Ford Mustang Cobra: Putting the Muscle in Muscle Cars

In 1993, the Ford Mustang Cobra made its debut. A distant cousin of the Shelby Mustang, the new Cobra was the first vehicle that Ford’s Special Vehicle Team produced. The styling was based on the third generation Ford Mustang that had been built on the Fox platform. 4,993 base Cobras were produced in that first model year. They sported a Windsor 5.0 L under the hood, offering 235 horses with 280 ft lbf torque.

The Cobra R was also produced that year, although only 107 were made. It was inspired by the Mustang Cobra, but was a more pared down version built for the racetrack. It had no rear seats and retained only the barest of essentials like the air conditioning, radio system, speakers, and rear carpeting. Even the noise reduction insulation was eliminated. It was the only Fox body based Mustang to ever be offered as a two seater.

It did have stiffer coil springs, larger brakes, larger anti roll bars, a strut tower brace and Koni shocks which were intended to increase the Ford Mustang Cobra’s performance. Modifications were also made to reduce the car’s operating temperatures as well as increase its durability when it was at race speeds. Such modifications included a larger capacity radiator and oil cooler.

On the outside, the only difference between the standard Cobra and the R Cobra were the wheels. The R’s special five lug wheels, also featured the following production year, 1994, on the Mustang GT, were later known as Tribars. Ford painted them a high gloss black and polished the center caps and wheel lips. The R Cobra was only available in Vibrant Red. Because so few of these cars were produced, they are a very hot item among collectors and enthusiasts. It is one of the fastest, rarest and most sought after collectible of the Fox Body Mustangs.