The Mustang's all-alloy 'Romeo' V8 is part of a modular engine lineup that runs right through to a - slightly less refined - V10. At launch its 240kW was more than any other Ford car available in Australia and there's also a meaty 430Nm of torque. The engine uses twin chain-driven camshafts with hydraulic valve-lash adjusters per cylinder bank, along with four valves per cylinder, and firing of the inlet charge is looked after by separate ignition coils for each cylinder. Compression ratio is 9.85:1. The Australian Cobra's aluminium-alloy block received a number of modifications to improve breathing, performance and noise suppression. If you hadn't already guessed by noting the 6800rpm redline, this is a high-tech V8.