If you think that turbocharging small engines to gain bigger power is a new concept for Ford, think again. In the late 1970’s through the 80’s Ford built Mustangs and even Probe GT’s with a turbo four cylinder. Some of those early Mustang examples even carried the Cobra name, likely a carryover from the Cobra II package from the defunct Mustang II.

We recently came across this 1979 Mustang Cobra on eBay, that appears to be a great unrestored example of those early Fox-body cars. This one had nearly every option box checked on the order sheet, when the original owner saw their Ford dealer in December of 1978. They ordered, center console, rear window defroster, titnted glass, A/C, AM/FM cassette radio, cruise, intermittent wipers, light group, power brakes, undercoating, and protection group. All these options brought the total retail price of the car to $7,465, no small sum of money nearly 35 years ago. In fact probably the only Mustang that would have been more expensive that year would have been a V8 equipped pace car.

Ford didn’t officially rate the little turbo engine that year, so we don’t know it’s exact horsepower, though we’ve seen reports ranging from 125-135 hp at the flywheel. Keep in mind this was at a time when the 302 was also carried over from the Mustang II days and making a miserable 143 hp.

Modifications listed include a change to Edelbrock injection, rear window louvers, and swap to Recaro seats, as well as two additional gauges added on. The car is also well documented even including the original sales paperwork and contract.

Less than 6,000 turbo four cylinder models were built in ’79, and fewer than that would have received the Cobra package, which also included Ford’s new TRX suspension, metric wheels, and bright polished tail pipes. So we have to wonder is this ’79 Cobra a collectors car in it’s current condition? With ’79 Pace Cars demanding a premium these days, these early Fox Cobras might be just what a Fox collector is looking for. Tell us what you think.