Published: Nov 21, 2012

Mustang Cobra Jet Pops and Crashes

This is what happens when you give too much car to a driver who can't handle it.

Who doesn't love to watch a Mustang Cobra Jet tear off down the dragstrip? Green Peace activists, perhaps. But while sitting behind the wheel of a car like this is undoubtedly thrilling, there are also dangers involved, particularly in the handling department. Powered by a 690-horsepower V8, just 50 Mustang Cobra Jets were built with the sole intention of giving speed freaks the ride of their lives. All that muscle makes it prone to pop wheelies on command. Not always successfully, though.

An example of such a debacle can be seen here as the driver of this Cobra Jet lost control of the car while heating things up on the strip. This particular Cobra Jet recently scored an impressive 8.9-second 1/4-mile drag time, but planting all that power on the road is a mean feat this driver apparently wasn't up for, as you can see from these videos.

The first clip shows the car from the outside popping its front wheels in the air, while the second reveals the problem that likely caused it to crash once it hit the ground again. The driver, it seems, turned the steering wheel while pointed at the sky, so when the wheels that steer made contact with the asphalt again, it pulled quickly to the side.