DETROIT’S automakers have long defended their racing expenditures with a simple axiom: Win on Sunday, Sell on Monday.
But in at least one form of competition, this often-costly formula may be turning upside down, with automakers producing and selling limited editions intended solely for track use; the cars cannot be registered for road use. Essentially, they are moving the cars raced on Sundays from the expense side of the ledger to the income side.
The low production volume will not turn Detroit’s fortunes around. Still, when Ford built a run of 50 2008 Cobra Jet Mustangs specifically for drag racing, the program was successful on at least two levels. Not only did the cars sell out quickly at $69,900 each — Ford emphasized that it made a profit on each — but one went on to win its first race, taking Stock Eliminator honors at the National Hot Rod Association Winternationals here last month.
Dodge, another veteran of the ’60s horsepower wars, is also in the game with its Drag Pak program from Mopar… Details
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