Brenton Johns 
The world caught a glimpse into the future of racing last weekend, as the electric Ford Mustang Cobra Jet 1400 soared past its own NHRA quarter mile record with ease. The all-electric drag racer made just a hair over eight seconds, and did it with a motor sounding reminiscent of a giant, massive wind-up toy.
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The times they are-a-changing for the racing world. Electric vehicles are getting faster, and every day inching closer to their gas-burning competition in the sport of speed and acceleration. Ford, to the surprise of nobody, has recently taken center stage in showing off its electric innovations, like the super-powered Mustang Mach-E 1400 and the Cobra Jet 1400. The 1400 in the name refers to the 1400-plus horses each vehicle cranks out from its huge motor-inverter setup.
Electric Ford Mustang Cobra Jet: Quick And Quiet
The Cobra Jet in particular set a record last year an 8.201-second time at 169 mph, proving Ford’s worth on the strip. Then, in April, it took on a side-by-side race with the Mustang Mach-E 1400. Funny car pilot Bob Itasca III sailed his ride past its SUV big brother, driven by NASCAR driver Joey Logano, by a margin of two long seconds to a time of 8.48 seconds. Now, Itasca has once again gotten behind the wheel of the Cobra Jet 1400 to deliver yet another record, claiming the quarter mile in 8.128 seconds at a stunning 171.97 mph.
The record brings the Ford ever closer to the seven-second range, but it’s not just the outright quickness that makes an impression. It’s the sound, or, well, the lack of sound. The Ford Mustang Cobra Jet 1400 looks like it should be spitting fire and growling furiously as it takes off like a rocket, but no more than a slight whirring noise is audible. The question to be answered in the coming years is of whether any of the excitement of watching a race is diminished. Will fans come out if they don’t get to hear the earth-shattering rumble as well as the breakneck speed?
Imagine you spend several months and hundreds of thousands of dollars building the perfect dragster and then getting clocked by something that sounds like a living room fan.