Ford Teases Drag-Ready Mustang Cobra Jet, Dodge Demon Beware
Ford has dropped a teaser image for its 2018 Mustang Cobra Jet, which is set to challenge the Dodge Demon for drag-strip supremacy.
Certainly, it won’t be for sales supremacy, as the Demon’s production run has come to an end and Ford won’t make nearly as many Cobra Jets. Oh, and the Cobra Jet won’t be street legal. So there’s that. But die-hard dragsters won’t care – getting a factory-prepped car that can tear up the quarter-mile will make those few who can snag one happy.
And if the initial reports prove true, this new pony will run.
Power numbers for the 5.2-liter supercharged V8 haven’t been released, but Ford is promising a quarter-mile run in the mid-8 seconds and the ability to achieve 150 mph before crossing the line. Drag-ready goodies include a four-link rear suspension, 9-inch solid rear axle, full roll cage, FIA-certified racing seats, coil-over suspension, and Weld racing wheels.
Just 68 will be built, available in either red or white. All will have 50th anniversary badging to mark 50 years of Cobra Jet availability.
While few of us will ever set foot near a Cobra Jet, let alone own one, it’s nice to see new-car news that doesn’t involve a crossover. There’s still strong rivalries in the pony car/muscle car arena, and the Cobra Jet is the latest entry.
The Cobra Jet will never see city streets, but that’s OK – seeing it take on the Demon at your local drag strip likely will be worth the price you pay for admission, as well as that gross hot dog at the concession stand.
[Image: Ford]
Tim Healey grew up around the auto-parts business and has always had a love for cars — his parents joke his first word was “‘Vette”. Despite this, he wanted to pursue a career in sports writing but he ended up falling semi-accidentally into the automotive-journalism industry, first at Consumer Guide Automotive and later at Web2Carz.com. He also worked as an industry analyst at Mintel Group and freelanced for About.com, CarFax, Vehix.com, High Gear Media, Torque News, FutureCar.com, Cars.com, among others, and of course Vertical Scope sites such as AutoGuide.com, Off-Road.com, and HybridCars.com. He’s an urbanite and as such, doesn’t need a daily driver, but if he had one, it would be compact, sporty, and have a manual transmission.
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You indirectly addressed this by mentioning that the CobraJet isn't street legal, but FYI the direct competitor to the Cobra Jet isn't the Demon but rather the Drag Pak. Considering our Drag Pak was recently the first NMCA Factory Super to break into the 7's, Ford better be bringing their A-game.
So Ford is building a car to compete with the Demon but it cannot compete with the Demon. A) Cobra Jet is not Street Legal. B) Demon is not a stripped down race car. C) Cobra Jet Lack creature comforts (A/C, etc). D) Demon has to pass emission, noise, etc requirements. So Ford couldn't compete with Dodge in a fair competition so it changed the rules. Ok.... I'd love to see what the Demon could do if under the same rules.
Pretty sloppy for TTAC. A non street legal factory prep raced car is not a causing the "Demon to beware" other than for click baity article titles. Nor was it a competitor when the Demon was debuted, and the 2016 Cobra Jet was already available. To further nail in that poorly represented point, the article itself points out that the Cobra Jet is celebrating 50 YEARS OF AVAILABILITY.
LOL @ Dodge Demon beware. Go buy a Cobra Jet and try to get license plates for it. I'll wait.