Fastest Ford Mustangs Part 2 : 1993 SVT Mustang Cobra R

The Cobra R is built to go, turn and stop quickly, evident in the statistics: 175 miles per hour (drag limited) top speed, a quarter mile of 13.2 seconds at 110 mph, 1.02 g of grip on the skid pad, braking 70 mph to 0 in 160 feet.

Fast cars are expensive, usually, and there also qualifies Cobra R: $ 55,845. 300 SVT built for model year 2000, without presenting plans for a 2001 model If your order has not already been accepted for delivery, which begins this month to the SVT distributors selected through a lottery, the more likely you are too late.

The 2000 Cobra R is the third such iteration. The 1993 Cobra R was, moderately successful tentative step towards a very limited edition Mustang performance, with only 109 built. Next came 250 copies of the 1995 Cobra R, a full effort more effective; as proven in the April of 1995, our top-refrigerator white car with its pushrod 300-hp, 5.8-liter V-8, achieved a top speed of 151 mph, the performance of a quarter mile of 14 , 0 seconds at 99 kilometers per hour, 0.89 g on the skid pad and the brake 70 to-0-mph of 165 feet.

Great numbers, even today. "We have a simple rule of thumb for when it's time to develop a new Cobra R," says Coletti. "First, when there is a need, and second, when the new will be able to outshine the former, by far." The Model 2000 does, priced around $ 20,000 more than the 1995 Cobra R.

The exterior of the 2000 Cobra R was most unlike stocks the 1995 Cobra Mustang Cobra R made. The new version features a rear, functional (but not adjustable) massive wing, a huge front spoiler and an air separator which is mounted on the nose of the car using Dzus fasteners. SVT recommended mounting silence divider just for show or competition for career path - the car is delivered with it untethered and wrapped in plastic - because the first time you approach a curb can clean that divisor.

Under the body - painted any color you want as long as performance is Red with a dark charcoal interior - changes are enormous. Inside the cabin, there are almost perfect cubes Recaro front and, as noted, no rear seats. There are dual airbags, tilt wheel steering, a speedometer 180 mph, and some characteristics of electric drive, such as outside mirrors, windows and locks and trunk release. The interior is simple, sure, but not seen as brief as you would expect.

The shifter B & M Ripper is connected to a T-56 manual transmission Tremec six-speed. Working our way forward, we have a beefy 11-inch clutch single disc, aluminum wheel, and then the engine: A breathed-in, naturally aspirated 5.4-liter V-8 that pumps out 385 horsepower and 385 pounds-feet of torque.

The Mustang Cobra has the standard 5.4-liter smaller cousin of Triton, the 4.6-liter V-8, rated at 320 hp. But regular readers will recall our shootout (August 1999) that faced a 1999 Cobra convertible into a Pontiac Firebird Trans Am and Camaro SS. We were disappointed in the performance of the Cobra, and when we SVT test results, which did some reconnaissance work and found that some of the engines Cobra left the factory with less than 320 horsepower, mainly due to a Inadequate intake silencers -restrictive over and over.

By admitting this deficiency and trying to fix the affected engines, Ford and SVT did the right thing, but lost some credibility with fans and even became the subject of a class action lawsuit, still unresolved. Since the unpleasant experience, we have little doubt that the Cobra R makes the power and torque demanded.

How is this accomplished? For extensive modification, using a combination of pieces of junk parts, totally new parts and spare parts exceptional. From the top, an air filter K & N cylindrical feeds a new body of the largest butterfly in one hole, based on double unit Cobra hole and two-piece intake manifold. Butts started as units designed for racing program off-road trucks Ford, but they are essentially brand new - that increase the maximum air flow of 25 percent over the heads of the 4.6-liter Cobra. The camshafts are similar to the Cobra, but have more aggressive opening and closing rates and substantially higher elevation.

Aluminum pistons flat top are similar to those found in the SVT Lightning pickup and allow 9.6: 1 compression ratio. (Needless to say, premium gasoline is required.) Carrillo built the billet steel connecting rods. The total height of the iron-block 5.4-liter engine (which has the same diameter as the 4.6-liter V-8, but the race is longer, with a deck height is 29 millimeters higher) requires the development new engine mounts and a new cross-lowering motor 12 mm.

Exhaust manifolds steel tubular fit in a Bassani X-pipe, which is connected via standard Cobra catalytic converters, mufflers and exhaust pipes emerging tassel on the side. The sound is throaty but never invasive.

MacPherson front suspension struts modified with Bilstein monotube gas shocks, springs Eibach 800 pounds per inch and a 28-mm stabilizer bar. At the rear, independent suspension that debuted in the current Cobra uses superior steel arms control, aluminum lower control arms, Bilstein gas dampers double tube, and 750 pound-Eibach springs. There is a stabilizer bar 26 mm. (By comparison, standard Cobra springs are rated at 500 pounds in front and 470 pounds in the rear.)

Disc brakes 13 inch at the front are ventilated Brembo aluminum calipers and pads Galpher races. Cooling ducts lead from the front fascia, and no heat shields carbon fiber. Ventilated rear discs are 11.7 inchers with a single-piston caliper and pads Akebono races. Antilock brakes are standard.

And finally, the wheels are 9.5 by 18 inch aluminum alloy five-spoke bearing greases 265 / 40ZR-18 radial BFGoodrich g-Force KD that are specially made for the Cobra R. There is a full-size spare nestled along a fuel cell up 21 gallons of fuel.

How does this work? In spectacular place. We have participated in an endurance of 24 hours a Cobra R, which had few changes apart from a cage full and gave it maybe 90 minutes flat flogging in Texas Motorsports Ranch, a private racetrack located south of Fort Worth.

The handling is predictable dead-solid to considerable limits as these limits, mild oversteer again suggesting some are reached, but there is a hint of cola happiness. Brakes, because their size and pedigree suggests, are excellent with incredibly little fade, even over long periods of hard use.

The shifter B & M closed close takes a little getting used to, but has a certain execution once you do. The clutch-pedal action is surprisingly light. Power is always there, at every start: The final drive ratio is 3.55: 1, compared with standard Cobra 3.27: 1.

The direction is not as linear as we would like, but it is necessary. The BFG radial received excellent wear, but once heated - it took about 20 minutes driving at full speed - began to feel a little greasy, and after 45 minutes, we had to adjust our driving style to compensate some skating . Few careers Cobra R class could see last more than 20 minutes, so considering that, no complaints about the tires.

At the end of the session of 24 hours, the Cobra R was neither bloody nor bowed and seemed ready for another 24.

Perhaps the most laudable aspect of the Cobra R, however, is their behavior in road access. Even with the stiffer suspension, the ride, though firm a lot, it is completely tolerable. The powertrain never seems peaks or frantic. And those Recaro buckets: If you have to be stuck in a traffic jam, there is probably no better place to sit.

SVT no longer requires any license of competition occurs - SCCA, NHRA, or other - to buy a Cobra R as before. Still, we can predict the 300 built this year will fall mainly into the hands of serious collectors, with some aimed at the racetrack.

We hope even collectors, occasionally, put the Cobra R through its paces. Possibly the best car ever built horse production that deserves a bit of exercise.