Well, if you have not figured it out from the title, this is not a technical blog posting.  I have had a few people ask me about my car and give me confused, bewildered, and otherwise mystified faces.  Why you wonder, well – most people do not know that Ford ever made this car.  Yes, it is a Mustang; Yes, it is a Cobra; Yes, it is a convertible; and Yes – it has a removable hard-top as well! This was a car that I have wanted since I first saw them in 1995 at a local dealership, but unfortunately at that time I was not able to afford one.  As they say, all good things come to those who wait.
The 1995 Cobra was powered by a 240-hp 5.0L V-8 and is the same engine used in the 1994 Mustang Cobra.  The cars do 0-60 in about 6.7 seconds (slow compared to most cars today but back then that was quick!) and has a top speed of 140 mph.  Color options for the standard Mustang Cobra were Black (1433), White (1125), and Red (1447), for a total of 4005 units, of those 1003 convertibles were produced.  The 1995 model year was the only year a convertible hardtop was produced and only 499 of these Hardtop Convertibles were produced – all in Black .  There was a hardtop/ragtop that was installed as a prototype on a V6 and some GT Mustangs but were never “officially” produced.  Another new feature for 1995 was the addition of SVT badging, the Cobra’s from the previous years did not designate themselves as Special Vehicle Team cars.
What is the purpose of the Hardtop Convertible one may ask?  Well, the whole reason behind it (from my understanding) is so you can have a convertible in the summer via the soft-top, and then when Winter comes, put the hardtop on and you are good to go.  It was designed to be an all year car, not like the regular convertibles of the day that were summer only.  The hardtop has glass in the rear with a defogger, so it is a fully functioning top. Interior light, headliner, etc!
You can see the V6 Hardtop Convertible as well as some of the other prototype cars in the VHS cassette that accompanied the purchase of the car.  This tape was the instructions for how to remove and install the hard-top.   When I purchased my car the VHS tape came with it – and it was in very good shape.  I have since paid for the VHS tape to be professionally transferred to DVD format so that I can review it any time I would like.  I have since taken the DVD video and converted it to WMV format. Below is the video:

 

This Cobra is number 934 of 1003 when it comes to the number of Cobra Convertibles ans #435/499 of the Hardtop Convertibles.  This card listed for $30,685 in 1995 – now, that might not seem like too much today, but remember that the average price of a NEW car was $15,000 and the average income in the USA was $35,000/yr !  This Cobra was definitely in the high-end of pricing for cars that year!  The hard-top option added $1825 to the price of the base Cobra Convertible – and rumor has it that each roof was hand-fitted to each car.  The factory have a very difficult time with these tops as they did not fit perfectly right off the line.
I have had this car a little over a year now (purchased in the fall of 2009) and have really enjoyed it.  I think that I will keep it for a few more years until it is time for another toy.  One thing I have vowed to do is keep this car stock and original.  That has been a very difficult task as after-market power adders are so easy to find for this car.  But in the end, I think that it is worth more to the next collector if it is all there.
Below are some pics of the car and various accessories: