writer: Dr. Jamie Meyer
photographer: Randy Lorentzen
The what-ifs with the '03 SVT Cobra began the day the finalized production pictures and details were released to an awaiting public. If everything went the way it looked, the car would be the baddest, meanest, flat-out fastest Mustang ever produced.
Luckily for the Mustang nation, the car made it to production with an amazing number of features never before seen in a Mustang. Its six-speed transmission, IRS, and road-holding suspension would keep the road-course guys happy, while the supercharged 390-horse/390-lb-ft monster motor would keep the straight-line guys busy for a while. What's more, once tuners began looking at the final package SVT was about to release, they started thinking of the possibilities. You see, under that stock Eaton M-112 blower lies the most durable piece of Ford monster mill released on the free world since the 427 side-oiler.
Armon Javadi, owner of X2C Motorsports in Woodland Hills, California, was one of those tuners with the vision to see what potential could be released from an already jaw-dropping car. "I purchased this car in early 2003 as our new project vehicle," he says. "We were immediately blown away with it, and we began turning it into a street/drag car."
The crew at X2C installed long-tube headers and a smaller blower pulley. After some custom work on the intercooler (a larger tank), they hit the track with drag radials. The car immediately ran 11.60s, and the team realized they were on borrowed time with the stock IRS. While the IRS will take a beating, at these power levels and-especially-traction levels, it's a serious safety concern if the car were to spit an axle at 100 mph. With the transplanted Ford 8.8-inch unit, Armon switched to slicks. After just a rearend swap, the 10.90s-with trap speeds of more than 124 mph-were no problem.
The stock Eaton was basically used up at this point, so Armon had to make a few choices before the car progressed much further. He could have added nitrous, ported the stock blower, added a Kenne Bell blower, or done a combination of these. But the creative hot rodders at X2C chose a path no one else has yet to follow with these cars-they chose to add a turbocharger.
Since then, Armon has turned his partner and head of the research and development side of X2C Motorsports, Mark Luton, loose on the project of turbo-charging the once-blown Ford factory hot rod. The installation looks clean, with the turbo up high on the front of the engine, and the custom headers and exhaust. The sheetmetal intake gets rid of the Eaton blower, but Mark decided to stick with the stock lower manifold and the factory intercooler. Mild additions to the fuel system and intake tract made this swap a snap.
In early testing with only 17 psi (there are pulley packages for the stock Eaton that make more than 17 psi), the X2C Motorsports Cobra has ripped off 737 hp and 719 lb-ft at the wheels. Back at the track, the crew has been rewarded with 10.30s at more than 139 mph (1.42-second short time). Next up, there will be an 88mm turbo added to the mix for a shot at 950-1,000 hp. But, remember, that's with mild boost, and the X2C guys haven't even put an automatic in the car. We think 8.50s are a reality with 25 psi. Can anyone top that? We'll see.