The 2003 Ford Mustang Cobra Is Perhaps Greatest Mustang Ever Produced

Nah, the SVT was exciting at the time, but not by today's standards. The current Mustang with the Ecosport 2.3T has a 0-60 around 4.4 secs, so hard to get all excited about the SVT.

Ford produced the Raptor as an SVT model from 2010-2014, making it the last SVT produced. The Ford GT was not "SVT".

I owned a '92 Convertible Mustang LX (5.0 V8) and it was a very fun car. I remember when the SVT Cobra came out. It was so powerful and quick, and adding pulleys would quickly add even more power. Plus that was a lighter, more raw generation of Mustangs, which made it an exciting car to drive. And I give Ford kudos for continuing to improve the Mustang, even after Chevy killed off the Camaro in 2002. Ford could have just sat back and raked in the business that Chevy gave up, but they actually raised the bar with the SVT Cobra instead. The subsequent success of the Mustang brought out today's Challenger to compete in 2008, and Chevy realized their mistake and brought the Camaro back in 2009. But the evolution of the Mustang kept moving on, and the sophistication and balance of overall performance in later Mustangs exceeded the earlier musclecar and ponycar beginnings, and they shifted to compete in handling and braking using a stiffer more capable chassis that started to rival European sports cars. The new 2020 Shelby GT500 is not a dedicated drag racer like the Dodge Demon. It has an amazing 760HP, but it can put all that power down into acceleration without racing slicks, and it can run on a circuit racetrack with the top performance cars of today. Which adds up in my book as providing an outstanding and well rounded performance car. That doesn't take away from the historical importance and value of the SVT Cobra, but it does make today's Mustang's the best yet for me.

I am second owner of a 2003 Terminator. Two years ago, at approx 91k miles, the cooler took a dump. After researching, I shipped the motor to Proweld in Kentucky. The blower was then shipped to Stiegemeier in St. Louis. Results are 598hp at the crank, and no lumpy cam! It’s known around town as Sleeper Beauty!
I’m sure one day, from a roll, I’ll meet a faster street car...
Great article on the, “Terminator”.
Thanks

I bought the 03 cobra new, black convertible . Still have it . Best , most fun power house you could ever have . Still in garage shinning like a new penny
Low mileage and I love it more now than the day I drove it home from dealer .

Second owner 03 torch red 510 rwhp what a blast.Low miles .Make sure your going straight once 12 lp boost spins up .. What more can you ask for for the price

To me it's the best Mustang ever. I love the story behind the making of the car. The passion and responsibility the SVT Team poured into every mechanical aspect of the vehicle is to be admired. I'm the lucky 2nd owner of a 10th anniversary Torch Red. It's my dream car.

Ordered my 03 in July 02 from Langford Ford in LaBelle, Fl. Still have it with 15k miles. I'm in with you not only because of its power curve but, let's face it, it totally changed the game! Still quicker than a lot of today's cars.

I bought a 03 Cobra off the showroom floor the things I did in that car made me feel like a professional racing car driver thank you ford for the great experience

I hate to say it, but your wrong the 1999 cobra was a SVT with the first independent rear suspension. The reason everyone overlooks it was because of it not making the advertised hp of 320. Ford would recall them later to fix the issue. This reason is why there was no cobra in 2000, just the cobra R which was a limited run.

These cobras were cool for the time. They are not the greatest mustang ever made though. There are plenty of mustangs built better then these. A gt of the same year with a kenne bell would take a dump on the hood of one of these cars.

2003 satin silver vert 33k

I’ve got an 03 convertible I bought 12 years ago. I’ve done some work to it. It makes 832 RWHP. I’ve upgraded the seats to Recaros made for a 2012 Cadillac CTS. They are heated and air conditioned. I love this car. I plan to keep it until Gabriel blows the trumpet. I’ll put against anything out there. IT IS A SWEET RIDE. It is triple black.

Look the sn95 platform saved the mustang as a performance car, but really allowed the aftermarket to push what it can do legally: a lot of the tricks to make sn95 power are now standard in today's cars. From AFR heads, to Steeda road manners, MM suspension magic or Saleen styling. SN95 was the r&d for today's and likely tomorrow's Stang.

You gotta remember, they were lighter, less nanny equipment and you could still get 1000hp out those setups (look up wolverine).

Look the sn95 platform saved the mustang as a performance car, but really allowed the aftermarket to push what it can do legally: a lot of the tricks to make sn95 power are now standard in today's cars. From AFR heads, to Steeda road manners, MM suspension magic or Saleen styling. SN95 was the r&d for today's and likely tomorrow's Stang.

You gotta remember, they were lighter, less nanny equipment and you could still get 1000hp out those setups (look up wolverine).

I love the SN95 generation. I finished high school while dreaming about the new 1994 that had just debuted, so the terminator Cobra is special to me as well. However, overall, I would say that the 2011 to present Mustang GT is, overall, the greatest mustang ever built; perhaps the greatest OVERALL musclecar ever built.

Where else in the world can you buy world class performance with a 420+ horsepower engine, an excellent chassis and modern tech for a little over $33K? That's what the S197 and S550 mustangs bring to the table, and no one touches that then, now and probably not in the near future. I love most Mustangs, I own two 4th generations, but tbe 2011 and up Mustang GT's are where its at...

I love the SN95 generation. I finished high school while dreaming about the new 1994 that had just debuted, so the terminator Cobra is special to me as well. However, overall, I would say that the 2011 to present Mustang GT is, overall, the greatest mustang ever built; perhaps the greatest OVERALL musclecar ever built.

Where else in the world can you buy world class performance with a 420+ horsepower engine, an excellent chassis and modern tech for a little over $33K? That's what the S197 and S550 mustangs bring to the table, and no one touches that then, now and probably not in the near future. I love most Mustangs, I own two 4th generations, but tbe 2011 and up Mustang GT's are where its at...

I ordered my black '03 convertible from my dealer and took delivery in September of '02. I wanted Rio Red to go with my '99 Cobra vert, but it wasn't available that year. I would say that it is probably the greatest Mustang ever. Maybe not the best, but the greatest. Mild mods made it so much better for very little money. Such a fun car. I have a '12 vert, which is a better car as far as build and comfort goes, but it is nowhere near as fun to drive. Either way, I think his numbers are a bit skewed. Most of them seemed to test out at 4.6 seconds or so and mid-twelves in the quarter. Both of my Cobras are going to my grandnephews when I get too old to drive them. Many years from now, I hope.

I ordered my black '03 convertible from my dealer and took delivery in September of '02. I wanted Rio Red to go with my '99 Cobra vert, but it wasn't available that year. I would say that it is probably the greatest Mustang ever. Maybe not the best, but the greatest. Mild mods made it so much better for very little money. Such a fun car. I have a '12 vert, which is a better car as far as build and comfort goes, but it is nowhere near as fun to drive. Either way, I think his numbers are a bit skewed. Most of them seemed to test out at 4.6 seconds or so and mid-twelves in the quarter. Both of my Cobras are going to my grandnephews when I get too old to drive them. Many years from now, I hope.

Agreed!!!
So much so that I own 3 of them.
It was so highly underrated at 390hp that Ford advertised when introducing the car. We have Cobras here in South Florida making over 800RWHP on the stock internals, the Terminator engine is a beast of a power plant and 19 years later they're still more than handling it's on the streets.

I owned a 2003 SVT Cobra Special Edition. I’m surprised you didn’t mention it. There were only 2003 produced and came with authenticity paperwork and other goodies. I agree it was an awesome car!