- A pristine 1996 Mustang Cobra with just 5,445 miles has been listed for $29,500.
- Power comes from a naturally-aspirated 4.6L V8 making 305 hp and 300 lb-ft.
- It features aftermarket wheels and a Magnaflow exhaust, but original parts are included.
If you ask ten different car enthusiasts to name their favorite Ford Mustang generation, you’ll probably get ten different answers. Personal preference often comes down to nostalgia, whatever was making headlines (or tire smoke) when you were young tends to stick as the Mustang to have. For some, that means a 1996 Cobra like this one, a pristine time capsule that represents peak ’90s pony car glory.
Unlike most Mustangs its age, this 29-year-old Cobra hasn’t spent its life racking up miles at stoplight drag races. Instead, it’s been carefully preserved, showing just 5,445 miles (8,762 km) on the odometer, basically still in its break-in period.
Normally, a low-mileage gem like this would be listed through a major auction house or a high-profile online platform. But not this one. This Cobra has popped up in a more old-school setting: Craigslist, in Madison, Virginia.
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According to the owner, they purchased the Cobra from a Mustang collector, and it’s described to be in near-new condition. Cobra models from this era were powered by a 4.6-liter naturally-aspirated V8 delivering a meaty 305 hp and 300 lb-ft (410 Nm) of torque. While a new Mustang Dark Horse has 200 hp more than that, 305 horses is still plenty to play with, especially without all the electronic nannies of modern cars. Power is sent to the rear wheels through a five-speed manual transmission.
This example is painted in a simple shade of gloss black and looks the business. It’s currently rocking a set of aftermarket wheels, but the original wheels and tires are included in the sale. It’s also been updated with a Magnaflow exhaust to let that V8 breathe a little better.
While the car looks well-preserved, the listing is a bit thin on details. There’s no mention of its full ownership history or whether it’s received any major service over the years, something worth considering for a car that’s spent more time parked than driven. The interior, while impressively clean, does show some deep creases in the seats, a reminder that leather ages even when the car itself doesn’t.
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Asking price? That would be $29,500, according to the listing. That’s nearly as much as a brand-new, four-cylinder EcoBoost Mustang ($31,920), but this ’96 Cobra offers something the new car can’t, a direct line back to a different era of Ford performance, when 305 horsepower still felt like a big deal.
