Ford XP Bordinat Cobra (1965)

XP Cobra / Bordinat Cobra

As a side note to the successful X-Car program, and in the context of the enthusiasm then present throughout the Ford Styling Department, Gene Bordinat directed the styling studio to create a second version of the Cougar II for him. Bordinat wanted a dream car of his own, much as Bill Mitchell was then enjoying at General Motors and what Harley Earl had done earlier. Always interested in innovation and good styling, Bordinat’s customized X Car was a stunning statement of the kind of nimble, droptop Ford sports car that could be created. Called alternatively the XP Cobra or, more authentically, the Bordinat Cobra, this iridescent honey gold iteration of the Cougar II was a beautiful roadster with a body fashioned from Royalex – a miracle “memory” material that recovered from minor dents.

The Bordinat Cobra was the first coil-spring chassis Cobra, has a unique plastic body painted metallic silver, and features a 289 High-Performance engine with a C4 automatic transmission.