As everyone’s winding down from the haze of last week’s New York auto show, Ford is rearing to go with a new Mustang that’s actually an old Mustang that you can’t buy. Sounds confusing, but it’s actually really easy to explain. This is a purpose-built electric drag car called the Mustang Super Cobra Jet 1800. Why 1800? Because it’s got 1,800 horsepower, simple as that.
In case you haven’t noticed, Ford is bringing a new Mustang out for the 2024 model year. These next-generation cars are showing up at auto shows and are even the basis for several Formula D drift cars, but the Super Cobra Jet 1800 still looks a lot like the outgoing Mustang. That’s because it’s really an evolution of the Cobra Jet 1400, a previous all-electric drag car that Ford Performance cooked up in 2020. It was built to set records and make a statement, and the Super Cobra Jet 1800 looks to be more of the same.
A little bit like the Jeep Magneto 3.0 concept David drove, the Mustang Super Cobra Jet 1800 uses a very weird powertrain for an EV. Four PN-250-DZR inverters and two of Cascadia Motion’s DS-250-115 dual-stack motors don’t sound outlandish so far, but those electric motors are hooked up to a Liberty transmission that sends torque to a rear end redeveloped from the Cobra Jet 1400’s design by MLe Racecars. Yes, this is a front-motor rear-wheel-drive EV with a gearbox. Charming.
Feeding those motors is a new battery pack that’s claimed to be lighter than the one in the old electric Cobra Jet 1400, no doubt part of Ford’s strategy to pull several hundred pounds out of the electric testbed. Perhaps more interesting is the management – it’s all done on AEM EV hardware. Yes, that AEM, the same one that makes widebands for sketchy eBay-turbocharged Honda Civics. Granted, the software in this application is all in-house, but it’s nice to know how the aftermarket still provides, even in the electric age.
So what’s Ford targeting here? Well, it wants to set records for the quickest zero-to-60 mph ever put down by an electric car in an NHRA event, along with the NHRA EV record. Of course, since it’s rear-wheel-drive, it might also clinch the two-wheel-drive EV zero-to-60 record in the process. Pair 1,800 electric horses with massive Mickey Thompson drag radial tires and a prepped surface, and you should set some quick times. Will the Super Cobra Jet 1800 go quicker than 8.19 seconds at 171.97 mph? I guess we’ll just have to wait and see.
As for the “Super” in front of the Cobra Jet name, that dates back to the 1969 model year in the Mustang with a package meant to be a cheaper drag racing-focused alternative to the homologation-special Boss 429 for people looking to go fast. Instead of a 429-cube 385-series V8, the Super Cobra Jet got a 428-cube FE-series V8 with a stronger crankshaft and connecting rods than the standard Cobra Jet V8, along with slightly larger piston tolerances. The result was the same official 335 advertised gross horsepower and 440 lb.-ft. of torque as the more common 428 Cobra Jet engine, but a more durable bottom end. Needless to say, these cars went on to tear the strip up and be collectible classics.
Ford hopes to run the Super Cobra Jet 1800 down the quarter-mile later this year, with MLe co-founder Pat McCue behind the wheel. I’m sure it’ll be really weird to hear the whine of electric motors in the burnout box, but this battery-powered Mustang has the potential to click off some seriously impressive times.
(Photo credits: Ford, Barrett-Jackson)
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So *this* is the real Mustang Mach E.
Factory Experimental. Not for cars and coffee.
The more things change……
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eGRgVRR8c4k
The other thing about these EV swaps is that emissions become a non-issue. Which to many people in the hot-rodding community is a huge deal if you live where emissions tests are required.
I believe a new frontier with EVs will be the ability to precisely deliver maximum possible acceleration by stepping down power just enough when needed to minimize traction loss. Yes, there are traction control systems on ICE-powered vehicles today but the precision in power delivery for an electric motor can be greater and adjust more quickly to instantaneous conditions. That alone should be worth something in acceleration times.
And that’s always been the Mustang’s #1 enemy over the years – ability to get the power to the pavement.
Mine has the “quadra-shock” rear setup, a 2+2 damper setup that’s supposed to help, but I’ve never noticed it making a huge difference.
Indeed. An automatic weight redistribution system (fore/aft) might be handy as well – keep the CoG in the perfect spot to maximize traction on takeoff whilst minimizing wheelies.
The electric drop in is the new LS swap. Companies sell kits with motors and controllers to bolt in your engine bay to an existing transmission. You can dial the power of the electric motor down from its max to make it safer or you can set full power and really test those drum brakes. The most expensive piece is the battery still and most of the installs I have seen have only had L2 charging. I would not want people destroying some notable classics but if your muscle car came with a V6 and not the big block then by all means.
Yes, I agree. However, this is for a very limited application for the hard core racers. Hard to see that this would be a livable street rod possibility. There’s multiple issues including battery range, recharging, safety systems, comfort items without power, steering, power, brakes, heating air conditioning and many other electrical issues to go with things that normally are fed off the gas engine.