The SVT Cobra Terminator was the end result of SVT boss John Coletti’s impression that the at-that-time new Mustang wasn’t quite up to the task performance-wise. So the 2002 Cobra R&D was sent from Team Mustang to Team SVT, and what came out, well, you know pretty darn well what came out.

This Terminator Will Not Be Back… Yet (Maybe)

Given the rate at which Ford is digging up revered nameplates slapping them onto SUVs - albeit all electric - or standalone brands - check out the new Bronco saga - one would be willing to bet the Cobra Terminator could make a comeback sooner rather than later.

So far, that haven’t been the case (thank God!), so let’s jolt our collective memory and take a look back to 2002, when the 2003 SVT Cobra Terminator came to the market with supercharged ambitions (engine, too) swinging around 390 horsepower and 390 pound-feet of torque like a pair of nunchucks handled by a 32-valve DOHC 4.6-liter V-8.

2003-2004 SVT Cobra Terminator specifications

Engine

32-valve DOHC 4.6-liter V-8

Horsepower

390 HP

Torque

390 LB-FT

0 to 60 mph

4.6 seconds

Quarter mile time

12.9 seconds

Quarter mile speed

112 mph


Obviously, the SVT Cobra’s speciality was straight-line rampage, as it could blaze from 0 to 60 mph in 4.6 seconds. The quarter mile was conquered in 12.9 seconds at 112 mph and on top of that, reviews were raving about the muscle car’s neatly-calibrated chassis that brought the fun factor to the driving experience but also about its GT-esque nature during relaxed, high-speed cruising.

Of course, this was far from a perfect car. A winding road tackled ecstatically was enough to unsettle the SVT Cobra, the stiff clutch would give your left thigh a monster workout, and the double-bubble interior oozed cheapness.

But enough with the talking. Have a seat and let the 20-minute clip walk you through what exactly made the Mustang SVT Cobra Terminator a cult car.