New Mustang Cobra Jet announced
Think expensive, track-only cars are a waste of time? Better look away now, this one can't even go around corners...
Ford has announced a new Mustang Cobra Jet - not to be confused with the Mustang Super Snake - to mark the 50th anniversary of the original car taking the drag strips of America by storm.
Powered by a strengthened, 5.2-litre version of the 5.0-litre V8 found in the Mustang GT, the Cobra Jet also employs a 3.0-litre(!) Whipple supercharger, enabling quarter mile runs "in the mid-eight-second range" and making it the quickest factory Mustang dragster ever built.
To handle its as-yet-unannounced but presumably enormous power output, the Cobra Jet also features a 9-inch solid rear axle, four-link rear suspension with anti-roll and panhard bars, two-way coil-over shock absorbers with adjustable ride height, and a low-drag disc brake system. Oh, and there's also an NHRA-certified safety roll cage and seats incase all that turns out to not be enough.
You may well question the relevance of such an offering but Ford certainly doesn't, seeing it as the continuation of a lineage which inspires customers to purchase and modify some Mustang muscle of their own. Eric Cin, Global Director of Ford Performance Parts explains: "From the very first Mustang Cobra Jets dominating the 1968 NHRA Winternationals to our modern-day racers, the Ford Performance Parts team continues to build on Cobra Jet's success at the track over five decades. This has inspired generations of Mustang fans to create their own performance machines for the street."
The new Mustang Cobra Jet is available in either Race Red or Oxford White and can be optioned with the throwback 50th Anniversary decals seen here, because why not? Production is set to be limited to just 68 cars, in honor of the Cobra Jet's 1968 debut, with each example priced at $130,000.
and meet the product team down the pub, to hear their development stories
would be great fun
3.0-litre blower? mwa-ha-ha-haaa !
this is a dedicated track monster and, like its forebears, the 68 units will be sold out in an instant
some background info
https://autoweek.com/article/racing/new-2018-cobra...
Has any manufacturer ever offered a dragster off the shelf before ?
68 cars ,perhaps they could have a one make drag series ?
Dodge did the Challenger Drag Pak
https://jalopnik.com/new-dodge-challenger-drag-pak...
Chevy sell the COPO Camaro
https://www.chevrolet.com/performance/copo-camaro
Ford have done the Cobra Jet for a few years
2014 - https://www.motortrend.com/news/2014-ford-mustang-...
2008 - http://www.mustangandfords.com/featured-vehicles/m...
Quite the market for this stuff in Merica.
primer on half a century of Big Three* drag racers
http://www.racepagesdigital.com/7-seconds-to-glory...
and race-ready GT4 cars, too
Camaro
https://www.motortrend.com/news/the-chevrolet-cama...
Mustang
https://performanceparts.ford.com/GT4/
*Bonus points for knowing the pony car produced by the fourth independent OEM, no longer extant
Drag racing is a delight as it is simple and satisfying. With handicapping, nearly any vehicle can race another. And though there is racing against others, just trying to run your best is a challenge. And, when running a quicker (read that "more horsepower") vehicle, there is an orgasmic type of satisfaction of feeling it get off the line and down the track. I have found fellow competitors at drag racing somewhat unique: they all seem smart, cautious and full of comradery. And in drag racing, "rubbin' is NOT racing" as crossing into your opponents lane is automatic disqualification. Though purpose built drag vehicles are very quick, a 911 Turbo S can deliver amazing results - so Europe actually has some excellent equipment to enjoy the sport. Or, put "720S" into You Tube search and enjoy wonderful displays of getting down the strip.
The Mclaren 720S just creeps into the high 9's, this doing 1 second quicker? It must be huge bhp and the tyres. The tyres. Hooters sponsored Hoosiers no doubt. First person in the UK to get one and brings it to a PH meet gets a hearty slap on the back.
Wait till they do the plug in hybrid version for all that low down torque
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