For those of you who have never experienced it, road racing from the cockpit can be an incredibly thrill-inducing ride, and gives a ton of enjoyment for the driver in the process. We recently came across this great video of a 2000 Cobra R chasing down a Porsche Carrera GT at Virginia International Raceway, and just had to share it with you. The Porsche is one of the best road-course cars built, but Ford’s Cobra R is a venerable performer in its own right when prepared correctly and in the hands of a capable driver. 

The Cobra R came out of the factory in an incredibly-limited quantity, with only 300 units produced, all of which were supposed to land in the hands of drivers who were to compete with them in road events across the country. To this day one of the most capable track Mustangs ever produced by Ford, arriving with a sweet 5.4-liter Modular engine putting out 385 horsepower and 385 foot-pounds of torque. In fact, the cylinder heads from this model ended up slightly modified and on the later-edition Ford GT road cars. Engine output was further aided by a “trumpet-style” intake manifold, revised camshafts, shorty headers, and even a Bassani X-pipe coupled with a unique side-exit exhaust system. The car arrived with a front splitter and large rear spoiler designed to create incredible downforce, a set of Eibach springs coupled with vehicle-specific Bilstein shocks and struts, and a huge set of Brembo stoppers designed to perform on the racetrack. 3.55 gears and a Tremec T-56 transmission were also factory-installed, making this one of the most capable Mustangs ever, especially when you realize that the inimitable Jack Roush had a large hand in its development. Enjoy the sights and sounds of this particular car overtaking the Porsche on the the racetrack – the side-exhaust creates a unique note not found on any other production Mustang.