Ford Aims for More Electric Drag Racing Records With New Mustang Super Cobra Jet 1800
NHRA drag racing is a sport purpose-built to deliver maximum noise and drama, but as it turns out, the show can be just as exciting without gasoline. The Association created an EV class last year, and Ford jumped into the action in 2020 with the electric Mustang Cobra Jet 1400. There’s a new version of the car for 2023 called the Mustang Super Cobra Jet 1800, which promises to expand on its predecessor’s record-setting runs.
Ford said the 1800 is targeting the 1400’s world-record 8.128-second quarter-mile time, which it ran at 171.97 mph. Power output increased to 1800 horsepower, and the car got a several-hundred-pound weight cut to help its chances. Many of the shaved pounds came from the lighter-weight battery system designed by Ford Performance and MLe Racecars.
The new car also gets a revised transmission and battery, along with new data monitors and an updated rear-end with a fresh suspension geometry that allows the car to run larger Mickey Thompson drag radials. Proprietary Ford Performance software runs the show, and the system is powered by advanced hardware with new data collection systems. The automaker aims to set the record for the fastest electric vehicle 0-60 mph and wants the fastest two-wheel drive electric vehicle 0-60 mph at an NHRA event later this year.
[Image: Ford]
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Chris grew up in, under, and around cars, but took the long way around to becoming an automotive writer. After a career in technology consulting and a trip through business school, Chris began writing about the automotive industry as a way to reconnect with his passion and get behind the wheel of a new car every week. He focuses on taking complex industry stories and making them digestible by any reader. Just don’t expect him to stay away from high-mileage Porsches.
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race on sunday, sell on monday! who else has a factory electric drag race team?
About like watching slot cars... Whoooooo....
Has anyone ever been to an RC car race? It's fun for the operator, but its amazingly boring for spectators.
"Many of the shaved pounds came from the lighter-weight battery system designed by Ford Performance and MLe Racecars."
• Batteries can weigh less? • The weight of a vehicle matters?
Are we sure about all this??