Ford's high performance Raptor, Mustang to debut

Scott Burgess / The Detroit News

Ford Motor Co. will announce today that it will offer two, limited-edition high-performance vehicles: one for on the track and the other for off it.

During its press conference at the Specialty Equipment Market Association's trade show in Las Vegas, Ford will debut the 2010 Cobra Jet Mustang and a Baja-ready 2010 FR Raptor XT. Neither vehicle can be driven on regular roads, as they are not intended to be street-legal.

Ford plans to sell only 50 of the turnkey race car Cobra Jet Mustangs, said Ford's director of racing, Brian Wolfe. Dealers already have bought all of them, with the average transaction price at $90,000.

The factory-built race car starts its life as a V-6 Mustang built in Flat Rock but transformed into a NHRA Stock and Super Stock race car. It will feature a drag racing manual or automatic transmission, drag racing shocks that are tunable and a full roll cage.

There will be five engine choices, including a supercharged 5.4-liter V-8 that produces a tire-burning 475 horsepower.

"This car will be fully adjustable for a racer," Wolfe said during a recent media preview of the vehicle. "It's capable of an 8.5 second quarter mile."

The limited edition Raptor XT will have a price tag starting at $99,950. In most of its performance details, it will mirror the Raptor that raced in the Baja 1000 in 2008. Ford will build 50 of these trucks, which feature all of the performance pieces of the Baja racer plus the comfort of a road edition Raptor.

Not everything Ford plans to show off at SEMA will be limited edition track-only gear.

Ford also plans to announce today that it will begin offering the 2010 Raptor with an optional 6.2-liter V-8, capable of producing 411 horsepower and 434 pound-feet of torque.

Jamie Allison, group manager for Ford Racing, said high-performance vehicles are important for carmakers because of what they learn during development.

For example, the cold-air intake and suspension of the limited-edition Mustang Bullitt transferred to the 2010 Mustang GT.

"We often bring performance technology from Ford Racing into the mainstream vehicles," Allison said.

Ford said it also intends to celebrate the Mustang by bringing 1,000 Mustang enthusiasts onto the show's floor during the week.

SEMA is the world's largest aftermarket trade show and features accessories, modified cars and other car-related items that helped generate more than $31 billion in sales last year. It is not open to the public.

sburgess@detnews.com (313) 223-3217