All 3 of the American muscle car makers—Dodge, Ford, and Chevrolet—have created high-power drag strip racers. One, the 840-hp Dodge Demon, was even street-legal, though the 1000-hp Hellephant V8 is understandably not. Although, some of the fastest cars at the drag strip aren’t gasoline-powered, but electric. Some have even transplanted EV drivetrains under classic muscle car bodies. Chevrolet joined in on the fun with its electric COPO Camaro. And now, Ford has too, with the all-electric Ford Mustang Cobra Jet drag racer.

Ford Mustang Cobra Jet drag racer details

This electric Ford Mustang Cobra Jet is reportedly the first battery-powered dragster the automaker has ever built from the factory. But, at least on paper, it’s one heck of a first effort.

Ford hasn’t revealed many technical details. We don’t know, for example, how many motors it has, just that Cascadia was the motor supplier. The battery arrangement and chemistry are also unknown. However, we do know that this drag racer was a team effort. MLe Racecars helped design, tune, and build the electric Cobra Jet, Road & Track reports. AEM EV calibrated the electronics and powertrain, while Watson Engineering built the roll cage and provided chassis assistance.

However, we do know that the electric Ford Mustang Cobra Jet is going to be fast. It develops 1400 hp and 1100 lb-ft. And unlike GMC’s Hummer claims, that’s engine torque, not wheel torque. Ford estimates the EV dragster will be able to do the ¼-mile in “the low 8-second range.” Trap speed is estimated to be over 170 mph.

To put that into perspective, the Tesla Model 3 Performance that recently lost to Harley’s LiveWire needed 11.7 seconds to do the ¼-mile. And it only reached 114 mph. Also, Motor1 reports the new electric Ford Mustang Cobra Jet is faster than the gasoline-powered version. Which makes sense, as the supercharged ICE Cobra Jet puts out ‘just’ 575 hp.

When will it race?

Sadly, unlike the previous Cobra Jet, this looks to be a one-off, Car and Driver reports. And with the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic affecting live racing, its official public debut date is TBD. However, it will reportedly be the subject of a Motor Trend OnDemand film releasing April 26, 2020. Also, it might be possible that the development work on the EV racer might benefit the rumored next-gen Mustang hybrid.

In addition, the horsepower and torque figures aren’t fully set in stone, MT reports. As the EV Mustang Cobra Jet is a prototype, Ford will allegedly continue developing it ahead of the live race.

Electric Ford Mustang Cobra Jet vs. other drag racers

In terms of raw output, the Chevrolet eCOPO Camaro unveiled in 2019 bows to the Mustang. It puts out 700 hp and 600 lb-ft through dual electric motors. And its best ¼-mile performance was a 9.51-second run at 140 mph. However, although the eCOPO Camaro isn’t technically a production car, it was actually sold to someone at auction.

The electric Cobra Jet also out-muscles several other Ford Mustang builds. A Russian tuner put a Tesla Model S powertrain underneath a carbon-fiber 1967 Mustang body. However, the resulting Aviar R67 only makes 840 hp and tops out at 155 mph.

Even Blood Shed Motors’ Zombie 222, one of the fastest EVs on the drag strip, likely won’t be able to keep up. It’s best ¼-mile time was 9.89 seconds, with a 140.6 mph top speed.

Now we just need to see if Dodge will make a Hellcat-style EV.

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