1998 was the last year of the “Round Body Mustang” and the only year that the “Sports” package was offered by the manufacturer. The “Sports” package featured black stripes on the hood no matter what color the body of the car was and that stripe extended over to the wheel wells, and the styling cue that made it famous: three vertical strip taillights.

Car enthusiasts know how to look at these changes, which might seem minor to those not versed in cars and understand how they contributed to the overall development of the Mustang, as we know it today. Some people look at the changes that came about in 1999 as a redesign of sorts, but they were not. They were merely enhancements to an already popular and well running engine.

In 1996, the revered 302 cubic inch (which was marketed as 5.0 liter) Windsor engine was replaced by a 215-horse power (160 kW), 4.6-liter single overhead camshaft “Modular” V8 engine that had two valves for each cylinder. It had originally been intended as part of Ford’s plan to “modernize” its usual variety of engines and was originally introduced as part of the very popular Lincoln Town Car.

The Cobra version of this vehicle came with a 305-horse power (227 kW and extremely high revving which made it even more fun to drive), 32-valve dual overhead camshaft 4.6 liter V8. The Cobra’s block, which was cast by Teksid of Italy, was made of aluminum and cross-bolted block. The heads featured split intake ports and had four valves for each cylinder.

To make up for the response to low end response typically associated with these kind of cylinder heads, SVT also put an intake manifold with dual runners on the Cobra. Because the short runner secondaries did not open up until they reached 3250 rpm, the early modular Cobras were much more responsive when driven at low speeds.

Mustangs are one of the world’s most recognized and purchased vehicles. Their popularity has never been questioned and it is hardly uncommon to come across a person who says that they want to either own a Mustang or have owned a Mustang. Mustangs are usually equated with a sporty and virile lifestyle-the epitomes of “hotness” as it were. While the history of the Ford Mustang spans some forty odd years, this article will focus primarily on the years 1995.

In 1995, a one-year only model, which was commonly called the Mustang GTS, was introduced. The Mustang GTS was considered by experts to be a “stripped down” version of the popular Mustang GT. It continued to feature the performance aspects of the Mustang GT but had only the smallest number of non-performance-based parts. This model included removing Mustang GT options like the leather seating, fog lights, a compact disc player, and power accessories. The vehicle was considered by many to be a “throw back” to the Mustang LXs of the pre-SN-95 time.