13 May 99

In a world of cost cutting and bean counting, the Cobra R found some unlikely allies within Ford. We've been asking about the next generation R Cobra for the past two years - and only one thing has been consistent with the program. . . .Ford wasn't sure if they were going to build it.

But then there were the Ford critics. They were not critical of the Mustang or the Mustang Cobra. They weren't even critical of the Mustang's power or lack of it. They were critical of Ford's Modular engine performing up to the equivalent of GM's. That's one type of publicity Ford doesn't need. The Modular engine has been called everything from lack luster to weakling. . .but that's what is happening within the automotive community - and at the expense of Ford. If we've heard it said before, than so have you "If you want to get your ass waxed, pull your Cobra or GT next to an SS Camaro." Same goes with the F-Series.

Ford realizes that it needs to polish up the image of the Modular engine to meet both the demands of the media and the public. This past April, BlueOvalNews spoke with a retired Ford engine engineer who thought the Modular engine was "a compromised design that was wholly inadequate". . .even some Ford employees question the Modular engine.

Enter the bean counters/marketing whose job is to promote the Modular as the engine that can replace the Windsor line successfully. But how do you get the attention of the media and the public to buy that the Modular is a better engine? Call upon SVE.

We were able to ask a Ford product engineer a couple a questions which should help clear up some issues.

Could we see larger engines in the Mustang's future?

"We've always maintained that the cubic inch and horsepower race is over. It's something that Edsel Ford II echoed and warned about in the mid 1980's and we've been careful to follow upon that advise. We don't want to loose our minds by building such cars that will inevitably kill the market itself due to insurance regulations that make building these cars impractical for consumers to afford. Who wants to return to 1974 when the Mustang II appeared with a 100 horsepower 302?

Some magazines claim the Camaro SS has the Cobra beat on power. What's your response?

Commend whoever wrote the article because they are right. The Camaro SS does have our Mustang beat on power. But you know that magazines can print what they like. They can say that the Camaro has the bragging rights on the street while the Mustang has them on the sales charts - but sales charts keep a product alive and viable. I've said this before, the Mustang is not in danger of becoming extinct, but I can't say the same for the Camaro. In the pony car market, you really have to understand your customers - and we do that better than the Camaro team. We know that 60%+ of our sales are from base V-6 Mustangs, and so we are responsive to that market. We've become more and more responsive to the performance market since 1983 as well - and it's a trend that is continuing up from the 5.0's and into the Modular 4.6's as well.

Why can't or won't Ford out power GM and be done with it?

Let me first tell you that there was a lot of table pounding during the planning of the '99 model. We really had the chance to tip the balance of power from the Camaro to the Mustang but marketing choose not to do it. For a lot of people who buy Mustangs, or for the majority of people who buy Mustangs, power isn't a real big issue. The Mustang wasn't always the best handling or quickest car - but it has always been the most loved. There's a certain chemistry to the Mustang that has really kept it a market leader for 35 years and that's what the marketing people really look at. But people, like myself who are advocates of more power look at the whole situation differently.

The only advantage Camaro has is that it's a quicker car. Let's make that the Mustang's advantage. GM knows that all that we (Ford) ever do or will even consider doing is matching their engine power. . .but not beat it.

When each new Mustang comes out, GM already knows that we're just going to match their power output. So while we're planning that Mustang (like the '99), GM's planning to increase the power of the Camaro. What that means to the Mustang is that we won't be able to match them again for two more years - they are always ahead of us. Marketing wants to make it clear that it's not a horsepower race that we are interested in challenging GM in. . .and they have the final approval.

How did the R Cobra get the green light?

The idea behind the "R" really got a push from Ford marketing - of all places. And that's ironic in a way because pitching a niche car to them for production has become a tough sale ever since the SVO and Merkur. But they are the ones who decided to give the "R" Cobra a green light from a marketing perspective.

And what greater kind of publicity could you garner than having a 5.4 powered Mustang? It will really show that the modular is a truly durable, high performance engine. . .and for once it has the cubic inches to prove it. That's what the Mustang Cobra "R" has become to symbolize within Ford - a way of validating the modular engines technological superiority over GM's pushrod V-8. Same goes for the Lightning and the Marauder.

How would you characterize the R Cobra?

It's a continued evolution of the R Cobra, which at Ford means it just keeps getting better. But this is the mother of all Mustangs. Forget the previous R's and the Shelby's . . .this is the one to have, no question about it. A lot of people might say that this is the Boss 302 of the new millennium, but it's far more than that. It's more of a Boss 429 program with a bigger punch to it. We're talking about an all aluminum 5.4 with 4 valves per cylinder pushing some serious power.

Is that 5.4 SuperCharged?

You won't be needing a supercharger for this R model. But in all seriousness, getting the 5.4 to fit and having a compliment of parts that can withstand the engines power was a lot of work in itself. Having a supercharger on the Mustang is really not what the program is about. And if we did have it, then an entire new host of problems must be addressed: is the raised hood going to create a visual problem. . .which produces liability? How will the increased power impact the longevity of the parts? You really don't have as many questions with the Lightning due to its heavier weight and most parts can already handle the additional power anyway. I can't say that you will not see a supercharged Mustang sometime, but it's not a program for tomorrow.

How much horsepower are we talking about?

Enough. How much? Let's just say that if you can drive well, than we've taken care of the rest. That we made sure of. You'll have to wait for the specifics though.

What kind of prices do you expect the Cobra R to attract?

I've seen some reports that have the R model priced at $30,000 - but I'd expect the R to be closer to $39,000 a copy.

What type of Mustang can we expect to see in the next several years?

What your really asking is what type of platform will the Mustang go to. That's been a key issue that really has been out of the control of the Mustang team. The platform issue can only be determined when we know exactly which plant the Mustang will be made in. Should the Mustang continue to be made in Dearborn, there will be a Fox-V variant. If the Mustang transfers production to Wixom, it will use the DEW-98 (Lincoln LS) platform. There's a lot of enthusiasm for each platform, but at this point it's all a matter of where the production ends up at. As far as changes, you won't see anything drastic over the next several years - you'll see the usual color changes, minor interior changes and a power increase sometime in 2001-2002. . .along with some of the typical emissions changes.