Last week at the SEMA Show in Las Vegas, Ford Racing made a huge splash with the drag racing community with the unveiling of the all-new 2016 Cobra Jet Ford Mustang factory drag car — the first such vehicle based on the new S550 pony car. The new project was the product of months of engineering, development, and on-track testing by the team at Ford Racing, and while show-goers were only able to get a static glimpse of the sleek new car destined for NHRA Stock and Super Stock competition, Ford did reveal some behind-the-scenes footage of the car being flogged at the Milan Dragway during the reveal and on the internet to catch it in action.

The 8-second capable Cobra Jet was the answer to the question that many had when the new 2015 Mustang was launched as to whether Ford would continue the Cobra Jet program into the new vehicle platform. The car shown at the Las Vegas Convention Center featured a Whipple-supercharged version of the venerable 5.0-liter Coyote powerplant, while underneath, a solid rear axle intended for drag racing purposes replaced the independent rear suspension that’s standard on all 2015 and 2016 Mustangs. Ford added a 9-inch rear end housing with 3.89 gears and 40-spline Strange axles, along with a custom 4-link suspension setup to deliver a car that can plant the tires, hang the hoops, and drive straight and true on its way to (Ford hopes) heads-up victories over the COPO Camaro and Drag Pak Challenger.

The 2016 Cobra Jets will also sport trunk-mounted fuel cells with Aeromotive fuel systems, Corbeau race seats, five-point race harnesses, and 8.50-certified rolls cages, along with a full gauge cluster, Weld Racing wheels wrapped in Hoosier rubber, and three-speed T4 transmissions.

While the video footage captured during Ford’s testing in Milan, a short drive from Ford’s headquarters in Detroit, doesn’t give away any performance numbers straight from the factory, they do give some glimpse of how impressive and dialed-in these cars are. They also give one a little envy, as well.

Photos and videos courtesy Ford Racing