Ford builds a new Cobra Jet Mustang for its 50th anniversary

This year marks the 50th anniversary of the Ford Mustang Cobra Jet , and naturally Ford is building a short run of modern-day Cobra Jet drag cars to celebrate. It's going to build 68 of them (get it?) in either red or white. It's also claimed to be the quickest factory Mustang yet with a quarter-mile time in the mid-8-second range and a trap speed of over 150 mph. Technically, the 2016 model was claimed to have an 8-second quarter-mile time as well, but presumably it was a high 8-second time (i.e. 8.9 seconds vs. 8.5 seconds).

All this speed comes courtesy of a supercharged Coyote V8. But for 2018, it's bigger than the old one. Ford added 200 cc for a total of 5.2 liters of displacement. The Cobra Jet also loses the production Mustang's independent rear suspension in favor of a Ford 9-inch rear axle and four-link suspension.

The Cobra Jet is ready for competition with an NHRA-certified roll cage and FIA-certified racing seats. This means that straight from the factory it can legally race in NHRA-sanctioned events — unlike a certain high-powered Dodge. But unlike the Dodge, you can't drive a 2018 Mustang Cobra Jet on the street because it doesn't come with a VIN and can't be registered. Still we doubt that will keep Ford from selling every Cobra Jet it builds. Pricing hasn't been released yet, but the 2016 model went for just shy of $100,000, and we'd expect similar pricing for this version.