The 1994 through 2004 Ford Mustang was overshadowed by the Fox Body and the 2005 through 2014 cars. But it offered a huge jump in performance over the Fox Body and provided a much more affordable option for newer Mustangs. The best car of the bunch was the 2003 to 2004 Cobra which was equipped with a supercharged 4.6 liter V8 engine.
Recently, Late Model Restorations featured this Competition Orange Ford Mustang Cobra on their YouTube channel. It’s stock bone except for Nitto NT555 D2 tires and a Ford Racing differential cover. Owned by Tony Messina, only driven 23K miles since leaving the factory and still looking brand new.
It also runs as well as it looks, with a raspy but subtle roar from the exhaust. Rated at 390 horsepower, the free-spinning engine breathes through a 32-valve DOHC cylinder head and redlines at 6,100 RPM. There’s torque everywhere, peaking at 390 pound-feet, giving it a nice, even powerband.
Dubbed the “Terminator” by SVT engineers, the 2003 to 2004 Cobra reportedly produced more horsepower than advertised. It’s possible that Ford underestimated the power figures after its failure with the 1999 Cobra, which produced only 285 horsepower instead of the claimed 320. Torque is a healthy 377 pound-feet at 3,100 RPM. Both numbers are impressive for a car nearly 20 years old and better than the similar 2003 Mustang Cobra with an odometer of only 2,500 miles.
Equally impressive is the Mustang Cobra’s hardware. In addition to the 32-valve DOHC V8, Ford added an Eaton M-112 roots-type supercharger. The Tremec T-56’s 6-speed manual transmission puts power into independent rear suspension and differential with a final drive ratio of 3.55:1.
The 2004 Mustang Cobra is arguably not as polished as the modern Ford Mustang, but it’s not far off in performance. It would be cool to see a drag race with Mustangs from a different era, like the modern GT and the 1970’s Boss 302, or even against the Mustang Mach-E like last summer’s race.
