Rhode Island Ford dealer Bob Tasca, Sr. was a towering figure during Ford’s Total Performance era, famously campaigning dealership-supported cars in racing, offering customers speed shop services at their dealership, and even selling a large volume of Shelbys throughout New England. This was a dealership synonymous with performance, and over the years Tasca built a number of drag racing cars and fast street cars. One of the most notable was their KR-8, a Lime Gold 1967 Mustang GT hardtop coupe which had blown its 390-cubic-inch engine and famously received a Tasca transplant, shoehorning a 428-cubic-inch Police Interceptor short-block with 427 high-flow heads and a 735-cfm Holley four-barrel carburetor—all assembled with over-the-counter available parts.

In the summer of 1967, Mr. Tasca drove his hopped-up Mustang from Rhode Island to Dearborn, Michigan for dealer meetings. At Ford’s Proving Ground drag strip, the KR-8 beat every 427-powered factory special put up against it. Ford engineers were so impressed that they pulled the motor to tear it down and study it. Ford’s Experimental Garage installed a 427 in its place, supposedly from Lloyd Ruby’s Le Mans car, so Mr. Tasca could drive back to Rhode Island. Ultimately, Tasca’s KR-8 led to the creation of Ford’s legendary 428 Cobra Jet engine, which was later offered in the 1968 Mustangs and served as the powerplant for the Shelby GT500 KR.

For 2018, in celebration of the 50th Anniversary of Bob Tasca’s Cobra Jet, Ford chose to build a run of 68 track-only Mustangs specifically built to compete in NHRA and Super Stock racing. Powered by a 3.0-liter Whipple supercharger atop a 5.2-liter Super Cobra Jet V-8 engine with a bore of 3.70 inches, stroke of 3.666 inches, and a compression ratio of 9.7:1. The powerful engine was backed by a heavy-duty three-speed transmission with Ratchet shifter and built-in Line-Loc, with power sent to a 9-inch rear axle with a 3.89:1 gear. The 2018 Cobra Jet was capable of an impressive mid-eight second quarter mile at over 150 mph.

This 2018 Ford Mustang Cobra Jet rides on a set of Cobra Jet 50th Anniversary Wheels, 26×4-15 in the front and 30×9-15 at the rear. It is equipped with wheelie bar and a Strange Engineering brake system, and rear-mounted Stroud reusable drag parachute. The interior is prepped for racing, featuring a Watson racing roll cage, Racetech fixed-back seats with Cobra Jet 50th Anniversary stitching, RJS Racing equipment seat belts, Sparco quick-release steering wheel, RacePak digital dashboard, dash-mounted DSL shift light, and a custom switch panel.

One of 68 examples built to commemorate the 50th Anniversary of the legendary Cobra Jet, this track-only Mustang is ready to strike, and dominate, the drag strip.