2000 Ford Mustang SVT Cobra R Was Best Automotive Apology in History
At the end of the 1990s, Mustang fans were up in arms. When the “New Edge” body style debuted for the 1999 model year, the SVT Cobra edition of the car brought with it a revised 32-valve, aluminum-block 4.6-liter V-8 that promised 320 horsepower and 317 lb-ft of torque. Throw in the first independent rear suspension system in the vehicle’s history, and there was a lot of excitement for what appeared to be the most advanced Mustang to have made it onto the street.
Unfortunately for Ford, intake and exhaust issues meant that the Cobra’s dyno numbers proved to be optimistic, leading to an almost immediate recall of the nearly 8100 units that had been sold up until the summer of that year. Enraged, the Mustang faithful fumed over the feeling they’d been deceived by Dearborn’s marketing department, and the automaker pulled the model from showrooms for the following year, leaving a high-performance vacuum in its lineup.
Into that void stepped perhaps the coolest make-up assignment ever turned in by a major car company. The 2000 Ford Mustang SVT Cobra R served notice that the Blue Oval was serious about making amends to fans who felt slighted by the ’99 Cobra scandal, and it set the tone for an even more excessive edition of the automobile to follow …
(photo credit: Ford)
