25 Greatest Mustangs: 1978 Mustang II King Cobra
On the heels of the 1977 hit film Smokey and the Bandit, Pontiac Trans Am sales went through the T-tops. Ford wanted a piece of the action. The Fox-body Mustang was still a year away, so Dearborn worked with what it had, the Mustang II hatch.
The seven available King Cobra color schemes included a Bandit-like black-and-gold model, and the graphics were clearly Trans Am-esque. Tiny 13-inch lace wheels, a front spoiler, a fake hood scoop with Ford’s first 5.0 graphic, and a four-speed stick were also included.
With so few survivors, they are head-turners today.
[Editor’s Note: This story originally appeared as part of the 25 Greatest Mustangs cover story in the July/August issue of Hagerty Drivers Club magazine. You can find the other entries here.]
The Mustang II was great car for the time and we would not be able to keep the Mustang name all thru and yes it was going to be bigger and they stop that I own a Mustang II and I love it
Had the 75 Mustang 11 Mach1 I had the 302 n o AC car. I swapped the carb for a Holley 500 cfm 2 barrel . I trophy raced at North Star bdrag strip in Blaine MN. back in the day. It won its class every weekend I was there. I burned 4 sets of back tires off it in a summer. I sold it and bought a Chevy k1500 short box with a 400 small block. Pretty quick Truck in the day too.
Mustang 11 Mach 1