Ford Mustang Cobra Jet is 1400bhp electric drag racer

Ford’s new Mustang Cobra Jet 1400 is an all-electric drag racer that’s designed to cover a quarter of a mile in just over eight seconds.

As the name suggests, the one-off racer packs more than 1400hp (1381bhp) and it follows in the footsteps of the original Ford Mustang 428 Cobra Jet, which was introduced in 1968 as a factory-modified drag version of Ford’s flagship pony car. 

Technical details of the 2020 Cobra Jet’s powertrain are unconfirmed, but it’s said to deliver more than 1100lb ft of ‘instant torque’ and is planned to “demonstrate the capabilities of an electric powertrain in one of the most demanding race environments”. 

The car - developed in partnership with several US engineering firms, including MLe Racecars, Watson Engineering, AEM EV and Cascadia - is undergoing testing in the US ahead of a scheduled dynamic debut later this year at a public drag racing event. 

Ford is embarking on a drive to showcase the potential of its in-house EV technology following the recent unveiling of its all-new Mustang Mach E electric SUV. 

Dave Pericak, global director of Ford’s ‘Icons’ division (which oversees long-standing nameplates like the Bronco and Mustang), said: “Electric powertrains give us a completely new kind of performance and the all-electric Cobra Jet 1400 is one example of pushing new technology to the absolute limit.

“We’re excited to showcase what’s possible in an exciting year when we also have the all-electric Mustang Mach-E joining the Mustang family.”

The Cobra Jet is said to be the first in a line of purpose-built electric racers from Ford’s Performance Motorsports division. The sub-brand’s global director, Mark Rushbrook, said: “We saw the Cobra Jet 1400 project as an opportunity to start developing electric powertrains in a race car package that we already had a lot of experience with, so we had performance benchmarks we wanted to match and beat right now.