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Back in the 1990s, Ford’s Special Vehicle Team had all kinds of crazy ideas for performance. One of them was an SVT Crown Victoria, because who wouldn’t want a full-size body-on-frame sedan with a five-speed manual and an engine from a Mustang Cobra? That car never came to fruition, but Roush did use the idea with its so-called “Cobra Vic,” of which 18 were built for the Bob Bondurant driving school in Arizona. And one of them is for sale.
This particular Ford is listed at Bring A Trailer, and as we post this story on September 21, the high bid is $23,000 with less than a day remaining. According to the auction listing, this car was purchased from the Bondurant estate in 2022 and still wears faded Bondurant markings. Portions of the Vic have been repainted, but cracked clearcoat and other faded areas are noted in the description.
600 miles are reported on the odometer, a figure that would be remarkable if this were a normal 23-year-old super-sized Ford sedan. Actually, it’s still remarkable, though given its purpose, it’s safe to assume most of those miles were hard-earned doing laps at the school’s race track. It does run though, as we see in the walkaround video at the top of this article. And per the video, the Vic still drives like a new car.
10 Photos
Of course, no Crown Victoria was ever sold new with a full roll cage, fuel cell, battery cut-off switch, or a five-speed manual transmission. These were items plugged in by Roush, along with an upgraded suspension that included bigger roll bars, Eibach lowering springs, 3.73 gears, and a Ford Traction-Lok limited slip differential. It rides on 17-inch Cobra R wheels, and the five-speed lever sticks up through a center console sourced from the Ford Contour – AKA first-generation Mondeo for the Motor1 readers across the pond. As for the engine, it’s a straight pull from the 1999 Ford Mustang SVT Cobra making 320 horsepower.
Ford never graced its flagship sedan with a performance trim from the factory, but the essence of the stillborn SVT Crown Victoria did come to life with the 2003 Mercury Marauder. Its engine was the slightly less powerful Cobra V8 used in the Mustang from 1996-1998, and again in the 2003-2004 Mach 1. It made 302 hp under the hood of the big Merc, which also received an aggressive front fascia with round fog lamps, 17-inch five-spoke wheels, white gauges, and a menacing black paint job. It also received a floor-shifted transmission, but sadly it operated a four-speed automatic instead of a clutched five-speed.
With only 18 built, the old Bondurant Crown Vics are crazy rare and according to the walkaround video, this one was Bob’s own car. Any bets on what the final bid price will be for this special piece of Ford history?
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