GRC Ford Fiesta ST Takes On Mustang Cobra Jet In A Drag Race: Video

Think quick: what do the Grand Rally Cross (GRC) Ford Fiesta ST and a Ford Mustang Cobra Jet have in common? Besides the fact that both are race cars based on production vehicles, and possibly shared a few engineers during their development, The Blue Oval badge is the only thing uniting these two vehicles. That’s why we were surprised to see Ford Racing pit the two cars against each other in a drag race, featuring none other than NHRA drag race champ Roy Hill and rallycross star Tanner Foust. The difference between the two drivers and the two cars makes the race rather unique and interesting to watch.

Before the race starts, the two drivers engage in some pretty entertaining smack talk, about their cars and their respective choice of driving. The Mustang is all smooth, Hill points out, but Foust’s Fiesta — having been in a roll-over accident hours before, is all dented and beat up in general. Then comes the bragging: Hill’s Mustang has a parachute and power windows, but Fousts’ Fiesta sports AWD, does smoky donuts, takes big jumps like a champ, and plays well in the dirt, which makes Foust’s comment about the track being swept before the drag race that much more comical. Once the smack talking is over with, the two drivers strap in and wait for the green.

As you might expect, the supercharged 5.0 liter Cobra Jet pops a wheelie and takes off, but Foust’s Fiesta and its 2.0 liter turbocharged I4 delivering power to all wheels help it match the Cobra Jet’s launch.. at first. After that, the Mustang takes it all the way. Which brings us to another funny moment: after running and losing to Hill in the “proper” direction of the drag strip, Foust pops a you-e and comically drives right back the other way down.

Due to its short gearing, the Fiesta continuously hit against the rev limiter in sixth, making us wonder what would have happened if it had two more gears, or perhaps even taller gears, in its arsenal. But that’s not to say that the Fiesta was a slouch: at the end of the video, Tanner revealed a quarter-mile time of 10.595 seconds — which is more than respectable, especially for a car completely not designed for the strip. Meanwhile, Hill achieved a time of 8.997 seconds, with a trap speed of 152.24 mph — over 24 mph higher than that of the Fiesta.

What’s interesting is that Foust exhibited quicker reaction times than Hill during the race. So once everything was said and done, Tanner invited Roy to take the Stang out on the dirt track for some jumps. After all, it was Foust racing his Fiesta in Hill’s backyard, so why shouldn’t Hill reciprocate?

Here’s the video of all that, and more:

The Motrolix Take

What a nice surprise from Ford Racing. If nothing else, it shows the wide array of motorsports effort in which the The Blue Oval is involved.

As for the actual outcome of the race: is anyone surprised that the made-for-drag-racing Cobra Jet won the drag race?