On August 14th, 1995 Ford finished the assembly of a Crystal White/Saddle Mustang Cobra. This car was one of the "P4" pre-production cars that Ford used for engineering evaluations, media testing, etc. This was the 110th Mustang and 18th Cobra manufactured for 1996.
After 21,915 miles of corporate service, a Ford employee purchased the Cobra in November of 1996. He put just over 9,000 miles on the car until his passing last fall. Almost all of those miles occurred prior to 2006. The service records that came with the car indicate that the car had not been driven since April of 2006. Despite the fact that it had been tucked away in a garage for 9 years, it fired right up once a new battery was installed.
With the help of a couple of Ford employees, I purchased #18 earlier this month from the family of the Ford employee who purchased it from Ford. With the exception of a little corrosion on some of the bits around the engine and a few scuffs on the wheels, the car is in phenomenal condition. Everything appears to be original.
The records that came with the car indicate only one other "P4" pre-production 1996 Mustang Cobra was sold in November of 1996. This other Cobra (a Laser Red coupe) was the 111th Mustang and the 19th Cobra manufactured for 1996. One of the Ford employees that helped with the sale of #18, mentioned that the first 17 Cobras manufactured for 1996 may have been scrapped and destroyed by Ford after they were used for testing and evaluation. If that is the case, #18 could be the oldest surviving "modular" Cobra.
While not as cool and collectable as a finding a Shelby GT-350 in a barn, it's a pretty neat piece of modular Cobra history for those of us with a soft spot for SN-95 Cobras. I'll post better pictures once the weather cooperates.
Awaking after a long nap...
After a quick detail... (I bought the car with the original wheels, not the pictured Cobra R's.)
Getting ready to leave Dearborn...
After 21,915 miles of corporate service, a Ford employee purchased the Cobra in November of 1996. He put just over 9,000 miles on the car until his passing last fall. Almost all of those miles occurred prior to 2006. The service records that came with the car indicate that the car had not been driven since April of 2006. Despite the fact that it had been tucked away in a garage for 9 years, it fired right up once a new battery was installed.
With the help of a couple of Ford employees, I purchased #18 earlier this month from the family of the Ford employee who purchased it from Ford. With the exception of a little corrosion on some of the bits around the engine and a few scuffs on the wheels, the car is in phenomenal condition. Everything appears to be original.
The records that came with the car indicate only one other "P4" pre-production 1996 Mustang Cobra was sold in November of 1996. This other Cobra (a Laser Red coupe) was the 111th Mustang and the 19th Cobra manufactured for 1996. One of the Ford employees that helped with the sale of #18, mentioned that the first 17 Cobras manufactured for 1996 may have been scrapped and destroyed by Ford after they were used for testing and evaluation. If that is the case, #18 could be the oldest surviving "modular" Cobra.
While not as cool and collectable as a finding a Shelby GT-350 in a barn, it's a pretty neat piece of modular Cobra history for those of us with a soft spot for SN-95 Cobras. I'll post better pictures once the weather cooperates.
Awaking after a long nap...
After a quick detail... (I bought the car with the original wheels, not the pictured Cobra R's.)
Getting ready to leave Dearborn...
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