Ford honors the 50th anniversary of the Cobra Jet with the "quickest straight-line stallion yet"
2018 Cobra Jet Mustang. Image courtesy Ford Motor Company.
In early 1968, Ford built a limited run of 50 lightweight Mustang fastbacks, powered by a new high-performance engine that borrowed heavily from the corporate parts bin. These Cobra Jet Mustangs quickly became the stuff of drag-racing legend, so to mark the 50th anniversary of the Cobra Jet’s debut, Ford has announced a limited run of 68 for-racing-only 2018 Mustang Cobra Jets that the automaker describes as the “quickest straight-line stallion yet.”
As originally developed by Rhode Island’s Tasca Ford, the engine that would become the Cobra Jet consisted of a 428-cu.in. FE V-8, fitted with low-riser cylinder heads from the 427, the camshaft from a 390 GT, an aluminum intake manifold from Ford’s 428 Police Interceptor topped by a Holley four-barrel carburetor, and the cast-iron exhaust manifolds from a 390 V-8. Tasca called its creation the KR, for “King of the Road,” and offered magazines of the day the chance to drive and review their creation, which in turn caught Ford’s interest.
Vinny Lyons’ 1968 Ford Mustang Cobra Jet, one of 50 lightweight drag racers originally produced. Photos by Terry Shea.
The blue oval brand needed a way to compete with Chevrolet’s 396 V-8, and this new V-8 – which Ford labelled the Cobra Jet – seemed to be just the ticket. Tasca had already handled much of the engine development work, using components from Ford’s own parts bin, so the automaker was able to quickly assemble a series of lightweight Cobra Jet Mustangs in time for the February 1968 Winternationals. The cars were announced to dealers in December 1967, with the 50 units required for NHRA homologation quickly allocated to performance-oriented Ford retailers across the country (and Canada).
Ford couldn’t have asked for a better showing at the 1968 Winternationals, where six Ford-sponsored Cobra Jet Mustangs raced in C Stock Automatic, Super Stock E, and Super Stock E Automatic. Four of the six Cobra Jets advanced to the finals, where Al Joniec beat Hubert Platt (both in Cobra Jets) for the SS/E class win. In Super Stock Eliminator, Joniec would go on to beat Dave Wren’s SS/DA Plymouth in the final, giving Ford plenty of bragging rights in advance of the production Mustang 428 Cobra Jet’s showroom debut in April 1968.
The Mustang 428 Cobra Jet hit Ford dealer showrooms as a 1968½ model. This example is owned by Don Antilla. Photos by Hemmings staff.
The production 428 Cobra Jet V-8s differed slightly from the 50 cars built for racing only. Per an April 15, 1968, Ford press release, the 1968½ Cobra Jet Mustangs came with ram induction; 427 cylinder heads with larger intake and exhaust ports; “header type” cast-iron exhaust manifolds, a 735-cfm Holley 4150 four-barrel carburetor; 10.6:1 compression ratio; Police Interceptor connecting rods; and a strengthened crankshaft. Officially, the Cobra Jet was rated at 335 horsepower and 445 pound-feet of torque, but it’s likely this was a number meant solely to keep insurance companies happy. The 428 Cobra Jet’s actual output was said to be in the neighborhood of 400 hp.
The Cobra Jet V-8 engine remained an option in the Mustang lineup through the 1973 model year, but by then it was a shadow of its former self. With a displacement of 351-cu.in. and an output (admittedly measured in SAE net terms instead of SAE gross) of just 248 hp, the final Cobra Jet Mustang set the stage for what was to come in an era of greatly reduced performance, stringent emission controls, and escalating gasoline prices.
In 2008, to honor the 40th anniversary of the original racing-only Cobra Jet, Ford announced a special production run of 50 Mustang Cobra Jets. Each was a purpose-built race car, delivered with a serial number but without a VIN, and equipped with a 5.4-liter Cobra Jet V-8, the buyer’s choice of a six-speed manual or a three-speed automatic transmission, a Ford nine-inch rear axle, a one-piece driveshaft, Ford Racing shocks with drag-race springs, Cobra Jet rear control arms and an anti-roll bar, and Cobra Jet wheels.
Ford’s 2016 Mustang Cobra Jet, the first sixth-generation Mustang with a solid rear axle. Photo courtesy Ford Motor Company.
The project proved so successful that Ford built follow-up Cobra Jets (for racing use only) in 2010, 2012, 2013, 2014, and 2016. Each was built in a production run of 50, and the final version came powered by supercharged V-8 reportedly capable of powering the car though the quarter-mile in the mid-8-second range. Since the sixth-generation Mustang – launched in 2015 – came equipped with an independent rear suspension, the 2016 Cobra Jet variant was the first such model equipped with a solid rear axle. Priced from $99,990, it was a relative bargain for those looking to acquire a turnkey drag racer.
The 2018 Cobra Jet will offer more of the same. Ford will announce exact pricing and specifications later in the year, but promises the 50th-anniversary Cobra Jet – powered by a supercharged 5.2-liter Coyote V-8 – will be the quickest ever, running the quarter-mile in the 8s at a trap speed over 150 mph. The 68 cars produced, in Wimbledon White and Race Red, will pay homage to the year that the Cobra Jet debuted, and each will be available with 50th- anniversary graphics and badging. Standard equipment will include a unique four-link rear suspension, a Ford 9-inch solid rear axle from Strange Engineering, an NHRA-certified roll cage, Racetech FIA seats, a coil-over suspension designed for drag racing, and Weld Racing wheels.
Ford says the 2018 Mustang Cobra Jet will be legal to run in National Hot Rod Association, National Mustang Racers Association, and National Muscle Car Association events.
SOURCE: HEMMINGS
AUTHOR: Kurt Ernst