Yandro's 1,500-HP Ford Mustang SVT Cobra

Lately, performance cars have embraced automatic transmissions. Unlike the old days of power-robbing, soul-crushing autotragic slushboxes, modern, performance-oriented automatics can actually shift faster than their manual counterparts. That said, manuals are much more entertaining to drive, and a dedicated group of enthusiasts (your fearless editor included) would rather shift their own gears.

For folks like us, this man is a hero. Yandro has owned his 1998 Ford Mustang SVT Cobra for about three years now. Starting out with an already-potent 305-horsepower DOHC aluminum V8, Yandro took a path familiar to many Mustang owners. He started with bolt-on upgrades, then tried nitrous and superchargers before landing on his current setup.

Now on its second engine, Yandro's Cobra still has a stock-displacement 4V Mod motor (with the stock forged crank, no less) between the fenders, now fed by a pair of Precision 62mm turbochargers. Other modifications include updated factory heads from an '03-'04 Terminator Cobra and a hand-made intake manifold that's taller than Nakatomi Plaza. Yippie ki yay.

Now producing 1,500 horsepower, the bright yellow Cobra runs the quarter mile in the seven-second range, with Yandro still shifting his own gears … read more