If you want to own a very collectible piece from the golden era of NASCAR, then this 1970 Ford Torino King Cobra prototype might be the kind of car you've been looking for. Formerly owned by the infamous Bud Moore, this one of two prototypes will set you half a million bucks, which is change compared to the 1971 Plymouth Hemi Cuda Convertible recently sold for $3.5 million.
So what's the catch with this car, what other things make it so special except its NASCAR heritage and Bud Moore Engineering link? In order to answer that question, we have to travel back in time to the legendary "Aero Wars" that took place between the '69 and '70 Grand National championships. At that time, General Motors was out of the competition, making Ford and Chrysler the big dogs of NASCAR racing.
In the red corner there was Dodge with its Charger Daytona racer, which captured a staggering 18 NASCAR victories in 1969. The Blue Oval's response came in the shape of the Ford Torino Talladega, which claimed the 1969 Daytona 500. Ford's Mercury division rolled out the Cyclone Spoiler II aerodynamic masterpiece the same year, but Ford's trump card for this season was the introduction of the Boss 429 motor.
Designed as the successor of the Torino Talladega aero warrior, the Torino King Cobra featured an enhanced aerodynamic design dominated by the sleeker front end and a sloped nose. Unfortunately, a NASCAR change of rules in 1970 stated that 3,000 vehicles had to be produced to make the King Cobra eligible to compete in the NASCAR series. Ultimately, Ford never raced the King Cobra, building just two prototypes of the breed, the one pictured being the only unit powered by the Boss 429 V8.
Like all NASCAR racers of that era, the 1970 Ford Torino King Cobra was a pretty unique and amazing vehicle, measuring 17.5 feet in length. Despite the impressive bodyshell and nuclear warhead under the bonnet, this car is all Torino underneath. A pretty notable difference in terms of hardware are the custom long tube headers connected to a massive dual exhaust system tamed by IMCO mufflers. The Boss 429's oomph is handled by a Toploader four-speed transmission, while a 9-inch rear axle puts the power to the ground through 3.50 gearing.
Even though the odometer reads 42,235 miles, all of them are thoroughly documented and the car has been cared for properly throughout its 44 years of existence. While that $549,900 sticker price is a tad unattainable for most of us NASCAR fanatics, you can quench a small part of your desire to own the marvelous Ford Torino King Cobra by checking out video and photo gallery below.
After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well. Full profile
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