John Coletti is Ford's Special Vehicle Engineering manager, and the thermonuclear boss behind the baddest-asp production Cobra, yet.

"Everything we've done on this car is a notch or several notches above anything we've done before," Coletti insists. "This 2000 Cobra R pushes the performance envelope far beyond the capabilities of any previous Mustang."

This R-version of the venerable Cobra has a monster engine, hunkered-down suspension, sticky tires, bigger brakes and wheels, Recaro buckets, and exterior aero pieces to keep it from flying at its quoted 170-mph top speed. 
Ford's massive 5.4-liter/385-horse DOHC V-8 barely squeezes into the Mustang's bay, even with engine-mount changes.

Ford's fire-breather is motivated by a 5.4-liter/385-horsepower high-revving (6500-rpm redline) DOHC V-8 with 385 pound-feet of torque. To shoehorn this howler into the regular Cobra's 4.6-liter/316-horsepower V-8's spot, new engine mounts and a lowering crossmember afford an extra 12 millimeters of clearance. But even so, the hood, with its bulging blister, barely closes over the honking, high-flow intake manifold.

Exhausting the spent gasses are stainless, short-tube headers, Cobra catalysts, a Bassani X-pipe, and three Borla mufflers. Said mufflers rumble out of dual oval outlets that exit on both sides in front of the rear tires. The side exhaust enables the installation of a 21-gallon fuel cell across the rear for race-day romps.

Six manual gear changes are now possible with a Tremec T-56 similar to that in the Dodge Viper. Substantially stronger than the Cobra's usual T-5, its ratios are also closely spaced for dragstrip or road course work. Remarkably, the clutch is the single-plate, 11-incher from the standard Cobra. Coletti swears it's up to the task. Our acceleration tests revealed steam catapult-like launches with 60 mph arriving in just 4.4 seconds and the quarter taking 12.9 seconds at 110.8 mph. That compares favorably with the Corvette's 4.8-second run to 60 and 13.3 at 108.6 through the quarter mile.

To more reliably and efficiently handle the 5.4's extra muscle, Ford specified beefier axle shafts, a 3.55:1 axle ratio and a Gerodisc hydro-mechanical differential with speed and torque sensitivity. But, of course, these goodies would be useless if the suspension couldn't keep the rubber on the ground most of the time. 

SVT adds Recaro racing buckets, B&M shifter, and 180-mph speedo, but subtracts the rear seat.

A creeper ride revealed that the R kisses the pavement on essentially the same front and rear suspensions and anti-roll bars as does the regular Cobra. That includes MacPherson struts in front and a dual A-arm independent in the rear damped by gas-charged Bilstein shocks. Special Eibach coils, however, lower the R car 1.5 inches in front and 1.0 inch in back for a center of gravity enhancement and a menacingly sinister look. (The front spring rates are upped from 500 to 800 pounds/inch; and in the rear change from 470 to 750 pounds/inch.) Surprisingly, this didn't turn the ride motions to brick, even with the R's harder control-arm and rear-subframe bushings. And it pulled an amazing 1.01 g on the skidpad.

Although no Town Car, the Cobra R's not painful either. It's shocking how sweet the R cruises on the open road. Yes, we admit that's hard to swallow, given no radio, no air conditioning, no rear seats, and most of the sound-deadening stuff stripped out. (We could hear gravel being flung from the sticky BFGoodrich KDs pinging off the wheelwells.) But it's true.

Cars with big motors need big brakes. To get the R stopped, Ford chucked the standard Cobra front calipers, and the 13-inch rotors are now squeezed by four-piston aluminum Brembos cooled by large ducts. In back, the rotors and calipers are Cobra spec with 1-millimeter-thicker racing pads. Our tests revealed excellent progressivity and power with a stop of 109 feet from 60 mph.

Local California car with no rust. Drives like new, all original and is one of the fastest Mustangs you will drive!