Ford Drag Racing Cars

When it comes to beefed-up Mustangs, no pony compares to Ken Block’s Hoonicorn. Sure, he uses the heavily modified 1965 Mustang for a lot of drifting, but it’s insanely powerful and, as a result, insanely fast too. How fast? Well, it can put a Ford GT Carbon Edition supercar to shame.

Last time we heard about the Cobra Jet moniker, Ford was releasing an anniversary edition that could scorch the quarter mile in eight seconds at 150 mph thanks to a souped up 5.2-liter V-8 and a 3.0-liter supercharger.

The Mustang Cobra Jet 1400 is the exact opposite of that. Not in terms of performance, but regarding what powers it

We know we love a proper drag race and we’re pretty sure you do, too. So today’s rumble comes courtesy of Edmunds, who took three muscle car top dogs and had them jump at each other’s throats.

The Ford Mustang Shelby GT500, the Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, and the Dodge Challenger Hellcat Redeye battle for quarter-mile bragging rights. We won’t tell you who wins just yet, but remember this: it’s not always the most powerful car that takes the cake.

On paper, a 480-horsepower Ford Mustang Bullitt should have no problem beating a 335-horsepower Toyota Supra in a drag race. But the tricky thing about predicting drag race results on paper is that they’re not worth the trees that were cut down to produce said paper. In other words, they don’t mean anything.

Car Magazine SA sought to answer the Mustang Bullitt versus Supra question by doing it the proper way: a drag race between the American muscle car and the Japanese sports car. If you’re looking at the protagonists of this race and you’re convinced that the Mustang Bullitt will have no problem laying waste to the Supra, then you might want to watch this video in all its entirety.

You don’t get to see a Dodge Demon every day. Then again, you don’t get to see it as it stretches its muscles during some good ol’ drag racing in the company of a Toyota Supra, a BMW E30, and Savage Garage’s Ford Raptor. Oh, and this is no prep drag-race, by the way, as the whole scenario unfolds in the desert, between bursting clouds of sand.

Now that we have your attention, get ready to be amazed by the Supra, which proves extremely apt at putting down the power and generating enough grip to shoot ahead of its rivals, literally leaving them behind, choking on its dust.

The first-generation Ford Fiesta was of paramount importance for the Blue Oval. But with all the optimism in the world, nobody at Ford would have imagined that their globally-sold, fuel-efficient subcompact car would live to hide a Subaru engine where its trunk was originally supposed to be or bang mid-nine-second quarter-mile runs. Case in point: Chris Todd’s Mk1 Ford Fiesta.

Carmakers like to pound their chests with Nurburgring lap times when it comes to how fast their cars are, while automotive journos tend to take those cars and measure them against each other in perhaps the most telling form of competition: the good ‘ol drag race.

Naturally, such a staged drag race isn’t always about gas-guzzling muscle cars or heavily-modded vehicles that put out in excess of 1,000 horsepower. We’ve seen econoboxes taking forever to complete the quarter-mile all in the name of fun, so when someone pits the Ford Mustang GT Fastback against the new Toyota Supra and BMW Z4, all we can do is watch and enjoy.

If you love a thumping big V-8, tire-shredding RWD power, and all the attitude that goes with it, you’re spoiled for choice. Indeed, there’s no shortage of badass muscle cars out there these days, and now, it looks like Ford is getting in on the fun with a new Mustang Shelby GT500, as revealed in a recent Instagram post by user sinister_lifestyle.

In case you’ve ever lain in bed at night pondering whether the new Range Rover Sport SVR would outrun Hennessey’s ridiculous VelociRaptor and its 600-horsepower V-8, you’re in luck. TopGear Magazine have matched the contenders in a head-to-head drag race.

Don’t worry, I’m not going to spoil the race results, but I will give a background on both contenders. Up first is the VelociRaptor. The truck started life as an “ordinary” Ford F-150 SVT Raptor. Hennessey Performance then worked its magic on the mechanicals, bolting on a Whipple supercharger atop the Ford’s 6.2-liter V-8 and upgrading the suspension to take even more abuse than a standard Raptor. (After all, it had to survive Jeremy Clarkson and the Stig giving it the beans.) All told, the VelociRaptor makes 600 horsepower at the wheels and is capable of blasting its way over nearly any terrain.

In the other corner is Land Rover’s newest high-performance SUV, the Range Rover Sport SVR. Under its aluminum hood lies the same 5.0-liter supercharged V-8 found in the Jaguar F-Type R. It pumps out 542 brake horsepower and 501 pound-feet of torque. Of course with it being a Range Rover, AWD is standard. Land Rover engineers have tweaked the suspension and chassis control electronics to make this capable off-road traveler into an all-out track toy. The result is fantastic.

But which one takes home the quarter-mile victory? Well, the Raptor is no ballet dancer thanks to its 6,000-pound curb weight. A though Land Rover uses aluminum construction, the Range Rover still weighs roughly 5,500 pounds. The VelociRaptor might have slightly more horsepower, but its gearing is likely far lower than the Range Rover. So for the full battle, check out the video above.

Continue reading for more information

The news that the sixth-generation Mustang no longer features a live rear axle came like a blow to the head for most drag-racing enthusiasts. That’s not to say we won’t be seeing the 2015 Mustang perform at the drag strip, but it’s now up to racing specialists and the drivers themselves to equip their muscle cars with a proper rear axle.

As the redesigned Mustang is getting closer to its on sale date, Ford has embarked on a mission to prove that the pony can still perform on the quarter-mile, even though it uses an independent rear suspension. To do that, the Blue Oval commissioned its Racing division to come up with a few benchmarks for the 2015 ’Stang on the drag strip.

Specifically, Ford Racing set out to build the first 2.3-liter EcoBoost model to do the quarter-mile in less than 13 seconds, the first naturally aspirated GT to run in the 11s, and the first supercharged GT to complete the same distance in the 10-second range. To do that, Ford Racing meddled with the internals of each car and added a few of its own performance parts, including a rear subframe kit, a prototype exhaust and a new engine calibration.

Additionally, the three ’Stangs received racing AlumaStar drag rear wheels wrapped in Hoosier tires and a Recaro race seat. One of the two GTs also gained a Roush supercharger kit.

Although Ford Racing didn’t release the new output figures, it did post a video showing all three Mustangs trying to achieve their goals. Needless to say, all attempts were successful in reaching their target. The 2.3-liter EcoBoost posted a 12.56-second run at 109 mph, while the GT stopped the clock at 11.77 seconds at 116 mph. Lastly, the first ever 2015 Mustang GT to carry a supercharger needed only 10.97 seconds to run the 1320 with a trap speed of 128 mph. The latter was a close one, which says a lot about the boldness of Ford Racing’s benchmark for a Mustang, be it a supercharged one.

That being said, hit the play button above for some action-packed Mustang footage and proof that an independent rear suspension isn’t necessarily a drawback on the drag strip.

You’re probably not going to believe this, but in the auto industry, there is such a thing as having too much power. It shouldn’t be a problem if it’s power you can control, but if it’s a little out of your reach, it’s probably a good idea not to tempt fate. Drag racer Dennis Bailey failed to get that memo, and he and his 3,000-horsepower Ford Mustang paid a steep price for it.

Bailey was at a drag race at South Georgia Motorsports Park in Adel, Georgia when he participated in a quarter-mile race with another equally chunky, muscle-bound Mustang. Both cars get off the line well but immediately after that, Bailey’s Mustang slowly shoots up from all the power driving those rear wheels. It continues on its upward ascent before being completely perpendicular to the ground.

The car hits a barrier soon after that before toppling over, flipping numerous times before resting in a heap of smoke, debris, and flying tires. Fortunately, Bailey reportedly escaped the harrowing crash without any significant injuries. The same can’t be said for the Mustang though, which appeared to look completely flattened and irreparable.

These are the real-life dangers of driving a car with that much power in a setting that encourages you to go pedal to the metal. Bailey’s lucky to only escape with minor dings, but it still doesn’t take into account the all-too-real possibility that it could have ended much worse for him.

This video, or pair of videos, just goes to show the thrills and perils of getting involved in drag racing, especially when you have a 2013 Ford Mustang Cobra Jet that’s just itching to pounce off of that starting line.

The muscle car flexes its insane muscles in the beginning, performing a scintillating wheelie as soon as the lights drops to green. After that visual spectacle of power, the driver suddenly loses control of the Mustang Cobra Jet, sending it careening into the barricades of the Cecil County Dragway in Northeast Maryland.

The ABM Nationals was the scene of the wheelie turned crash and fortunately for the driver of the Mustang Cobra Jet, the resulting chaos didn’t come with any injuries for him. We can’t say so much for the Mustang, as it took some serious damage.

Check out the video of the wheelie and crash from inside the Mustang Cobra Jet after the jump.

Performing a wheelie on a motorcycle is an impressive feat in itself. But when you notch the difficulty meter up a few notches, you get something like this.

During a qualifying session at the Gateway Drags IV at Gateway Motorsports Park in Madison, Ill, driver Chris Holbrook managed to take his Ford Mustang Cobra Jet and perform what is arguably one of the craziest wheelie maneuvers we’ve seen in recent years.

The wheelie only lasted a few seconds with Holbrook being forced to abort its run after wandering off into the other lane, but that ended up becoming a side story after the car launched off the line, showed off its unbelievable torque muscles, and almost went vertical in its ridiculous display of muscle power.

Check out the compilation video of Holbrook’s impressive wheelie, courtesy of the ADRL. You rarely get to see a pop quite like this, and as far as we’re concerned, it doesn’t get any better than this.

The Ford Mustang 3.7 V6 doesn’t get as much love as its 5.0-liter counterpart, and for the most part, the less attention is warranted. But every so often, a V6 Mustang comes out of the woodwork and makes a name for itself.

One tuner that has found a soft spot for the V6 Mustang is ProCharger, which built a supercharger kit for the lesser ’Stang. The supercharger kit gave the Mustang a dramatic increase in output from the standard 305 horsepower and 280 lb/ft of torque all the way up to 475 horsepower from the muscle car’s 3.6-liter V6 engine.

Taking that one step further is Central Florida Motorsports, which fitted ProCharger’s supercharger kit on the Mustang and proceeded to smash the existing quarter-mile record - one that it already owned - for a 2011+ Mustang V6, covering the distance in just 11.20 seconds at 119 mph.

In order to achieve this remarkable time, the standard V6 Mustang by CFM went through a variety of changes, including the addition of ProCharger’s D1 centrifugal supercharger system producing 13 pounds of boost, as well as BBK long tubes, BBK offroad X, FRPP 4.10 gears, a Magnaflow "street" catback exhaust, an SCT custom tune, 80lb/hr injectors, a Driveshaft Shop aluminum shaft, and a Circle D 3,000 Billet Converter. These modifications gave the Mustang a dramatic increase in output from the standard 305 horsepower and 280 lb/ft of torque all the way up to 475 horsepower from the muscle car’s 3.6-liter V6 engine.

The car was also equipped with a new set of RaceStar wheels wrapped in Mickey Thompson ET Street Radial 295/55-15 wheels. There is also a Steeda adjustable control arm and BMR lower control arms.

Check out the video posted by Central Florida Motorsports of their Mustang V6 and watch how it annihilates the quarter-mile strip.

UPDATE 06/22/2012: Central Florida Motorsports - aka CFM - just developed one of the most amazing Mustang V6 models available on the market. Based on a 2011 model, the updated muscle car just became the world’s fastest V6 Mustang, running the quarter mile in 10 seconds at 125.37 mph, an improvement from the 11.20 seconds at 119 mph it just achieved a few days ago! Click on the picture above for the video!

When Bugatti set the bar for 0-to-60 mph times on production cars at 2.4 seconds, most enthusiasts saw this as similar to the person that can limbo under a 1-foot-high bar. So for the most part, the Veyron was assumed to maintain the crown as fastest production car from 0-to-60 mph for many decades. In addition, we all assumed when someone finally did beat it, it was bound to be one of the other supercar builders.

In both cases we were all completely incorrect. First off, the record didn’t even last a decade. The second incorrect assumption is by far the most surprising, as it wasn’t a Ferrari, Porsche, Lamborghini, or even a Maserati that smoked the Bugatti Veyron, it was a Ford Mustang…

Let’s explain this one. Back in 2010, Ford announced that it was releasing a revamped version of its existing Cobra Jet model, and that it would boast a 5.4-liter supercharged V-8 engine that would pump out 430 to 500 horsepower, depending on which supercharger it came with. This 2012 Mustang Cobra Jet shredded the Bugatti’s 0-60 mph time by almost a full second, clocking in at 1.52 seconds. It also hit 100 mph in just 3.26 seconds, again killing the Veyron.

Having said all of that, don’t think that you are just going to waltz into Joe Blow’s Ford Dealer and snag one of these Cobra Jet Mustangs for $50K and drive out a racecar driver. Nope, the term “production car” is used very loosely here, as there were only 50 2012 Mustang Cobra Jets produced and they are not street legal. To boot, these beasts have a base price of $91,990 and run about $104K fully loaded.

This all means that the Veyron still holds the record for the quickest road-legal production car, plus it does still hold the top-speed record of 267.857 mph. Eat that, Ford. Then again, we just received word on the 2013 Cobra Jet late last year, so we’ll see what Ford has in store for Bugatti this time.

The boys from Top Gear USA were back this week and they are starting to pick up a little bit of speed in terms of entertainment value. The discussions still tend to be a little too rehearsed, but we didn’t want to turn off the television as soon as they started talking. Well, except for when Adam opened his mouth, but we’re used to that.

The main focus this week was trying to figure out which truck was the best in America. After spending the entire first episode trying to convince us all that pick-up trucks could be convinced by two-door models, this was a welcome change. Other segments included battling it out between the Local Motors’ Rally Fighter and an airboat, and a trip around the Top Gear test track with actor/comedian Bill Engvall.

Hit the jump to check out the full details on Top Gear USA: Season 2 Episode 3.

If you have been a high school student than you can relate to Derek Murrell’s dream of blowing the pants off of his shop teacher Bill Rosenblum in a 1/4 mile grudge match style drag race, and somehow miraculously the blue oval fairies made it happen with a pair of highly modified 2010 Ford Mustang GTs. The one thing you have to watch out for when challenging a high school shop teacher to any sort of automotive competition is that they most likely have some sort of speed junkie inspired mechanical know how that got them into that position. Which just so happens to be the case with seasoned central Florida drag racing public school employee.

While Mr. Rosenblum was in charge of installing all of the Ford Racing Parts onto his shiny new Mustang, the student had another teacher, 10 time NHRA Pro Stock Champion Bob Glidden to help him figure out how to hook up the GT’s hoosier drag radials. But only the winner of this best two out of three competition will be able to take home their ride. Will Derek’s 11.2 second passes be good enough to make his dream come true? Watch the video to find out.

In an attempt at a bit of viral video marketing, Ford showed this video to a group of journalists at the recent launch of the 2010 Ford Taurus SHO. The drag pits Ford’s factory tuned flagship model against an upscale Audi A6 with Quattro all wheel drive and a Hemi powered Chrysler 300. Which do you think won?

What’s interesting is that Ford is playing up the four wheel drive and V8-like capabilities of the new for 2010 SHO, but what would have happened if Ford put their best four door sedan up against an Audi S6 or an SRT-8. Either way, the blue oval group proved that a boosted V6 can outrun a V8, and use less gas while doing it.