Ford building Mustang Cobra Jet drag variant
As the rest of the automotive world moves toward alternative fuels and electric power, does the world need another Mustang variant?
- North American Car, Truck and SUV of the Year (NACTOY) Awards Juror
If there's one thing Ford Motor does well, it's cranking out variants of its modern muscle car, the Mustang. You've got the GT, GT-H, the Cobra, the GT500, the GT500KR, the Warriors in Pink edition, the California Special, the Mach 1, the Bullit, and the list goes on and on. Now Ford has yet another 'Stang variant to add to the list: the Mustang FR500CJ Cobra Jet. So, what makes the Cobra Jet different from the rest?
Named after, and inspired by, the 1968 Mustang Cobra Jet, the FR500CJ is a factory-built drag racing variant. The interior has been stripped, which helps lower the vehicle's weight to 3,300 pounds. Skinny front tires and chunky, drag slicks out back replace the standard Mustang's street tires. The power plant is a supercharged 5.4-liter 32-valve V-8 based on the motor found in the GT500. The engine will output 400 horsepower and an unknown amount of torque. I can't help but be a little disappointed that, with a name like Cobra Jet, there isn't a jet engine under the hood. I suppose NHRA doesn't allow jet engines in the FR500CJ's class. Pity.
Ford says there will be an initial 50-unit production run with the MSRP being $69,900. I'm not really sure what to think about the Cobra Jet. On the one hand, I can't help but wonder if perhaps Ford's energies could be better spent somewhere other than the drag strip. In a world where most automakers are researching and developing alternative fuels and electric/hybrid power, the FR500CJ seems a bit archaic
On the other hand, the big engines and big power of drag racing are a ton of fun. I mean, the Mustang FR500CJ Cobra Jet may be a dinosaur, but what kid doesn't like dinosaurs?