The 1971 Mustang Mach 1

The 1971 Mustang Mach 1

When the 1971 Mustang Mach 1 made it's debut, it left no doubt that Ford was still in the muscle car business. The fastback, or sportsroof was the only option available, if you wanted to own a Mach 1 Mustang. Ford's continuation of the new styling inside and out for the second generation 1971 Mustang, made the car look bigger overall, which it was, but it also looked like it was going fast even when sitting at the curb. Add in the classic fastback styling, high belt line and long hood and you could spot it's heritage a block away. The new front design featured a color keyed urethane bumper, sports lamps in the grille and a textured black front chin spoiler. Further enhancing the look, the hoods of cars ordered with the optional cowl induction were decorated with either matte black or argent paint and featured two functional air ducts, bringing fresh air into the motor.

One of the cooler and more distinctive features of the tail light area on the 1971 models was the addition of a sweet looking honeycomb filler between the light assemblies. Along with the completely new body, came a brand new interior. Not to be confused with the plain jane Ford Mustang, the 1971 Mustang Mach 1 featured some distinctive interior additions for their lucky owners to enjoy. Like the 1970 Mach 1, the new car had it's own special high back buckets, with distinctive styling and familiar comfort weave panels. The dash featured big round gauge pods, with a tachometer on one side and speedometer on the other. There was a wide variety of 1971 Mustang Mach 1 specs, depending on your desires and the size of your wallet. The base engine was a 302 cubic inch (5.0 liter) V8 with a 2 barrel carburetor. A total of four 351 cubic inch Cleveland V8's were available, including a 240 hp 2 barrel, 285 horsepower 351 Cleveland 4 barrel, 280 horsepower Cobrajet and the 330 horsepower Boss 351 engine. And with all that extra real estate under the hood, there was still room for the 370 horsepower big block 429 cubic inch Cobrajet and the even more powerful 375 horsepower Super Cobrajet V8.

Except for styling, which drew mixed reviews, the press gave a hearty thumbs-up to the '99 Mustangs. Road & Track pronounced the fortified V-6 "a respectable performer. It's not as quick or smooth as the GT, but it's no slouch." AutoWeek's Daniel Pund agreed and applauded all models for a more solid driving feel. Though Ford initially claimed slightly improved rigidity, Pund quoted Giltinan as saying this was virtually unchanged. The GT earned its own kudos. AutoWeek soon got into a GT ragtop, which clocked 5.9 seconds to 60 mph and the quarter-mile in 14.44 at 96.9 mph despite a 150-pound weight penalty. But all was not right with the SVT Cobra -- performance numbers didn't match up with what owners and reviewers expected. Keep reading to learn about a manufacturing error that lead to decreased performance and forced Ford to recall all '99 SVT Cobras. The 1999 Mustang Cobra's performance issues were a black eye for Ford.

The Mustang team was anxious to recover lost ground and keep fans satisfied with the 2000 lineup. 150. Despite a worsening economy and little new among mainstream models, sales actually turned up on a calendar-year basis, gaining 4.1 percent to 173,676 units. Mustang's main event of 2000 was the new Cobra R. Like the last R-model of '95, this one was street-legal but obviously track-oriented -- "a turn-key racing machine," as Road & Track called it. The 2000 Ford Mustang Cobra R was clearly a racing machine, with a powerful V-8 engine, beefed-up suspension, and a high-riding spoiler. Speed freaks salivated over a 5.4-liter 32-valve twincam V-8 like that in the big Lincoln Navigator SUV, thoroughly massaged by SVT and Ford's Special Vehicle Engineering group headed by John Coletti. As usual, the focus was on better breathing. A new intake manifold sported large, curved "air trumpets," exhaust ports were enlarged, and there were tubular headers connected to X-pipes ahead of Borla mufflers and twin side-exit exhausts. Because of its extra height, the 5.4 nestled beneath a very bulged hood with functional vents on a rear-facing scoop.

Suspension was beefed up with ultra-stiff Eibach springs, hard bushings, and premium Bilstein shock absorbers that slammed ride height by 1.5 inches at the front, an inch at the rear. Heavy-duty halfshafts were specified, along with jumbo Brembo disc brakes clamped by four-piston calipers. Tires were purpose-designed 265/40ZR Goodrich "g-Force KD" on 9.5 3 18 forged-aluminum wheels. Thanks to targeted tweaking by the SVT group, the 2000 Ford Mustang Cobra R was the fastest factory Mustang yet. Completing the package was a short-throw six-speed manual transmission by Tremec -- Mustang's first six-cog gearbox -- working through a stock Cobra clutch to a special Gerodisc hydromechanial differential with 3.55:1 gearing. SVT again omitted the back seat, air conditioning, sound system -- and a lot of sound insulation. Curb weight was variously quoted at 3580-3610 pounds, far from feathery but light enough for the new R-model's 385 horsepower and 385 pound-feet of torque. The result was the fastest factory Mustang yet. Car and Driver timed 0-60 mph at just 4.7 seconds and a standing quarter-mile of 13.2at 110 mph. Road & Track got 4.8 and 13.2/109.1 mph, but these and other published numbers slightly bettered Ford claims.