Looking at the front lights, I feel they could be a little more refined. Clear lens covers have a somewhat distracting mounting point. There are no perforated grilles at the front, and that is expected for a model in this price range.

At the back, this model looks quite decent. The 60th anniversary badge is present in the form of a decal, and black paint outlines the area in between rear lights and all the way around them too. The rear spoiler is also black and includes a Shelby script. I do like the dual exhaust tips on each side – they show good depth and are painted black inside too. The rear diffuser and a GT500KR license plate complete the rear end – the execution is good.

Moving on to rims and tires – I do like the choice of silver rims. This model replicates two brake calipers (one smaller and one larger) at the back, and one large one at the front – this is indeed accurate. Brembo white script on the larger calipers is a nice visual bonus. Tires show thread, however there is no tire branding.

To sum things up, l think there are some highs and lows on this model. I definitely like the spec chosen by Solido, but I feel there is room for improvement on some finer details. I do applaud Solido for giving us such a variety of models from all continents. If you like American muscle cars, then this 1/18 scale Ford Mustang GT500KR replica is a nice entry-level budget model to keep that V8 muscle dream on your shelf alive!