1996/1997 – The Modular Era Begins

1996 marked the first year of the SVT where only one vehicle was available.  The Lightning had been removed pending redesign, and the Cobra R was also gone.  There would not be a second model offered by SVT until 1998.  Luckily, the SVT group made sure that they made the most of their 1996 Ford Mustang SVT Cobra.  While the majority of the SVT Cobra exterior remained the same, there were a few upgrades, such as the new Cobra hood equipped with “nostrils”, and the Cobra specific “Cobra” rear fascia, letting opponents know exactly what was beating them down the track.  The interior trim remained the same as the previous year’s Cobra, and under the hood, the special Cobra valve covers still had the build sticker and signature.  What was different under the hood of the 1996 SVT Cobra was the new modular engine, displacing 4.6L and making 305 horsepower and 300 lb-ft of torque.  The 5.0L engine was no longer offered, and the Cobra shared a similar engine to the GT models, except the GTs had a single overhead camshaft design (SOHC) and 2 valves-per-cylinder while the Cobra had a dual overhead camshaft design (DOHC) with 4 valves-per-cylinder.  Due to some weight differences, the 1996 Cobra, while having more power than the 1995 Cobra R, was a bit slower than the race model and could run the quarter in the low 14-second and high 13-second range.  1996 proved to be the most popular year for the Cobra, with 10002 units produced (7492 coupes, 2510 convertibles) in Black, Laser Red, Crystal White, and 1999 coupes sold in “Mystic”.  Mystic was a limited edition paint option that appeared to change color from purple to green depending on what angle you were approaching the car.  The Chicago Auto Show brought the world its first glimpse of the upcoming Ford SVT Contour, which was to be Ford’s first mid-sized, front wheel drive sport sedan in the US market.

1997 was a fairly dull year for SVT enthusiasts, as the SVT Cobra was still the only model offered, and it was offered exactly the same as it had been offered in 1996.  The only change was the removal of Mystic as a paint option, and that was replaced by Pacific Green.  1997 beat out 1996 as the most popular year for the Mustang Cobra, with 10049 units sold (6961 coupes, 3088 convertibles), and that would stand as the highest production year until 2003.  During the summer of 1997, the Ford SVT Contour arrives in showrooms as an early release of a 1998 model.

1998 – The Contour of the Performance market shifts

The constantly rising price of gasoline and the market-wide shift to predominantly front wheel drive lineups began sending young speed freaks away from gas guzzling rear-wheel-drive V8s to more efficient front-wheel-drive cars packed with 4- and 6-cylinder engines.  The leaders in this movement of FWD performance were typically Japanese companies such as Honda, but the American automakers would not be long to join the FWD performance party, and in 1998 Ford released their new Ford SVT Contour.  The Contour had debuted in the United States in 1995, and received a European-themed refresh for 1998, and along with that refresh was the introduction of a performance model.  The SVT Contour, like the SVT Cobra and Lightning, was made to handle the twisties as well as it handles the quarter mile, and that starts with the power plant.  The SVT Contour uses the same 2.5L Duratec engine that comes in the Contour SE, but where the SE model has only 160 horsepower, the SVT model offers the driver 195 horsepower, funneled to the road by means of a close ratio 5-speed manual transmission.  The added power is made thanks to minor tuning, as well as an intake plenum with longer runners.  The SVT contour had a far more aggressive stance than it’s base model sibling, thanks in part to the unique SVT front and rear fascias, SVT wheels, and a tuned suspension setup.  The SVT Contour was much quicker than the SE model with the 2.5L engine, running about 2 seconds faster in the quarter mile than the less sporty version, turning out low 15-second times.  The SVT Contour was not as big of a success as FMC had hoped, but with 6535 units sold, the Contour was making a name for itself.

The SVT Cobra was still offered, and it was almost identical to the 1996 and 1997 models, with the exception of a few new paint options.  The new colors for 1998 on the SVT Cobra were Atlantic Blue and Chrome Yellow, and Rio Red was removed in place of Laser Red.  There were a total of 8654 Cobras sold in 1998, with 5174 being coupes and 3490 being convertibles.  This would mark the final year of the SN95 body style, as 1999 would see the introduction of the “New Edge Mustang” body style.

1999 – The Cutting ‘Edge’ of Performance

Ford made it’s take on a new Mustang with vintage cues (or so we were told) with the release of the 1999 Mustang.  The Mustang GT got a jump in power to 260 horsepower thanks to Ford’s “Performance Improved” intake and SOHC cylinder head package.  The SVT Cobra countered that with their 4-valve DOHC version, now making 320 horsepower…or so they said.  After a popular car magazine failed to replicate Ford’s official 0-60 of 5.4 seconds (they couldn’t get better than 6.0) new Cobra owners began heading to the dynamometers, and the results were not pleasant ones for the owners or for Ford.  While some reports claimed that the Cobra was some 50 horsepower short of the stated 320, the official “shortage amount” was stated as being 15 horsepower, leaving it at the same 305 as the 1998 Cobras.  The cars were all called back to the dealerships, where a new intake manifold, exhaust system, and computer programmed “tune” was installed to achieve the proper 320 horsepower.  The external and internal changes between the GT and the Cobra were very similar to the differences in the previous generation.  The Cobra had unique front and rear fascias, wheels, hood, and badges on the outside custom gauges, floor mats, and steering wheel center cover.  The suspension setup of the 1999 Cobra did receive some upgrades over the previous Cobra, such as independent rear suspension and Brembo brakes.   Despite the problems, there were still 8095 Cobras sold in 1999, with 4055 of those being convertibles, it was the first time that the drop tops outsold the coupes.  The available colors for 1999 were Black, Rio Red, Ultra White, and Electric Green.

The fuss created over the underpowered Cobras got the most notice in 1999, but the other big news was the return of the SVT Lightning, and it returned much better than it was during its first run.  The new Lightning had a smaller engine, going from a 5.8L to a 5.4L, but the SVT group packed an Eaton supercharger until the hood of the new SVT Lightning, allowing the 5.4L V8 to make 320 horsepower and a whopping 440 lb-ft or torque.  The 1999 SVT Lightning had a more aerodynamic body than the standard F150, and the sport tuned suspension allowed the truck to sit a half inch lower in the front and two inches lower in the rear.  It did this using a front short-and-long-arm suspension structure with coil springs in the front, and heavy duty 5-leaf springs in the rear clamped to a solid rear axle.  The 1999 Ford SVT Lightning ran an impressive 14.3 quarter mile in stock form, as well as setting the record for the fastest production truck; a record that it would break itself a few years later. This second generation of the Lightning was offered in Bright Red, Black, and White.

The Ford SVT Contour was also offered for 1999, and thanks to some fine tuning, it got a small jump to 200 horsepower and 169 lb-ft of torque.  Everything else with the Contour remained the same in 1999.

2000 – Revolution Reborn

Due to the issues with the 1999 Cobra power output, the 2000 model year would be without a Cobra, while SVT ironed out some issues, but they would release the third installation of the factory built race model.  The 2000 SVT Cobra R was intended to be one of the most powerful and capable Mustangs ever built, and it delivered.  The heart of the 2000 R was a 5.4L DOHC V8, with the block being similar to the one found in the SVT Lightning, and packed a stated 385 horsepower and lb-ft of torque.  The block was originally used in the Lincoln Navigator sport utility vehicle, but the block was where the similarities ended.  The Cobra R had unique pistons, connecting rods, crankshaft, aluminum heads, a hand built aluminum intake manifold, and a single bore throttle body.  The exhaust side of the engine was also distinctly unique to the Cobra R, with short tube headers, a Bassani brand x-pipe, and a Borla high flow exhaust system.  Each of the 300 Performance Red Cobra R’s engines were hand built at Ford’s Engine Manufacturing Development Operations, and these powerful engines were mated up to a Tremec T56 6-speed manual transmission, and many considered this combination to be relatively unbreakable under “normal” conditions.  Like other Cobra R’s, the 2000 version had heavy weight reduction such as the lack of a rear seat, removal of sound deadener, the deletion of the air conditioning, and the addition of Recaro race seats continued the effort of cutting weight.  The suspension and braking systems of the 2000 Cobra R were heavily upgraded with components from the leaders in the automotive industry.  The shocks and struts were provided by Bilstein, the springs were provided by Eibach, the front braking systems were from Brembo, and in the rear the 2000 R used regular Cobra calipers but with Akebono Ceramic brake pads.  The 1993 and 1995 Cobra R models had subtle exterior changes to help them stand apart from the regular Cobra, but the 2000 models were vastly different from any other Mustang from the same era.  The front air dam and the rear spoiler are the big changes with the Cobra R for 2000, and while they provide a much sportier look, both items are fully functional.  The front air dam has long hours of wind tunnel testing behind it, and it was found that the addition of that lower air dam reduces high speed lift as much as 10 times compared to the standard Cobra fascia.  Those who didn’t want to risk having the extremely low fascia scraping the roadway had the option of removing it for daily driving.  Like the front air dam, the rear wing was tunnel tested to perfection, adding three times more downforce over the rear wheels at high speed.  The final touches on the 2000 Ford Mustang Cobra R were the addition of 18” Cobra R wheels, lower side skirts, and a large cowl induction hood.  The 2000 Cobra R, like the 1995 R, required a professional driver’s license for purchase, but dealership markups to amounts as high as 90,000 USD slowed the sales of the 300 Performance Red Cobras.  Even with the high price, the 2000 Cobra R is regarded as being one of the, if not the best, handling Ford Mustang ever built.

The 2000 model year would also offer the SVT Contour, and this would be its final year.  Gradually decreasing sales caused by more entrants into the FWD performance market (who often offered better performance) put the squeeze to the Contour, and with just 2150 units sold, the Contour bid the US market a fond farewell.

The SVT Lightning also returned for 2000, but it received no changes for the 2000 model year, aside from the addition of Silver as an exterior paint option.  Even with the Lightning being the same as the previous year, sales grew to 4966, the highest sales amount since the first year of the Lightning. 

2001 – Lightning strikes harder, the Cobra returns

Having taken a year off to make room for the Cobra R, and to address under power issues, the SVT Cobra returned for 2001.  It appeared exactly as it had in 1999, but this time the SVT people ensured that it made the advertised 320 horsepower.  There were rumors that the refined 2001 Cobras actually made more than 320 horsepower at the crankshaft, but even with the allegations of “extra power”, the sales of the 2001 Cobra dipped to just 7251 (3867 coupes, 3384 convertibles) units which was the lowest total since 1995.  Hoping to make the Cobra more attractive, they offered the model in a wide variety of colors, including: Black, Laser Red, Oxford White, Silver, Mineral Grey, Performance Red, True Blue, and Zinc Yellow.

The good news from SVT was some work done to the engine of the Lightning, and that work amounted to an addition 20 horsepower.  Along with the added power, the Lightning also got a beefier aluminum driveshaft, measuring 4.5 inches, where the previous years had 3.5 inch driveshafts.  The Lightning also got a steeper gear going to up a 3.73:1 ratio from the earlier 3.55:1, and when coupled with the newly designed Goodyear Eagle F1-GS, these improved Lightnings could move from 0-60 in just 5.2 seconds, running the quarter mile in 13.9 seconds.

2002 – The Focus of SVT Shifts

When the 2002 model year lineup of SVT was announced, many were disappointed to notice the lack of the Cobra.  There had been a handful of 2001 Cobra’s which were intended to be offered as 2002 model year Cobras, but they were never sold in the US, as all of them received an extra set of fog lights in the middle of the front bumper cover and they were shipped off to Australia.  The Australian 2002 Cobras were identical to the 2001 Cobras, with the exception of the aforementioned fog lights.  One of the reasons that there were not Cobras offered for 2002 in the US was that the SVT group had been focusing their attention on a new car for the 2002 lineup, as well as a promised 2003 Cobra that was sure to leave its impact on the performance market.

Originally offered overseas in 1998 and in 2000 for the US market, the Ford Focus had earned a reputation of being a compact, fuel efficient model.  Offered in several different body styles, ranging from a 2-door hatchback to a 4 door sedan or station wagon, the Focus did a fine job of competing in the new compact market around the world.  However, as the compact market grew quickly, many companies were offering performance models and Ford would not go long without offering a performance minded compact of their own.  FMC entrusted this duty to the SVT group, and as usual, they did not disappoint.  Based on the 2-door and 4-door hatchback, the SVT Focus came packed with a modified version of the 2.0L Zetec engine found in the other Focus trimlines.  The motor was stripped bare and was built from the block-up, with a ported aluminum cylinder head, heavy duty pistons which increased the compression to 10.2:1, forged connecting rods, a variable timing camshaft,  a newly designed dual length intake manifold, and a high flow exhaust header.  These additions bumped the power from 130 to 170, and to help get that power to the ground, the SVT Focus was fitted with a Getrag 6-speed manual transmission.  The suspension was also upgraded, with larger anti-roll bars and stiffer, sport tuned suspension all around.  Larger disc brake setups allowed the SVT Focus to stop as quick as it got going, and to take the turns, the SVT model had a higher ratio steering box, making the steering much more precise.  The SVT Focus then received a luxury treatment to the interior, adding heated leather seats, leather steering wheel trim, leather shifter trim, Audiophile 8-speaker sound system, and power everything.  The exterior received a sportier front and rear fascia, a rear spoiler, fog lights, and 17” SVT wheels.  There was an appearance package offered, called the European Appearance Package and while available only on 2-door hatchbacks, this package included leather Recaro race seats, 15-spoke aluminum wheels, and the option of either Screamin’ Yellow or Competition Orange paint.  The 2002 SVT Focus proved to be popular, boasting a quarter mile time of 16.1 seconds as well as excellent fuel mileage, and 4788 units of the new sport compact were sold in 2002.

The Ford SVT Lightning returned for 2002, but the only change was the addition of True Blue as a paint option.  The Lightning saw 4726 units sold for 2002.