Cyclone 428 Cobra Jet

When it comes to muscle cars, I'm not generally a Ford man--the major exception being the Mercury Cyclone 428 Cobra Jet.




The Cyclone Cobra Jet teases my imagination like no other FoMoCo muscle car. For starters, the Cylone Fastback has just the right look for a muscle car--obviously muscular without being too tastelessly overt. It's bluff and tough in front, but with sweeping, elegant flanks terminating in a tasteful rear fascia. The Cyclone was one of the early wave of slightly more aerodynamic muscle cars built to jockey for dominance in NASCAR--a philosophy that led to its ultimate expression in the form of a former Car Lust, the Plymouth Superbird.



Beneath the skin, the Cyclone looks even better. Many Ford engines of the time were simply outgunned by their GM or Mopar counterparts. While the typical 390 big block was a fine engine when considered on its own, it was too small and too tame to compete with the Hemi, 440 Six Pack, or the GM big blocks. Meanwhile, the ruffian of the family, the racing Ford 427, was too raw and uncivilized to allow for acceptable drivability on the road.