Ford Mustang news - Battle of the bulge - 2009

Yowch. Is that a four-litre Whipple supercharger under your bonnet... or are you just pleased to see us?

The SEMA show has only just kicked off in Las Vegas, but we think we might have found an early contender for ‘bulgiest car in show'.

This is the Mustang Cobra Jet, the latest version of Ford's drag-race ready muscle car, intended for stock and super stock racing and armed with a nose like a great chrome proboscis monkey.

Hiding under that bonnet is a 5.4-litre V8 equipped with a 4.0-litre supercharger. Ford hasn't yet revealed the Cobra's power output, but says that in base form it will develop around 475bhp - so expect this forced induction monster to pump a whole lot more than that to those fat rear tyres.

For the first time, the Cobra is equipped with proper launch control, enabling those dedicated draggists to nail the perfect start every time. We're no experts in the world of drag racing, but doesn't that, sorta, take the only element of skill out of proceedings?

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