NHRA - National Hot Rod Association

In the latest round of the hotly-contested Factory Muscle Car wars involving Detroit’s big three auto manufacturers, Ford Performance recently debuted their 2018 Mustang Cobra Jet, a limited-edition turnkey race car that honors the 50th anniversary of the original that dominated drag strips in 1968. The new Cobra Jet made its public debut in Detroit during the popular Woodward Dream Cruise. On the dragstrip, the car is suitable for competition in the popular SAM Tech Factory Stock Showdown, as well as Super Stock and Stock eliminators.

The Ford Performance Parts team developed the 50th Anniversary car to be the most powerful and quickest Mustang Cobra Jet from the factory; capable of topping 150-mph while turning mid-eight-second quarter-mile elapsed times. The project epitomizes the close teamwork between traditional and motorsports engineering groups to maximize the design, performance and durability of production Mustangs.

“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,” said Eric Cin, global director, Ford Performance Parts. “This has inspired generations of Mustang fans to create their own performance machines for the street.”

The newest Cobra Jet is powered by a 5.2-liter version of Ford’s famed 5.0-liter V8, strengthened and outfitted with a 3.0-liter Whipple supercharger. The car also features a 9-inch solid rear axle, two-way coil-over shocks with adjustable ride height and a low-drag disc brake system from Strange Engineering as well as a four-link rear suspension with antiroll and panhard bars. Additional factory-provided racing performance upgrades include an NHRA-accepted roll cage, FIA-certified seats and anniversary-badged racing wheels.

The new Mustang Cobra Jet is available in either Race Red or Oxford White and can be outfitted with exclusive 50th Anniversary graphics and badging. Customers can order now at an MSRP of $130,000. Production is limited to 68 cars, in honor of Cobra Jet’s 1968 debut.

In the SAM Tech NHRA Factory Stock Showdown, the Cobra Jet will again compete head-to-head with Dodge’s Challenger Drag Pak and Chevrolet’s COPO Camaro factory race cars. Through the first four events of the seven-race season, the COPO Camaro entries of Stephen Bell and Arthur Kohn won the first two races while Joe Welch drove his Challenger Drag Pak to back-to-back wins in Bristol and Norwalk. Ford racers Kevin Skinner and Chuck Watson are currently ranked No. 5 and No. 9 in the Factory Stock points standings with events upcoming in Indianapolis, St. Louis, and Dallas.