The 1978 Mustang Cobra II continued to be a sheep in wolves clothing. It looked great but had no poke. When Ford introduced the Cobra II for the ’76 model year, it emulated the look, if not the performance, of a Shelby GT 350. The whole objective was to make the Mustang look sporty even though its performance was pretty paltry. The Cobra II’s graphics got louder in 1978, with “Cobra” in large letters on the door. The Cobra’s standard engine was the 2.3L four-cylinder, but more popular choices were the 2.8L V6 or 5.0L V8.
The Cobra II package $677 for the 1978 models. For the ’78 model year, the Cobra graphics were revised with tri-color stripes with large Cobra lettering running down the body sides. Color choices for the stripes were white with red, green, or blue and black with gold. While the earlier Cobra IIs were ridiculed by the press for being Shelby wannabes, the ’78 Cobra II was lambasted for its loud graphics.
