Ford unveiled its refreshed 2013 Mustang lineup at the L.A. auto show in November, but one member of the new pony family was missing: the non-street-legal, factory-built Cobra Jet drag racer. Worry not, racing fans, as Ford Racing announced the updated 2013 Mustang Cobra Jet and showed off the new car at the Performance Racing Industry show in Orlando, Florida. The new factory drag special wears the latest Mustang’s styling and benefits from a few mechanical improvements that should improve its performance at the strip
Like previous Cobra Jets, the new one isn’t actually a member of Ford’s consumer lineup. Instead, like the Focus ST-R race car, it exists as a part number in the Ford Racing catalog—part number M-FR500-CJ, to be specific. As before, the new CJ is fully race prepped and includes a roll cage, sticky drag tires, and an adjustable suspension. New this year are two 5.0-liter V-8 engine options, one naturally aspirated and the other supercharged; the 2012 CJ offered two supercharger options—a big one and a bigger one—for the same 5.4-liter V-8. Ford isn’t ready to talk outputs, but a company representative confirms that the goal is Stock Eliminator eligibility for both the standard and blown Cobra Jets, with the naturally aspirated car competing in Class B and the supercharged in AA. Based on the NHRA’s latest guidelines, that means the n/a CJ would carry between 8.50 and 8.99 pounds for each NHRA-factored horsepower. The force-fed Cobra Jet would be saddled with between 6.50 and 6.99 pounds per.
Ford Racing also lightened the CJ’s body and shifted its weight distribution rearward for better traction. The 2013 car is around 200 pounds lighter than the 2012, with most of that weight coming out of the front of the car. The rear suspension geometry is a work in progress, but Ford is tweaking it to provide momentary load increases at the rear axle—i.e. more squat—for better drag launches.
Ford didn’t overlook turning and stopping with this quarter-mile sprinter, improving both for the 2013 Cobra Jet. The steering rack now features electric assist, which should make directional changes easier without sapping power during straight-line driving. (The previous race car had a more hardcore manual setup.) For those who think an alternator constitutes too great a power liability, Ford again fitted the Cobra Jet with two trunk-mounted batteries, an arrangement that allows drivers the option of removing the alternator belt and still having enough juice to run the power steering and other accessories. As an added bonus, the extra battery means there’s more weight in the CJ’s rump. In the stopping department, Ford says it has improved brake-pedal feel and modulation by changing the ratio of pedal motion to master-cylinder stroke.
Limited availability is again the Cobra Jet’s key drawback—Ford Racing will only produce 50 of the race-ready Mustangs, and buyers can place orders for one at any Ford dealership on a first-come, first-served basis. Provisional pricing has been set at $85,490 for the naturally aspirated version and $92,990 for the supercharged model. That’s quite a price reduction over the 2012 Cobra Jet, which started at $91,990 for a base version and $103,980 for the model with the bigger blower. The 2013 Cobra Jet’s small production run should ensure that, like previous iterations, it will be highly collectible. For its part, Ford Racing seems confident that demand will outstrip supply; it’s giving first dibs on future Cobra Jet production runs to customers who place their orders after the 50-unit allotment sells out.
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