Michael Satterfield
by Michael Satterfield – 03/09/2013
After much success in the late 60s, Ford planned to introduce another limited edition Torino to once again dominate at NASCAR. The result was the 1970 Ford Torino King Cobra. Like the Talladega, the King Cobra was modified with aerodynamics specifically in mind and looked very different from a typical 1970 Torino. It had a sloped front end with dual headlamps located in sugar scoop-shaped cut-outs on the front fenders.
The King Cobra’s grille was a large opening below the front bumper, much like the bottom breather design now used in some modern cars. Parking lamps were located between the headlamps, molded into the front fascia. The hoods had a blacked-out center portion, and a side stripe similar to 1968-69 Torino GTs ran from the front fender to quarter panel. Ford planned to offer covers for the headlight cutouts to NASCAR teams to improve aerodynamics even further. In actuality, it is said the front end created too much downforce. In addition to no rear downforce creation, this caused the car to become very loose in turns as per Musclecar Review.
Due to NASCAR changing the homologation rules which increased the minimum number of cars produced for the public from 500 to 3,000 for a vehicle to qualify at NASCAR, and new Ford president Lee Iaccoca, the King Cobra project was abandoned by Ford. It never saw a NASCAR track or a showroom and only three prototype cars were produced.
One was equipped with the Boss 429 engine, only offered otherwise in the Boss 429 Mustang, one had the 428 SCJ, and one had a 428 CJ. The Torino King Cobra with the Boss 429 has been listed on eBay as of 3 May 2014, with a “buy-it-now” price of $599,999.
