1993 Ford Mustang Cobra

Looking at Mark and Tina Wilson’s ’93 Cobra leads you to think that the car is, aside from the Cobra R wheels and huge Yokohama meat wrapped around them, stock. No Stormin’ Norman cowl-induction hood, no radical rollbar. Under the hood it’s the same story. Aside from the SVO shorty headers, Pro-M mass airflow system, and neatly routed red plug wires, the Cobra exudes the calm sweetness of stock looks. But baby, it just ain’t so.

Under the aluminum, iron, and steel are some pretty healthy items. For instance, though the intake is a stock Cobra item, it has been Extrude Honed for more breathing. The lower intake also saw some attention, in that it was ported and port-matched by Alternative Performance in Mount Clemens, Michigan.

Another item that was massaged were the GT-40 heads; Alternative ported and polished on these as well. The only other items that gives away the heart of the sneaky steed is the Pro-M air system that incorporates a 77mm mass air meter and a K&N filter charger. Inside the block is a No. 18 Steeda cam—the only mod below the intake; subtle but effective.

The suspension also saw some tweaks. Global West packed the undercarriage with SVO-spec items, such as a Trak-link torque arm, lower control arms, and offset front control arm bushings. Global West and stock Cobra springs keep the chassis nice and stiff with Koni sport struts, and shocks keep the rebound down. Mark also installed ’94-’98 Cobra 13-inch front and 11.65-inch rear rotors to provide plenty of stopping power.

So what does all that do for Mark? Well, it makes him smile as the Cobra cracks down 12.84 e.t.’s at 104 mph at tracks near his Louisville, Kentucky, home. Dyno numbers register at just a tick under 300 hp and 319 lb-ft of torque—both at the rear wheels. Very nice, considering how few mods are really on the car—and also that the car was really set up for autocross rather than straight-line power.

Another cool fact on a car full of cool stuff is that it was a Ford Corporate vehicle. “This Cobra was used as a high-speed test car down at the Arizona Proving Grounds,” said Mark, “then used by the SN-95 Group as a comparison car to the ’94s.” As to its condition, Mark told us that the Cobra needed very little beyond a buff and having the carpet shampooed for Tina and him to get it to its current condition. Another cool fact is the Cobra has only one option—a rear window defroster—making it quite unusual in the Cobra crowd where options were (and are) king. However, what we think is most unusual is how sneaky Mark was with his mods. In this day of superchargers and nitrous bottles, a subtle Cobra (if there is such a thing) gets our vote every time.