50th Anniversary Mustang Cobra is the Quarter Mile King
Slideshow: Here is set to dominate the NHRA Winternationals just like its predecessors.
Enter the 50th Anniversary Mustang Cobra Jet
It was in 1968 when Ford introduced the Mustang Cobra Jet, a turnkey Mustang model that was expressly designed for drag racing; it is not meant for public road use. This is emphasized by the fact that all Mustang Cobra Jet models have a unique Ford Racing number instead of a VIN number. The 1968 Mustang Cobra Jet was the fastest production Mustang of its time, and it ended up dominating the 1968 NHRA Winternationals and taking top honors in the Super Stock class of that competition.
Half a century later, the legend lives on! Given its continued success over the years on drag-racing circuits around the world, it is only appropriate for Ford to build a special 50th-anniversary Mustang Cobra Jet. According to Ford Performance, the 2018 50th anniversary Mustang Cobra Jet can blast down the quarter-mile in the mid-8-second range while achieving a top speed of 150 mph. Ford boasts that the 50th-anniversary Cobra Jet is the fastest yet.
The Ford Cobra Jet that birthed the Legend
The 1968 Mustang Cobra Jet was unveiled on April 1, 1968, and as you would expect, it was based on the famed ’68 Mustang. Under the hood, this first Cobra Jet featured a heavily modified Ford ‘428’engine. In stock form, this engine developed 335 horsepower; after Ford’s engineers gave it a larger 427 intake manifold, widened the valve heads, and made several other upgrades, this engine served up 410 horsepower. The 1968 Mustang Cobra Jet was capable of sprinting from zero to 120 mph in 11.5 seconds, which was super-quick back then. Only 50 models of the 1968 Mustang Cobra Jet were ever made.
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Subsequent Cobra Jet Iterations
After the late ‘60s, the Cobra Jet went on a long hiatus until 2008 when Ford commemorated 40 years since the first Cobra Jet was built with an all-new Cobra Jet. The 40th Anniversary Mustang Cobra Jet was based on the 2008 Ford Racing Mustang FR500, which was a performance-tuned race variant of the base 2008 Ford Mustang. The 40th Anniversary Mustang Cobra Jet was equipped with a 5.4-liter cast-iron block V8 engine with Ford GT heads, a forged crankshaft, Manley H-beam rods, Mahle forged pistons, and a 2.3-liter Ford Performance/TVS supercharger. Like it was with the 1st Cobra Jet, only 50 models of the 40th Anniversary model were produced. After that, Ford Performance produced new Cobra Jet models in 2010, 2012, 2013, 2014, and 2016, and the setup of each one was more aggressive than the last.
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The Muscle of the 50th Anniversary Mustang Cobra
The 50th-anniversary Mustang Cobra Jet is driven by a 5.2-liter Coyote V8 engine that comes fitted with a huge 3.0-liter Whipple supercharger. The actual output horsepower and torque figures for this engine have not been released yet, but Ford insists that the supercharged 5.2-liter Coyote V8 is the most powerful Cobra Jet engine yet.
>>Join the conversation about the 50th Anniversary Cobra right here in The Mustang Source forum.
A Modified Chassis
The 50th anniversary Mustang Cobra Jet comes with a modified chassis that consists of components such as special low-drag disc brakes that can handle the ultra-high speeds of this car and a unique four-link rear suspension that is fitted with drag-race-specific coil-overs. The engineers at Ford have also installed a 9-inch solid rear axle in this car that has been sourced from Strange Engineering. This beefy rear axle will help in putting this car’s immense power and torque to the ground and in improving the car’s straight-line performance. In addition, the 50th-anniversary Mustang Cobra Jet boasts specially designed Weld Racing wheels that actually feature 50th anniversary badging.
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An Altered Interior
To reduce the overall weight of the 50th anniversary Mustang Cobra Jet, many of the features and components that are available in the base 2018 Mustang e.g. the front passenger and rear seats have been removed from it. Ford has also installed an NHRA-certified roll cage in it, along with FIA-rated seats.
>>Join the conversation about the 50th Anniversary Cobra right here in The Mustang Source forum.
Get It While You Can
In honor of the 1968 Mustang Cobra Jet, the 50th-anniversary Cobra Jet will be limited to 68 models, so if you intend to get one you need to move swiftly. According to Ford, pricing for the 50th anniversary Mustang Cobra Jet set at approximately $130,000.
>>Join the conversation about the 50th Anniversary Cobra right here in The Mustang Source forum.
And, for information on maintenance and repairs for your Mustang, head on over to our How-Tos at MustangForums.com!