Introduction

The modern era of performance may be dominated by aftermarket companies big and small, but as far back as the 1950s, American auto makers were developing their own high performance parts for street driven cars.  General Motors, Ford Motor Company, and Chrysler Corporation were busy staying ahead of each other with performance parts and high performance trim levels.  The companies that are now the “Big 3” spent some 20 years, from the mid 1950s to the mid 1970s, building cars that would put out huge horsepower figures to dominate on the drag strip and the road course, and it was always made certain that they would turn heads while sitting still.  Even though a looming fuel crisis coupled with new government regulations helped to force the demise of the ‘muscle car era’, those factory high performance vehicles are among the most well known and sought after cars of that era.  It is with those vintage street legal race cars in mind that Ford founded their Special Vehicle Team, or SVT as it has become known.

Decades had passed without a real high performance Mustang from Ford Motor Company (FMC), and recognizing the desire for more powerful stock vehicles, Ford’s Special Vehicle Team was founded in 1991 by Neil Ressler (vice president of Research & Vehicle Technology, chief technical officer) and Robert L. Rewey (group vice president-Marketing and Sales, Ford Automotive Operations) with the task of giving new car buyers the option of purchasing high performance models that would handle any racing venue well, be it a quarter mile drag strip or a 2 mile road course.  Along with that task, they were given the sole guideline of “polish the Blue Oval”; by keeping in mind the “SVT Hallmarks” of Performance, Substance, Exclusivity and Value.

The first step for Ressler and Rewey was to decide how to structure the production of these new SVT models, and it was decided that the SVT models would be designed and marketed on their own, separate of the “regular” Ford vehicles.  They went so far as to offer SVT owners with a network of specially trained dealers, the SVT Owners Association (SVTOA), SVT representatives at major automotive events, and even an owners telephone hotline where questions about the SVT vehicles could be asked by SVT owners.  During that first year of organization, there were no models released, but in 1992, the SVT group debuted its first concept model; the Ford Mustang GT Plus, which was to hit the showrooms the following year.  However, a short time later that name was changed to the Ford Mustang Cobra, as the marketing team wanted more differentiation between the GT and the new SVT models.  A year later, the vision was complete as they became available to the public.

1993 - Birth of a Legend

While the Cobra name was used during the Mustang II era, as well as early on in the Fox Body era, those Cobras were little more than an appearance package added to the Mustang GT.  When SVT decided to go with the Cobra name, their intentions were not just to make a performance car, but rather begin a legacy, and although it took a few years that was exactly what they did.  The first run of SVT Cobras offered ten extra horsepower (235 horsepower) over the GT, as well as improved suspension and both interior and exterior appearance upgrades.  The ten extra horsepower come from the addition of ‘GT40’ cylinder heads,
aluminum Cobra specific intake manifold, 65mm throttle body, Crane 1.7 roller rocker arms, 24lb fuel injectors, a Cobra specific camshaft, and a Cobra specific Engine Control Unit (ECU).  The suspension items added to the first SVT Cobra were 10.07” ventilated rear disc brakes, a Cobra specific rear sway bar, and the shocks, struts, and springs were all upgraded specifically for the Cobra.  The only interior upgrades to the first of the SVT Cobra units were floor mats with the Cobra logo, and a 140-mph speedometer.  The Cobra stood apart from the Mustang GT thanks to Cobra specific front, rear and side fascias, a Cobra rear spoiler, 7-spoke aluminum wheels, and Cobra badges on the sides and rear.  The Cobra was offered in Black, Vibrant Red, and Teal, with either black or grey cloth, or grey leather, and total production of the 1993 model yielded 4993 units.  The Cobra was capable of dashing from 0-60 in 5.9 seconds and could run the quarter mile in 14.5 seconds.

Later in 1993, the SVT group took the Cobra a bit further towards the idea of being a street legal race car with the introduction of the Cobra R.  The Cobra R was equipped with all of the upgrades of the Cobra, but with all items not deemed to be necessary for a “race car”.  The items removed from the 107 Vibrant Red Cobra R’s were the entire sound system, the rear seat and all attaching brackets, the air conditioning system, all sound deadening material, carpet padding, the rear carpet, and the body seam sealant.  The heating system was spared, but only because federal safety regulations require the use of an air-controlled defrosting system.  The Cobra R was also noticeably different from the Cobra thanks to the Gloss Black wheels with chrome center caps.

The Mustang was not the only model introduced by the SVT group in 1993.  Prior to the news of the new SVT division, Ford had been planning on releasing a performance truck to combat the likes of the GMC Syclone and the Dodge Ram Sport.  When the SVT group was launched, the task of producing a factory performance truck was bestowed upon them, and as was the case with the Mustang, they delivered nicely.  The new truck was the SVT Lightning.  Based on the Ford F150, the most noticeable difference of the Lightning was the addition of the 351 cubic inch (5.8L) Windsor V8, which offered 240 horsepower and 340 lb-ft of torque, and like the SVT Cobra, the Lightning received the ‘GT40’ cylinder heads.  The Lightning was also fitted with a modified Ford E40D automatic transmission, a lightweight aluminum driveshaft, 4.10:1 rear differential gearing, special SVT 17” aluminum wheels, a sportier front air dam, and Lightning badging on the exterior and under the hood.  In order to enhance the handling of the Lightning, they received new suspension items which allowed the truck to have a stiffer ride, as well as sitting 1 inch lower in the front and 2.5 inches when compared to the basic F150, which lowers the center of gravity a great deal.  The interior was upgraded by means of unique bucket seats with electronic controls, a first for Ford trucks.  There were 5276 Lightnings built for 1993, offered in Black, Red, or White.  These initial Lightnings were capable of running the quarter mile in the high 15-second range, which was impressive at the time considering that the 1993 Mustang GT with an automatic transmission was only running in the low 16-second range.

1994 - SN95 Introduced

The Ford Lightning was available once again for 1994, and it was similar in every way to the 1993 Lightning, and the second model year saw the production of 4007 units, once again offered in Black, Red, and White.  The Cobra R was also dropped as the SVT group had focused all of its attention on the new body style, called the SN95, and designing the new generation of the SVT Cobra in just its second year. 

The new SVT Cobra still came packed with a 5.0L V8, but it offered 240 horsepower and 285 lb-ft of torque thanks to the addition of the same items as were found in the 1993 Cobra, but with an engine oil cooler, an overdriven water pump pulley, and a Cobra specific camshaft (duration: 227° intake & 270° exhaust, lift: .485 intake and exhaust, lobe separation: 118.5°).  Helping the Cobra put more horsepower to the wheels, are a front mounted power steering fluid cooler, a lightened flywheel, and phosphate coated transmission gears.  The suspension of the 1994 Cobra was also greatly enhanced over the similar year GT, and over the previous Cobra.  The 1994 Cobras were aided in their handling abilities due to 13" front disc brakes, 11.65" rear disc brakes, a Cobra specific brake booster, Cobra specific front and rear sway bars, Cobra specific shocks, struts, and springs, a more rigid K-member, and the Cobra did not come with a front strut tower brace.  The exterior of the 1994 SVT Cobra was enhanced with Cobra specific rear spoiler, a Cobra specific front fascia, Cobra emblems on front fenders, "Crystal" headlight lenses, Cobra specific round fog lights, "Cobra" embossed front brake calipers, and Cobra specific 17" wheels.  Giving an extra bit of sparkle under the hood of each 1994 SVT Cobra are Cobra stamped valve covers with a build sticker and signature.  The interior of the 1994 Cobra received a special white faced SVT 160-mph speedometer and gauges, Cobra floor mats, and a Cobra steering wheel center cover.  The drivetrain setup propelled the 1994 SVT Cobra down the quarter mile, when well driven, into the low 14-second or high 13-second range.  The 1994 SVT Cobra was instantly popular, with 5009 coupes produced, offered in Black Clearcoat, Rio Red, or Crystal White, and for the first time, there was an SVT Cobra convertible.  1000 units of this first SVT drop-top were produced, all in Rio Red, and they were all Indy 500 Pace Car replicas.

1995 - Departure of the Lightning; Return of the R

1995 would mark the final year of the Ford Lightning for several years, and 2280 units were sold, still offered in Black, Red, or White.  The SVT Cobra would remain almost the same as it was in 1994 right down to the exterior color options, and 4255 units were produced in either Black, Rio Red, or Crystal White.  There was still the option of a convertible, with 1003 units produced, 499 of which were sold with the removable hardtop option.  This option would only be offered in 1995, and all of the convertibles sold in 1995 were Clearcoat Black.  Aside from the removable hard top, the only addition to the 1995 Cobra was the “SVT” badge on the rear lid.

The big news for 1995 was the release of the 2^nd edition of the SVT Cobra R.  Requiring a professional drivers license (such as an NHRA license), the 1995 Cobra R was even more of a race car than was the 1993 R.  Much like the 1993 Cobra R, the 1995 variant saw a great deal of weight reduction compared to the 1995 Cobra.  This was achieved by removing the sound system, air conditioning, the rear seat/mounting items, and sound deadening material.  Furthering the lightening efforts was the installation of manual locks, manual windows, and light weight cloth seats rather than the leather and power options offered in the 1995 Cobra.  Under the hood was not the high output 5.0L found in the other SVT Cobras, but instead a new 351 cubic inch (5.8L) V8, fitted with ‘GT40’ heads, a roller high-lift camshaft, and a Cobra R specific intake plenum, and this bigger engine packed a bigger punch, offering 300 horsepower   Engineers were uncertain as to how much abuse the Borg-Warner 5-speed transmission would handle, so a Tremec TR-3550 5-speed was standard on the 1995 Cobra R.  The SVT group enhanced the handling of the 1995 Mustang Cobra R by adding progressive rate Eibach coil springs, Koni high performance shocks and struts, a larger front anti-roll bar, a strut tower brace, and the fog lights were omitted to make room for brake cooling ducts.  The finishing touches of the Cobra R were not applied by Ford, but by an aftermarket modification company in the Metro Detroit area called Masotech.  That company was responsible for the installation of the 20 gallon Fuel-Safe™ fuel cell, a heavy duty cooling system, and the high rising Cobra R hood, which made room for the taller 5.8L engine.  Aside from the hood, the only external change to the Cobra R was the addition of the 17-inch 5-spoke Cobra R wheels.  There were only 250 units made of this street legal monster, and all of them were painted Crystal White.  One of the reasons that SVT and Ford required a professional driving license to buy a 1995 Ford Cobra R was the hopes that the cars would actually be driven and not just stored away by collectors.  When these cars were used as SVT intended, they were capable of mid 13-second quarter mile times.  Sadly, this would mark the last time that the 5.8L engine was used in a Mustang, and 1995 also marked the historic end of the 5.0L engine in the Mustangs and Cobras.