A "clone" would be nearly identical in appearance to the original. A "tribute" in my opinion is simply a tribute to "Shelby", and not a copy of any specific car. That car above almost looks "Eleanor"-inspired from the remake of Gone In 60 Seconds, which is fine, but I didn't think it really belonged in a Shelby Maverick thread since it has no resemblance to one.
This thread went almost an entire year without a comment. I put it on my calendar to post on this thread on the 22 (one year anniversary of a comment), but it got revived before then, proving it is still alive and didnt need artificial respiration. The Mexican Shelby looms bigger than life even if none exist. That is certainly worth a tribute.
The hood mounted tach was a Pontiac thing and it looks out of place on any thing but a Firebird of a GTO!
I dont think anyone knows anything much beyond the photos, but there are 28 pages of reaction to them. Its sorta like a unicorn.....but there is a picture. There were said to be 300 produced in Mexico, but I think only one got actually made. If there were 300, there would be photos of them at dealerships, or something. My Frankenstein Comet could be a likeness to it someday without hurting anyones feelings.
I owned a 1971 Maverick Grabber and a 1974 Comet GT. The 1971 was a ruster and the 1974 was sound! I all ways liked the look of the front of the Maverick grabber and Comet Tail lights So I swapped the grill hood and front and rear bumpers from my rusty Maverick to my Comet. Many times I have been told by Car admirers that they have had Mavericks with the same tail lights as mine! I know it is not true but it is funny the comments I have gotten!
Agreed, unicorn.. If 300 were produced there would be at least a few survivors. Sorta like '69 Fairlane Cobra Jets with Snake fender decals. There were two(maybe a couple more) pre production models built and of course advertising photos taken(many of those), so popular belief is early models used decals. AFAIK not one model that is legitimate/verifiable has surfaced. Another one of those myths that won't die.