Watson Racing...Street legal Mustang that runs 8s in the 1/4 mile

[Xcentric]

I know many of you guys are avid racers. For you this may not be news. For me, and maybe for some others here, this is pretty amazing.

Sure you can buy a factory Mustang Cobra Jet and run 8's out of the box. But, that's all you can do with it.

How about a Mustang you can title, register, insure, drive for burgers, and then run 8's? Well, some states may object to the details, but this Watson Racing Mustang is indeed street legal and running 1/4s in the 8's.

Watson Racing had a big presence this weekend at the NMCA "Muscle Car Mayhem" drags at Bradenton Motorsports Park. They brought several Cobra Jets, but they're common, eh? What grabbed my attention was this 2015 "GT" entered in the True Street class.

True Street means do whatever you want to the car, but it must be titled, registered, and insured. It must complete a 30 mile drive on local roads with the usual traffic lights and weekend congestion. Then it must run three back-to-back quarters.





Michigan tag. Some may take issue with tire tread. Has mufflers though. Not sure about cats.



No air bag might be an issue too. Cup holder is crucial.



How about this side-driven Whipple? I have not seen one of these fitted to a Coyote. The driver says it's a 2.7L. IDK, maybe a 2.9L? In any case, not huge. 17 psi boost and 11.0:1 compression ratio. :eek The canister with the red-rimmed lid is an ice box. Cool drinks on a hot Florida day!



Watson claims it is the world's fastest IRS drag car. Or maybe the world's fastest IRS Mustang. IDK...8 seconds is pretty fast. But, what kind of IRS? Well, they yank out the entire stock multi-link rear suspension that looks like this...



...and they replace it with a Watson built IRS that looks like this...







All the multi-link is gone. Looks like a fairly basic swing axle to me.

So why not a solid axle? Just guessing, but I think they like the sound of "World's fastest IRS."

Streetable if you can find race gas.



I asked the driver a few questions he couldn't answer, so he took me to his engine guy, who is sitting with a bunch of other Watson guys in front of their rig.

One Watson guy says "I remember you." Me: "What?" Him: "You were at our shop with a bunch of guys in GTs a few years ago." Me: "WTF?"

Yeah, we got to tour the Watson Racing shop as part of GT Joey's 50th Anniversary GT40 bash at the Automotive Hall of Fame in 2013.



So...this car is titled, registered, insured, street driven...and a couple tenths slower than a Cobra Jet. Mid 8's and mid-150s. :lol

I didn't ask if I could buy one.

 

[Sinovac]

Thanks for sharing that. Watson Racing turns out great cars, as you would expect with their involvement with the Ford factory race cars. I'd love to have them build a street legal drag car for me.

 

[RALPHIE]

Thanks for sharing that. Watson Racing turns out great cars, as you would expect with their involvement with the Ford factory race cars. I'd love to have them build a street legal drag car for me.

:agree: Is that 50 State legal?

I don't think CARB or California DMV would let it be registered...

 

[BIGFOOT]

Are these the guys that built the cage for the 302S and 302R?

 

[RALPHIE]

Are these the guys that built the cage for the 302S and 302R?

I believe they assembled the whole car from the chassis up. We toured the Watson Factory at GTJoey's event in 2013. It's about ½ way from Ford in Dearborn to the GT Guys in South Rockwood.

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[Sinovac]

:agree: Is that 50 State legal?

I don't think CARB or California DMV would let it be registered...

I'm not concerned about the Parallel Universe.

 

[Specracer]

What a cool car. I like the interior, with such "business" oriented gauging, but still with street car looks. Waston has also done a lot of work on the super fast 4 cylinder mustang drag cars too. If I recall didn't they build the 302r's for Grand Am?

 

[Awsum GT]

California smog rules suck... your car can pass the smog tail pipe portion of the test but fail the visual test (with a Paxton SC) and still fail the overall test. I thought the whole idea behind a smog test was to lower smog emissions...

Great looking Mustang's!

 

[twobjshelbys]

:agree: Is that 50 State legal?

I don't think CARB or California DMV would let it be registered...

I'm guessing not, and that it might have problems in other states that use a OBDII system readiness check. Nevertheless it's an awesome looking car!

Do they start with a full donor mustang or just a "body in white"?

 

[Specracer]

I would have to be a donor, as it has a VIN, and is registered. You can also see the full dash and interior. Also another small detail, notice that the air bag has been removed. Pretty sure that's a no no on the safety front, technically.

 

[twobjshelbys]

I would have to be a donor, as it has a VIN, and is registered. You can also see the full dash and interior. Also another small detail, notice that the air bag has been removed. Pretty sure that's a no no on the safety front, technically.

Yes, I was just thinking and that very thought came to mind. BIW doesn't have a VIN. I was also wondering what is on the display in the steering wheel.

 

[Biginch Blake]

I took my 2014 Boss 302S back to Watson Racing in January for a once over before the 2016 track events. Me and Indy GT went back to pick it up and got the grand tour of their facility, very impressive. They had 30+ Cobra Jets in various stages of completion and were all sold! They are going to come out with a road race Boss 302S with independent rear suspension but will have the 302 engine. They had the so called street Cobra Jet in the show room, very cool.

 

[Specracer]

I would speculate tuning management (engine / trans) . A car tuned to run in the 8's, is likely is not very street able with out some settling down.

I was also wondering what is on the display in the steering wheel.

 

[Cobrar]

I They are going to come out with a road race Boss 302S with independent rear suspension but will have the 302 .

Now yur talkin'. !!