2003 Ford SVT Mustang Cobra
10th Anniversary Edition
Built June 9, 2003
- 1 of 8394 Cobra coupes
- 1 of 2003 Anniversary Edition Cobras
- 1 of 257 Black Anniversary Coupes
- Production number 7539
In early 2002, the various car enthusiast magazines started talking about Ford’s new Mustang Cobra. The buzz was that this was going to be a game changer. With an incredible hand-built, supercharged engine, independent rear suspension and styling that was functional, beautiful and aggressive, the car magazines knew something special was in the works. Finally in the Summer of 2002, the new SVT Cobra showed up in magazines. It was amazing, and I fell in love immediately. The styling really grabbed me, especially the dual heat-extractor hood. I never had seen such purposefully aggressive styling outside the designs rolling out from the studios of Maranello and Stuttgart.
But alas, I was in no position to afford an impractical, summer-time-only “toy” that was likely to cost upwards of $35,000. I sadly put it on the list of “things I’d like to own someday.” The release of the Cobras in 2003 came and went, and I only considered the dream on those rare occasions when I’d catch a quick glimpse of that amazing deeply vented hood.
Deep down, I’m a Mustang guy. My family has owned several – including a 1964-1/2 that my Dad brought home only a couple of months before my own arrival. At age 22, I bought my very first brand-new car – a 1987 Mustang GT in Dark Shadow Blue.
The 87 GT
But after marriage, college and starting a family, sadly I let Mustangs get away from me, and attempted to become more practical. But none of the cars I had ever really “fit”.
Then, in 2004, I drove past a Ford dealership and the repressed Mustang Guy fell in love with a Torch Red 2002 GT, jumped up and throttled “Practical Guy”. I immediately pulled in and worked a deal to trade my nearly new, practical Mazda (only 8 months old) for this beautiful red stunner dressed in black leather. Little did I know that I had just set myself on a path that would lead to a re-discovery of Mustangs and to ownership of one of my dream cars.
My 2002 Mustang GT
The Cobra
I had originally seen this car in person at the NH Mustang Club Father’s Day Show in June 2007. It was owned by a friend of mine, and on seeing it, I immediately knew that the car was meant to be mine. It was a gorgeous black 10th Anniversary Edition -- one of only 2003 of them made to commemorate the original 1993 SVT Cobra. The 10th Anniversary Edition Cobras included red leather inserts on the seats, red brake calipers, special 10th Anniversary badging, carbon fiber interior accents, special Anniversary specific wheels and were limited to Black, Red or Silver exterior colors. They were available as both coupes and convertibles.
I had already started the process of selling my 2002 Mustang GT, with the hope of acquiring a Cobra. I talked to Steve -- the owner -- and he said he wasn’t in a huge hurry to sell and we made a Gentleman’s Agreement that he would hold the car until I was able to buy it or till the end of summer. I saw it again at the Tasca Day show in September 2007:
Unfortunately, no one was biting on my GT!
The summer disappeared and turned into autumn, and I still hadn’t sold the car. I kept it listed through the winter and finally in March, a buyer contacted me and we completed the sale in April 2008. I immediately contacted Steve, expecting to hear that he had already gotten rid of the Cobra. But timing is everything as they say, and he had just listed the car for sale the previous day! I told him to drop everything and that I’d take the car for his asking price, pending inspection by myself and NHMC Pres. Rick Lacourse.
I bought the Cobra on May 5th, 2008. Just driving it home, I hadn't been on the highway more than 10 minutes, when I got my first "Thumbs Up" from a carful of young 20-somethings. Wow, it was a good feeling. The date of purchase was fortuitous too, as it was also the first NH Mustang Club cruise night of the year, so I got to show it off immediately!
The car had 12,060 miles on it when I got it. I was the third owner. As of this writing in May 2010 there are just 16,084 miles on the car.
Just arrived home, May 5, 2008.
The Mystery
The car has an interesting sale story. As with all Anniversary Edition Cobras, it was built near the end of the 2003 production run. This one specifically was built June 9, 2003. It was then shipped to North Carolina. And this is where it starts getting a little fuzzy. Ford SVT lists the car as being shipped directly to Dale Jarrett Ford in Indian Trail, NC near Charlotte. (This is another positive connection, as Dale Jarrett was my favorite NASCAR driver before he retired from racing the Ford UPS #88.)
When I contacted the original owner of the car, he said,“I bought the car new. It was the deal whereby the dealership said they could get me any color in 24 hours. I wanted the black and red, so Dale Jarrett said they would have it in 24 hours. They called me two days later at 6:00 pm at night to come see the car. We did the paperwork and left happy with the car. Dale Jarrett Ford provided me paperwork that showed 40 miles when I picked up the car. The next day I noticed the car meter said 400 miles not 40 miles. I called the Dealership and the explanation was that it was delivered somewhere else and they had to get it driven to Charlotte.”
Another addition to the mystery of the car is that fact that although it was built and delivered (somewhere) in June of 2003, it wasn’t actually sold until April of 2004.
And finally, there appears to be some old paint damage on the car – I suspect it got scraped under the drivers side rear-quarter window either during delivery or while it was on the lot. It was repainted (although not very well by our standards) and eventually sold. The damage could be the explanation for the delayed sale, although 10 months delay to touch up some paint seems excessive.
Since buying the car, I have kept it mostly stock. The previous owner had put on a Magnaflow cat-back exhaust, replaced the clutch with a Centerforce II, installed a Pro5.0 shifter and a BBK chrome Cold-air Intake. The only worrying upgrade was the clutch, but he was planning on changing pulleys and racing the car, and wanted a better clutch -- but never got around to installing the go-fast parts.
I have since replaced the restrictive BBK air intake with a K&N filter in a modified stock airbox and got rid of the awful Pro5.0 shifter, putting in a MGW. In Fall 2008 it dyno’d 394 RWHP and 359 RWTQ.
I plan on installing a high-flow catted H-pipe, a K&N or JLT CAI, and someday probably a pulley and tune.
However, my main concern for now, is keeping the car as stock-looking as possible.
I intend to keep this car for many years – as I think these “Terminator” Cobras will be real collector’s items in the future.
Fall 2008
Summer 2009
Fall 2009
Sold But Never Forgotten
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