Again within the Nineties, Ford’s Particular Car Staff had all types of loopy concepts for efficiency. Considered one of them was an SVT Crown Victoria, as a result of who would not desire a full-size body-on-frame sedan with a five-speed handbook and an engine from a Mustang Cobra? That automobile by no means got here to fruition, however Roush did use the concept with its so-called “Cobra Vic,” of which 18 had been constructed for the Bob Bondurant driving faculty in Arizona. And one in all them is on the market.
This explicit Ford is listed at Deliver A Trailer, and as we publish this story on September 21, the excessive bid is $23,000 with lower than a day remaining. In response to the public sale itemizing, this automobile was bought from the Bondurant property in 2022 and nonetheless wears pale Bondurant markings. Parts of the Vic have been repainted, however cracked clearcoat and different pale areas are famous within the description.
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600 miles are reported on the odometer, a determine that may be exceptional if this had been a traditional 23-year-old super-sized Ford sedan. Truly, it is nonetheless exceptional, although given its function, it is secure to imagine most of these miles had been hard-earned doing laps on the faculty’s race observe. It does run although, as we see within the walkaround video on the prime of this text. And per the video, the Vic nonetheless drives like a brand new automobile.
After all, no Crown Victoria was ever offered new with a full roll cage, gas cell, battery cut-off swap, or a five-speed handbook transmission. These had been objects plugged in by Roush, together with an upgraded suspension that included greater roll bars, Eibach decreasing springs, 3.73 gears, and a Ford Traction-Lok restricted slip differential. It rides on 17-inch Cobra R wheels, and the five-speed lever sticks up by means of a middle console sourced from the Ford Contour – AKA first-generation Mondeo for the Motor1 readers throughout the pond. As for the engine, it is a straight pull from the 1999 Ford Mustang SVT Cobra making 320 horsepower.
Ford by no means graced its flagship sedan with a efficiency trim from the manufacturing unit, however the essence of the stillborn SVT Crown Victoria did come to life with the 2003 Mercury Marauder. Its engine was the marginally much less highly effective Cobra V8 used within the Mustang from 1996-1998, and once more within the 2003-2004 Mach 1. It made 302 hp underneath the hood of the massive Merc, which additionally acquired an aggressive entrance fascia with spherical fog lamps, 17-inch five-spoke wheels, white gauges, and a menacing black paint job. It additionally acquired a floor-shifted transmission, however sadly it operated a four-speed computerized as a substitute of a clutched five-speed.
With solely 18 constructed, the previous Bondurant Crown Vics are loopy uncommon and based on the walkaround video, this one was Bob’s personal automobile. Any bets on what the ultimate bid value shall be for this particular piece of Ford historical past?
