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2V Turbo Stick Shift Ford Mustang Drag Races Everything, Old Is Better Than New

Coming after the sometimes loved, sometimes hated Fox Body third generation, the SN95 Ford Mustang still used the long-lived platform, albeit in a thoroughly updated form. But it also arrived with huge design changes, paving the way for a fruitful experience that eventually led to the New Edge styling.
2V Turbo Stick Shift 1998 Ford Mustang drag racing Mustang and vintage cars on DRACS 53 photos
Photo: Drag Racing and Car Stuff / YouTube
2V Turbo Stick Shift 1998 Ford Mustang drag racing Mustang and vintage cars on DRACS2V Turbo Stick Shift 1998 Ford Mustang drag racing Mustang and vintage cars on DRACS2V Turbo Stick Shift 1998 Ford Mustang drag racing Mustang and vintage cars on DRACS2V Turbo Stick Shift 1998 Ford Mustang drag racing Mustang and vintage cars on DRACS2V Turbo Stick Shift 1998 Ford Mustang drag racing Mustang and vintage cars on DRACS2V Turbo Stick Shift 1998 Ford Mustang drag racing Mustang and vintage cars on DRACS2V Turbo Stick Shift 1998 Ford Mustang drag racing Mustang and vintage cars on DRACS2V Turbo Stick Shift 1998 Ford Mustang drag racing Mustang and vintage cars on DRACS2V Turbo Stick Shift 1998 Ford Mustang drag racing Mustang and vintage cars on DRACS2V Turbo Stick Shift 1998 Ford Mustang drag racing Mustang and vintage cars on DRACS2V Turbo Stick Shift 1998 Ford Mustang drag racing Mustang and vintage cars on DRACS2V Turbo Stick Shift 1998 Ford Mustang drag racing Mustang and vintage cars on DRACS2V Turbo Stick Shift 1998 Ford Mustang drag racing Mustang and vintage cars on DRACS2V Turbo Stick Shift 1998 Ford Mustang drag racing Mustang and vintage cars on DRACS2V Turbo Stick Shift 1998 Ford Mustang drag racing Mustang and vintage cars on DRACS2V Turbo Stick Shift 1998 Ford Mustang drag racing Mustang and vintage cars on DRACS2V Turbo Stick Shift 1998 Ford Mustang drag racing Mustang and vintage cars on DRACS2V Turbo Stick Shift 1998 Ford Mustang drag racing Mustang and vintage cars on DRACS2V Turbo Stick Shift 1998 Ford Mustang drag racing Mustang and vintage cars on DRACS2V Turbo Stick Shift 1998 Ford Mustang drag racing Mustang and vintage cars on DRACS2V Turbo Stick Shift 1998 Ford Mustang drag racing Mustang and vintage cars on DRACS2V Turbo Stick Shift 1998 Ford Mustang drag racing Mustang and vintage cars on DRACS2V Turbo Stick Shift 1998 Ford Mustang drag racing Mustang and vintage cars on DRACS2V Turbo Stick Shift 1998 Ford Mustang drag racing Mustang and vintage cars on DRACS2V Turbo Stick Shift 1998 Ford Mustang drag racing Mustang and vintage cars on DRACS2V Turbo Stick Shift 1998 Ford Mustang drag racing Mustang and vintage cars on DRACS2V Turbo Stick Shift 1998 Ford Mustang drag racing Mustang and vintage cars on DRACS2V Turbo Stick Shift 1998 Ford Mustang drag racing Mustang and vintage cars on DRACS2V Turbo Stick Shift 1998 Ford Mustang drag racing Mustang and vintage cars on DRACS2V Turbo Stick Shift 1998 Ford Mustang drag racing Mustang and vintage cars on DRACS2V Turbo Stick Shift 1998 Ford Mustang drag racing Mustang and vintage cars on DRACS2V Turbo Stick Shift 1998 Ford Mustang drag racing Mustang and vintage cars on DRACS2V Turbo Stick Shift 1998 Ford Mustang drag racing Mustang and vintage cars on DRACS2V Turbo Stick Shift 1998 Ford Mustang drag racing Mustang and vintage cars on DRACS2V Turbo Stick Shift 1998 Ford Mustang drag racing Mustang and vintage cars on DRACS2V Turbo Stick Shift 1998 Ford Mustang drag racing Mustang and vintage cars on DRACS2V Turbo Stick Shift 1998 Ford Mustang drag racing Mustang and vintage cars on DRACS2V Turbo Stick Shift 1998 Ford Mustang drag racing Mustang and vintage cars on DRACS2V Turbo Stick Shift 1998 Ford Mustang drag racing Mustang and vintage cars on DRACS2V Turbo Stick Shift 1998 Ford Mustang drag racing Mustang and vintage cars on DRACS2V Turbo Stick Shift 1998 Ford Mustang drag racing Mustang and vintage cars on DRACS2V Turbo Stick Shift 1998 Ford Mustang drag racing Mustang and vintage cars on DRACS2V Turbo Stick Shift 1998 Ford Mustang drag racing Mustang and vintage cars on DRACS2V Turbo Stick Shift 1998 Ford Mustang drag racing Mustang and vintage cars on DRACS2V Turbo Stick Shift 1998 Ford Mustang drag racing Mustang and vintage cars on DRACS2V Turbo Stick Shift 1998 Ford Mustang drag racing Mustang and vintage cars on DRACS2V Turbo Stick Shift 1998 Ford Mustang drag racing Mustang and vintage cars on DRACS2V Turbo Stick Shift 1998 Ford Mustang drag racing Mustang and vintage cars on DRACS2V Turbo Stick Shift 1998 Ford Mustang drag racing Mustang and vintage cars on DRACS2V Turbo Stick Shift 1998 Ford Mustang drag racing Mustang and vintage cars on DRACS2V Turbo Stick Shift 1998 Ford Mustang drag racing Mustang and vintage cars on DRACS2V Turbo Stick Shift 1998 Ford Mustang drag racing Mustang and vintage cars on DRACS
A lot of Mustang lovers far more appreciate the latter, but the original SN95 still has its diehard fans. Such as the owner of this white 1998 example with a fancy Cobra Jet livery, who was caught by the good folks over at the Drag Racing and Car Stuff channel on YouTube while hitting the strip at various recent events (Street Car Takeover, NMRA, or the Midwest Drags).

The initial presentation (along with the description) is quick to give us a few secrets of this tasty SN95, which has been properly equipped for the quarter-mile skirmishes. It not only comes with meaty Hoosier tires but also with a single Borg Warner S480 turbo kit strapped to a swapped 2V engine taken from a 2003 Expedition.

That’s right, we’re dealing here with a two-valve motor and to make things even more interesting, the mill sends the power to the rear wheels via a manual gearbox. It’s a great setup in the hands of someone who knows exactly how to tame the beast, as shown by the long list of confrontations.

The appetizer (at 1:17) comes in the form of a twin-turbo S197 Mustang that comes remarkably close to the 2V Mustang in the other lane. But it’s still not enough and the SN95 takes home the victory with a 10.02s to 10.45s ET. From the 1:55 mark, there’s an SN95 fest as the 2V model shows on three separate occasions why the fourth-generation Mustang still has a thing or two to prove in the drag strip arena.

With a trio of victories that saw the 2V dip in the nine-second area, it’s clear that both driver and machine can deliver a bit more than it meets the eye, as proven by the next skirmishes. First (at 4:05) an S550 Mustang GT gets a lesson in traditional old versus new (quarter-mile gods) fashion, leaving the strip with a shameful 13.79s ET against the SN95 Mustang’s 9.82s run.

Then, from the 5:55 mark, it’s time for a little bit of patina racing. First comes a derelict coupe (probably a second-generation Charger) that fails to impress both visually and in terms of performance, as the Mustang makes short work of this run with a 9.48s to 12.14s victory. A fourth-generation Camaro gets in the way of the oldies at the 7:25 mark but that was a mistake as the 2V comes out with its second-best result on record, an 8.99s run against Chevy’s 9.90s pass.

But no worries, because there’s more vintage action afterward (from the 9:05 mark), with the El Camino and Cheyenne trucks looking to save face for the General Motors team... and failing from a distance. Then, at the very end (10:55), it's time for the definitive victory against a Hellion twin turbo S550 with a great 8.88s pass.

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About the author: Aurel Niculescu
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Aurel has aimed high all his life (literally, at 16 he was flying gliders all by himself) so in 2006 he switched careers and got hired as a writer at his favorite magazine. Since then, his work has been published both by print and online outlets, most recently right here, on autoevolution.
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