Ford’s new Cobra Jet is a 1400-hp, all-electric drag racing machine
Ford’s newest, one-off Cobra Jet will take on the quarter-mile with 1400 horsepower of electric thrust.
Like all recent Cobra Jet Mustangs, this is a track-only creation with a full roll cage, solid rear axle, and, from the sound of the short video Ford released, an automatic transmission. We assume that from the three-speed automatic back, the drivetrain is just like the Whipple-supercharged Coyote-powered Cobra Jet that has been setting the pace in the NHRA’s Super Stock Eliminator class.
Forward of the transmission, it’s an entirely different story. As best we can tell, twin electric motors from Cascadia, mounted in series, are flanked by an array of converters and the necessary wiring to make everything hum. It makes for an interesting sight when the hood is popped.
Ford teamed with MLe Racecars to build the electric drag racer. Watson Engineering was responsible for chassis and roll cage fabrication, and AEM EV supplied motor calibration and software on the power plant. MLe Racecars is the same shop that Chevrolet tapped for the eCOPO that debuted at the 2018 SEMA Show. Chevrolet built the eCOPO in a similar vein, delivering mid-9-second elapsed times with its 700-horsepower motor.
Ford says that the Cobra Jet 1400 will be good for low 8-second passes with a 170-mph trap speed. That means it’s either not as quick as the supercharged V-8 Cobra Jet, or Ford is sand-bagging. Given the amount of time that the gasoline-powered Cobra Jets have had to tune their suspensions and tailor their launch techniques to varying track conditions, we’d bet they hold the advantage for now. Either way, it goes to show how far off the NHRA’s 595-hp rating for the supercharged V-8 Cobra Jet truly is.
Nationwide event closures have put a damper on the Cobra Jet 1400’s planned launch, which should happen at a future NHRA event. In the meantime, you can learn more on Motor Trend on Demand’s “Hard Cell” starting April 24th.
