One-Year Test Verdict: 2003 Ford Mustang SVT Cobra Convertible
Showing its age, but still a rocking horse
By Editors of Motor Trend
Photography by John Kiewicz, John McGann, Scott Mead, Brian Vance
Ford's SVT Cobra is the most powerful, highest-performing production Mustang currently offered--and among the best to date. But it's an aging platform (due to be replaced next year) and far from perfect. That hasn't kept it from being the best-selling Cobra of all time, however. For the 2003 model, nearly 13,500 customers--over 5000 of them Cobra-convertible buyers--paid from $34,750 to almost $40,000 to take one home. They looked import-performance devotees in the eye and said, "I want my rear-drive ponycar!"
Ford's Special Vehicle Team upped the Cobra's ante last year with the addition of an Eaton Roots-type supercharger to the 4.6-liter 32-valve V-8. From the naturally aspirated 2001 model's 320 horsepower and 317 pound-feet of torque, output rose to 390 horsepower, 390 pound-feet. That put performance in the ballpark of the limited (300 units), all-out racer SVT Cobra R from the 2000 model year.
Our Take: 2003 Ford Mustang SVT Cobra Convertible
What's Hot
• Strong, sweet-sounding supercharged power
• Rarefied owner's club; ragtop even scarcer
• SVT-signature styling What's Not
• Poorly located shifter
• Dated interior, challenging ergos
• Drop-top-limited trunk space Don't Miss
Functional flow-through hood scoops help vent hot air from the engine compartment Bottom Line
Ends this generation of Mustang on a high note, but time for something up to date |
For an imposing base price of $38,995, our Dark Shadow Grey convertible came with the signature Cobra front and rear fascias, rocker panels, hood, rear deck, and color-keyed outside mirrors. The Cobra is the only Mustang with independent rear suspension.
Other standard equipment included the T-56 six-speed manual, SVT instrumentation, power windows and locks, Nudo leather/Preferred suede upholstery with power adjust and power lumbar/bolsters for the driver's seat, tilt steering wheel, cruise, security system with keyless entry, Mach 460 audio with six-CD in-dash changer, and power top. We added the only extra cost option available: chrome wheels ($695), for a total of $39,690.
It's not only the strongest Mustang yet, but also (save for the aforementioned SVT Cobra R) the most expensive. By comparison, a 2003 260-horse Mustang GT Premium Convertible stickered for about $10,000 less.
The basic structure of this Mustang dates back almost 25 years. Senior editor Ron Sessions writes, "Considering that the basic package hails from the late 1970s, when just about all cars were embarrassingly bad in terms of fit and finish, noise, vibration, harshness, ergonomics, and structure, it's amazing the Cobra performs as well as it does."
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