Shouldn't the 2000 Mustang Cobra R be worth more money?
Back in 1999, Ford introduced a ridiculous car called the Mustang Cobra R. If the normal Cobra wasn't enough for you, Ford would sell you the race track ready Cobra R, which had 385hp, 385 lb feet of torque, and only came in red. Most did not come with a radio or air conditioning, similar to today's Pony car track weapon, the Camaro Z28. The Cobra R also had one of the craziest spoilers this side of a Fast and Furious movie. Overall it looked like a Mustang that had gone through a 10 year old's imagination and came out as exaggerated as possible. (Did I mention it had side pipes? And a sticker on the doorjamb that said "do not drive this car in ice and snow or you will die?")
in the end, Ford only made 300 of these crazy machines, with each of them selling for an unheard of price (at the time for a Mustang) of $55,000 U.S.
So with all the rarity, why aren't they worth top dollar today? A search of the internet seems to put the current value of a low mileage Cobra R at about $45,000. Sure, still a fair amount of money, but why so low? Why hasn't this car gone price crazy with the rest of the ultra rare models and be worth thousands more than sticker? (See previous article about the Solstice Coupe which now sells above sticker) Sure, the dashboard of the Cobra R is basically unchanged from the stock mustang (which means it sucks) and the deli slicer inspired rear spoiler is a bit over the top, but shouldn't there be collectors willing to pay top dollar for the chance to have one of the rarest of the Mustangs?
My guess is that no one is paying attention to these yet. The Cobra R is not old enough, and therefore not cool enough, to be starting any bidding wars at a Barett-Jackson auction. The 2000 Cobra R still looks too modern to be cool as you are being outrun by a newer Coyote engined Mustang GT at the dragstrip, which could easily overpower it. 385 horsepower used to be a lot, but these days the Mustang V6 is probably almost as fast.
My guess is that the Cobra R will eventually be worth a lot of money. Just not yet. If I was looking for a car that was going to appreciate in value in the next 10 years, this would probably be a good choice. Plus, remember the sidepipes. You can never go wrong with sidepipes. (Unless you don't want to burn your legs)