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Even though Ford allotted just 50 2013 Mustang Cobra Jet drag cars for sale this year, that doesn't mean the company isn't hard at work looking for the next big thing for its factory race special. Enter this Mustang Cobra Jet Twin Turbo concept, which as its name implies, features a twin-turbocharged 5.0-liter V-8. Ford Racing is debuting the beastly Stang at the 2012 SEMA show in Las Vegas, but we were given an advanced preview of the car last week—we even were able to see the fully operational "concept" car rip some smoky burnouts. The "production" 2013 Mustang Cobra Jet (technically, the car is a part number in the Ford Racing catalog, like the Focus ST-R) is available with either a naturally aspirated 5.0-liter V-8 or a supercharged one. Thus, the turbocharging treatment is new to the Cobra Jet. The setup consists of two BorgWarner turbochargers mounted low in the front of the engine bay, down behind each front fog light opening in the front fascia. Air is sucked in through the fog light apertures, entering each turbo before being routed to a centrally located intercooler. From there, the air is forced up through a custom carbon-fiber intake plenum to a prototype intake manifold with eight velocity-stack style runners to each cylinder.
Ford is tight-lipped about how much power the twin-turbocharged V-8 makes—the figures quoted on the company's spec sheet for the car for horsepower and torque are "get used to the win light" and "tire-frying"—though the car apparently can throw down high-eight-second quarter-mile times at 155 mph. For a hint at what kind of power this CJ concept is making, it's useful to look to its NHRA class specification. Ford says the blown Cobra Jet qualifies for Super Stock A; NHRA guidelines dictate that classes are defined by the ratio of vehicle weight and a horsepower factor, and the SS A cars carry 6.00–6.49 pounds per NHRA-factored horsepower. Compare that figure with those for the naturally aspirated Cobra Jet (Stock Eliminator B) at 8.50–8.99 pounds per NHRA-factored horsepower and the supercharged model (Stock Eliminator AA) at 6.50–6.99. So the turbo car is a grade or several above the supercharged Cobra Jet on the NHRA's food chain.
Ford fans may be wondering what, if any, connection the twin-turbo gear may have with the company's EcoBoost engine technology. The brief answer is little to nothing. The long answer is this: Conceptually, EcoBoost represents a combination of turbocharged, lower-displacement engines equipped with direct injection. Rather obviously, a twin-turbocharged, port-injected V-8–powered drag car that runs on race fuel sort of puts a damper on the Eco side of the EcoBoost equation. Ford Racing representatives wouldn't comment on the future of the twin-turbo Cobra Jet's powertrain in future CJ Mustangs, but several engineers pointed out that turbos are enjoying continued expansion throughout drag racing in general. Based on the turbo'd Cobra Jet's class advantage over even the supercharged model—and it's supremely bad-ass soundtrack that's part Boss 302 V-8 snarl, part turbo wastegate whoosh-y—we hope it has a future in Ford Racing's catalog.
from Car and Driver Blog http://blog.caranddriver.com | |||
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Tuesday, October 30, 2012
Ford Racing Debuts Turbo-Lusty Mustang Cobra Jet Twin Turbo Concept [2012 SEMA Show]
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