TMSBrad

Brent Hajek is a busy guy these days.

Hajek, owner of Ames Motorsport Museum, which features some cars no one else has, is preparing four Ford Mustangs in hopes of racing them in the NHRA Winternationals in February in Pomona, Calif.

“We have 19 days to get ready. Four of them will race. We’ll go to Las Vegas and test Jan. 25th,” he said.

These are not just any Mustang. They are the new 2008 Ford Cobra Jet Mustang, also known as the FR500CJ. They are the 40th anniversary car to the 1968 Cobra Jet Mustang, which won the Winternationals. They will join other new Mustang models, the FR500C and FR500S, as turn-key cars and will be available through Ford dealers.

The cars are for serious car guys and gals, Hajek said. The FR500CJ is a factory built race car with a 400 horsepower, 5.4L supercharged engine with six-speed manual transmission that is standard. An optional automatic also will be available.

The car itself is lightweight, at 3,300 pounds, and is National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) legal.
Most of the work to be done on the cars is safety requirements that are mandated by NHRA, such as roll cages and similar equipment, he said.

“Ford got as close as they could on the assembly line, and we have to take them to the next level,” Hajek said.

The cars will go 135 mph in a quarter mile and come from the factory timed at 10 seconds in the quarter mile, he said.


Only 50 units of the 1968 Mustang CJ were built and released to dealers, Hajek said, and the car won in its first appearance. The 2008 car comes with a unique appearance, including a drag racing wheel and tire combination and the Cobra Jet graphics package. According to Ford there will be an initial 50-unit production run, with expected price just under $70,000 each.

The cars will be factory built, ready for the drag strip with only minor additional preparations required. Those preparations are some of the work Hajek will be doing prior to taking the cars to the Los Angeles trials.

Ford information said the intent is to provide a Mustang that is an A stock competitor. The car is for off-road use only, and the vehicle identification number is replaced by a serial number.

Hajek made contact with Ford Motor Co. initially when he developed a race car that uses renewable fuel in 2006. He tested the viability of flex-fuel racing, a concept that utilizes a mixture of ethanol. Ford provided Hajek with a 2007 Ford Mustang with the intention of setting land speed records using flex fuels. His success with that car apparently proved his mettle with Ford, he said.
“While this was going on, we were pushing Ford to build a factory drag racer. They were happy with the success we had at Bonneville,” he said.

The 85 percent ethanol fuel powered the Mustang to a speed of 252.78 mph at Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah.

Hajek eventually will receive 10 of the new Cobra Jets. He is implementing the required safety equipment, plus doing some performance enhancement to make the testing in Las Vegas.

“We’re going to Las Vegas to test calibrations and duplicate the conditions of Pomona, which is the first full weekend in February,” he said.

TheMustangSource.com's FR500CJ Photo Gallery

Knight

I still can't figure out how a car that weighs 3300 lbs and only 400hp can trap 135mph.

steve-o

Or costing "just under $70,000"