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New Ford Mustang Cobra Jet Turnkey Drag Racer Revealed

This year marks the 50th anniversary of the very first Ford Mustang Cobra Jet – Ford’s purpose-built drag racing pony car model that in 1968 kicked off a longstanding tradition of dragstrip dominance. And today, Ford Performance unveiled the next chapter in the model’s half-century-long story: the 2018 Ford Mustang Cobra Jet.

The new, limited-edition turnkey race car will make its first public appearance this weekend at Detroit’s legendary Woodward Dream Cruise. Powered by a strengthened, 5.2-liter version of Ford’s venerable 5.0 that’s been fitted with a 3.0-liter Whipple supercharger, the Cobra Jet is capable of quarter-mile passes in the mid-8-second range at speeds of more than 150 mph. Like past Cobra Jet models of the S550 generation, Ford has ditched the road-going Mustang’s independent rear suspension in favor of a 9-inch solid rear axle.

Other purpose-bred features include two-way coil-overs with adjustable ride height; four-link rear suspension with antiroll and panhard bars; NHRA-certified roll cage; FIA-certified seats; 50th Anniversary-badged drag racing wheels; and a special low-drag Strange Engineering braking system. Additional 50th Anniversary badging can be optioned, and the 2018 Ford Mustang Cobra Jet is available in a choice of either Race Red or Oxford White.

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

Ford will build just 68 examples of the new, 2018 Ford Mustang Cobra Jet – in honor of the model’s 1968 debut. The factory turnkey race car starts at an MSRP of $130k.

Aaron Brzozowski is a writer and motoring enthusiast from Detroit with an affinity for '80s German steel. He is not active on the Twitter these days, but you may send him a courier pigeon.

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