1-of-1 1970 Torino Cobra Super Cobra Jet Is an All-Original Racer With Surprising Options

Also in 170, the Torino Cobra was released – the high-performance variant of the mid-size Blue Oval muscle car. And yet another 1970 novelty was the 429 Cobra Jet V8, the big-block powerhouse to rule them all.

The Torino almost became a superstar of the automotive universe in the early sixties when it made the short list of proposed names for an all-new automobile that was to make the world debut in the spring of ’64. That car, with a galloping horse as its emblem, ultimately received another name, inspired by a fighter plane from twenty years before, in itself christened after the spirited symbol of the Wild West: the American Mustang.

We can only speculate on the hypothetical fate of the pony car if the Torino had come out on top in the ballot. Who knows? Maybe we wouldn’t have had the ‘pony car’ taxonomy altogether had the Italian-inspired baptizing proposal made it into production. But someone had a marvelous idea, and the ‘Torino’ was mothballed.

Its time came in the late sixties, and in 1970, it was in full blossom, with the muscle car paying homage to the Italian automotive industry’s equivalent of Detroit. Turin (Torino in Italian) was the traditional cradle of motoring in the European country. Over in Dearborn, the Torino played a more practical role – it was destined to do battle against the Charger, the Coronet, the Super Bee, the GTS, the Satellite, the Belvedere, the Road Runner, the Chevelle, the GTO, the GS, the 442, or the Cyclone.

Splendid company and equally fierce competition on strip and street – the Torino had it coming but came prepared. The 429 cubic inches of the then-new Cobra Jet V8 (seven liters) were the best Ford had to throw in the horsepower wars that peaked in 1970. The Torino Cobra came in hot at 370 hp and 450 lb-ft (375 PS, 610 Nm). Not a lot, considering what others had in store that year, but then again, engine performance was underrated to fly below the insurers’ radars.

Some 7,700 hundred Ford Torino Cobras were assembled for the 1970 model year – not a whole lot, all high-performance things considered. The entire Torino range faired very well, with almost 430,000 units. Hence, the Cobra is a statistical rarity, with less than 0.02 percent of the model’s production. The breakdown is even deeper when we take the engine into consideration.

Out of the total Torino Cobra assembly, less than half (3,488 units, to be spot-on accurate) got the mighty 429 Cobra Jet V8. A sidenote is required here: the standard motor in a Torino Cobra was the 429-cube Cobra V8 (not Cobra Jet!), which was rated at ten less hp and thirty more lb-ft (so, 360 hp, 480 lb-ft / 365 PS, 651 Nm).

The remaining Cobras got the famous V8, and only half of those (1,765 copies) had a Drag-Pak option, which turned the 429 into a Super Cobra Jet. Throw in a few more details, like transmission, color, interior, and whatnot, and we get down to a handful – actually eight – that came in Medium Red livery with Dark Red Turin knit vinyl bucket seats, an optional self-shifting gearbox and a 3.91 rear gearing.

On December 29, 1969, a doctor from Cherokee, Iowa, bought his brand new 1970 Ford Torino Cobra with a Super Cobra Jet V8. His name was Keith Garner, and he liked to spend his spare time surrounded by incurable addicts, himself being one of them. Not in some sanatory institution, but out in the open, going back and forth between a multicolored artificial tree and a stopwatch placed exactly 1,320 feet away.

Dr. Garner was a drag racer, and his car was aptly named ‘Witch Doctor,’ and he won plenty of races over the following twelve years. The name of the mean Torino Cobra was applied to the Medium Red livery in 1973 and stayed there for the following 51 years.

Also, the muscle-flexing FoMoCo icon kept its original motor, transmission, rear end, sheet metal, interior, and what have you. The good doctor had a son, Greg, who also drag-raced the car and set a number of state and national records.

The father-son duo was the most successful father-and-son team running in NHRA-sanctioned events (National Hot Rod Association) between 1980 and 1994. After the Torino was retired, Garner’s Racing Team ran two other ‘Witch Doctor’ cars (a Chevrolet Malibu and an Oldsmobile Starfire). Keith drove his Torino Cobra until the end of 1979, when he passed it down to Greg, who raced it for another three seasons.

The car is now in impeccable condition. After the doctor passed away, it was sold, together with the Garner’s Racing Team’s other vehicles. It was kept in climate-controlled storage during their ownership, and whoever bought it did the same – hence, the splendid survivor starring in the video below. Shot this past summer by Bud Mac, the man behind the Muscle Car Syndicate YouTube channel, the video made it onto the video-sharing platform just now.

The car is a rare bird (snake?). As I mentioned, the Super Cobra Jet engine makes it a one-in-twelve, and the Drag-Pak wasn’t the only option the good Witch Doctor came out of the factory with. The original buyer also checked a radio (AM/FM Stereo – 214 bucks, the second most expensive option, behind the 229-dollar Cobra Jet engine) and power add-ons. Power steering, power brakes, power windows.

3.91:1 Traction-Lok No-Spin Differential, a three-speed SelectShift Cruise-O-Matic Drive automatic transmission, a console, tinted glass all around, high-back bucket seats, color-keyed racing mirrors, and Magnum 500 chromed wheels put the final price at 4,609 dollars. Add the transportation charge of 89.70, and this drag-racing champion sold for nearly 4,700 bucks when new. Care to guess how many like it were produced?

None. The options combination makes it a one-of-one—no other Drag-Pak Super Cobra Jet Torino Cobra made in 1970 came with power windows. The YouTuber doesn’t mention the mileage on it, and I can only see the last four digits on the odometer (2,416 miles). This is considering that this car has never been restored, and everything on it was put on at Ford’s Lorain facility in Ohio.