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I realize that presenting comments about
engineering technology that is eleven years old is a bit awkward, but
it was once, the latest around. Sometimes looking back can be a service
as well as a reminder of how far automotive technology has come as we try to envision where its going.
A unique feature of the 1996 Mystic Cobra is
that I'm convinced it is going to become one of those classics that
some just, didn't see coming. There are few of her kind that are still
roaming the open range in their original state.
The following is a quote from my Ford Special Vehicle Team 1996 Mustang brochure and I know its true of all Mustangs.
"An
SVT engine must not only be reliable and powerful, but should rev
playfully, making sounds that delight the ear when running through the
gears."
Now, if you are like me, I know when its a
Mustang that is crusing down the street, because no other sports car
has that Mustang sound!
The 1996 Cobra's crankshaft is forged by
Gerlach-Werke in Homburg/Saar, Germany. The steel is heated to 1,200
degrees Celsius (2,300 degrees Fahrenheit), is forged under 8,000
metric tons of pressure.
Teksid, the Italian company responsible for
casting the Cobra's engine blocks and heads, also casts aluminum
components for Ferrari road and Formula One cars, as well as other
Italian and European high-performance cars.
The Cobra's block, cast in Carmagnola, Italy,
employs considerable cast-in ribbing both for structural strength and
to attenuate the harsh noises and vibrations that all engines can
produce. Also, to endow the engine's bottom end with great rigidity as
well as to provide a superior mating surface with the transmission, the
Cobra's block has a "deep-shirt," meaning that the bottom edge of the
block extends well below the crankshaft's centerline. The cylinder
bores feature iron liners.
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Engineering Comments For 1996 Cobra
