Skip to main content

Ford's 2016 Mustang Cobra Jet challenges Chevrolet's COPO Camaro at SEMA

2016 Ford Mustang Cobra Jet racing footage
Do you like going fast? Really, really fast?

More specifically, does turning irritate you?

Recommended Videos

Assuming you have just under $100,000 to satisfy your need for linear speed, Ford has just the product to suit you. For the past several years, both Ford and Chevrolet have revealed drag-race-ready vehicles with absurd levels of performance, direct from the factory.

Ford’s 2016 model year iteration of its Cobra Jet Mustang is its most ferocious, with performance to peel the skin right off your face. Currently on display at this year’s SEMA show in Las Vegas, the Cobra Jet is designed to compete in NHRA Stock and Super Stock classes as a turn-key race car.

Among its long list of upgrades is: Strange Engineering brakes, an 8.50-certified roll cage, drag race-specific coilover shocks and springs, Corbeau FIA seats, five-point race harnesses and Aeromotive fuel system with trunk-mounted fuel cell.

Under the hood is a 5.0-liter V8 engine from the Ford Mustang GT with a Whipple supercharger and an unrated power figure. The engine is paired to an automatic transmission designed specifically for drag racing duty. The results are an astonishing spring through the quarter-mile in about 8.0 seconds.

Though Chevrolet hasn’t revealed the performance specs of its 2016 COPO Camaro, we do know it has similarly capable hardware and will therefore nearly match the Mustang Cobra Jet’s performance. The only other “challenger” to these steroid-popping muscle cars is Dodge’s Challenger Drag Pack, which was recently announced with a supercharged HEMI V8 and a $109,354 price tag.

Ford will limit production to just 50 examples with deliveries starting early next year. In addition to the $99,990 starting price, customers can add on extras like a wheelie bar (which it sounds like you’ll need) and a graphics package (which it sounds like will melt off).

Miles Branman
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Miles Branman doesn't need sustenance; he needs cars. While the gearhead gene wasn't strong in his own family, Miles…
2021 Ford Mustang Mach-E will offer Active Drive Assist hands-free driving tech
Ford Active Drive Assist

Ford is serious about making the 2021 Mustang Mach-E its most tech-forward vehicle to date. The electric crossover will inaugurate a technology named Active Drive Assist that will allow drivers to safely and legally take both hands off the steering wheel when the right conditions are met. It won't turn the Mach-E into an autonomous car, however.

Bundled into a suite of electronic driving aids named Co-Pilot360, Active Drive Assist is an evolution of adaptive cruise control with lane-centering designed to take over on divided highways. The system relies on cameras, radars, and sensors to scope out the road ahead, but Ford's approach to the technology is similar to Cadillac's because it only works on pre-mapped highways. This safety-first solution ensures the car knows exactly where there's a bend or a hill, but it also means motorists won't be able to use Active Drive Assist if they're traveling on a road that the technology doesn't know. Ford already mapped over 100,000 miles of highways in all 50 states and in Canada.

Read more
Mechanics will use Bosch’s VR tech to learn how to fix the Ford Mustang Mach-E
Ford Mustang Mach E front view

The electric Mustang Mach-E due out by the end of 2020 is Ford's most high-tech car to date, and the mechanics who will work on it will undergo a suitably futuristic training process. The company teamed up with Bosch to create a virtual reality-based training course to teach technicians how to keep the crossover in tip-top condition.

Instead of traveling to a workshop, mechanics will learn how the Mach-E's electric powertrain is put together using an Oculus Quest headset programmed with instructions. Bosch and Ford placed a major focus on the high-voltage electrical system, which was developed specifically for the model and isn't currently found in other cars. VR will teach technicians how to remove, diagnose, repair, and reinstall the lithium-ion battery pack, for example.

Read more
Most Ford Mustang Mach-E reservation holders go for extended-range battery
2021 Ford Mustang Mach-E and 2020 Ford Mustang

The Ford Mustang Mach-E is one of the most anticipated new cars of the upcoming year. Treated to a glitzy unveiling at the 2019 Los Angeles Auto Show, the First Edition of the new electric car sold out in a matter of days. Now we have more information on what the first production cars will look like, and when they will arrive.

The Mach-E First Edition was listed as sold out on Ford's website by the end of November -- shortly after order books opened November 18. Ford finally confirmed that reservations for the First Edition are full, without saying how many First Edition cars it plans to build. Customers can still place reservations for other models. However, as the name implies, First Edition models will roll off the assembly line and into customers' driveways first.

Read more