Ford Racing has announced it will produce another run of 50 Cobra Jet race-ready Mustang drag cars for 2012 – and you can now choose between red and blue in addition to the familiar white.

Those who lament the passing of the “good ol’ days” of factory involvement in high performance should be taking note of the things going on in the industry during the past few years, particularly in Dearborn. Ford Motor Company has a long and storied history of racing involvement, but some of the programs to emerge from Ford Racing during the last couple of years are the sorts of things most thought would never be repeated once the golden age of American high-performance ended around the dawn of the 1970s.

One of the efforts that resonates with the tone of Ford’s Total Performance era of the 1960s is the current Cobra Jet Mustang program. Launched for 2008, the intent of the program was to produce drag-strip ready competition Mustangs that could do battle in NHRA’s Stock and Super Stock ranks, as well as class racing organized by other sanctioning bodies, like the NMCA, NMRA, PSCA and IHRA. Fifty examples were built for the first year and the cars proved competitive almost immediately; the program was run again for 2010, with another 50 Cobra Jets produced.

Now Ford is going to do it again for 2012, planning another 50 Cobra Jet Mustangs. Like the 2008 and 2010 CJs, the 2012 editions will be turn-key race cars, equipped with much of the same features as the previous two iterations, including a 5.4-liter supercharged V-8, based on the 2011 SVT Mustang engine, featuring an aluminum block and Manley H-beam connecting rods. Two supercharger options will be offered: a 2.3-liter TVS unit or a 4.0-liter Ford Racing Whipple unit.

Some new features for the 2012 model include the availability of colors other than white: Race Red and Grabber Blue will be offered, in addition to Winner White, adorned with coordinated graphics. Each 2012 CJ will also come with black-anodized Cobra Jet wheels from Weld Racing and Goodyear tires featuring a new compound and Cobra Jet branding.

The official name for the drag-race package Mustangs has been the FR500CJ, carrying Ford Racing number M-FR-500-CJ. All 50 of the 2012 cars will be built on the assembly line at the Auto Alliance International assembly plant, where the regular production Mustangs are built.

Another addition to the Ford Racing stable of racing Mustangs is the Boss 302S, intended for road-race duty in World Challenge GTS and NASA American Iron events.

In other Ford Racing news, the new Boss 302S has also been announced. This follows on the heels of the Boss 302 production car slated to go into production later in 2011 as a 2012 model and the Boss 302R road racer that has already seen competition action in the Grand-Am series.

The Boss 302S will feature the 5.0-liter four-valve Ti-VCT V-8 engine that will be used in the production Boss 302, rated at 440hp, along with its six-speed manual transmission; a Torsen differential mounting 3.73:1 gears will also be included in the package. The suspension will feature two-way adjustable coil-overs and Ford Racing anti-roll bars front and rear, and the body has been aerodynamically enhanced with the addition of an adjustable front splitter, adjustable carbon-fiber rear wing and a special air-extractor fiberglass hood. Safety items are also part of the package, including a six-point FIA-legal roll cage, a Recaro HANS Pro-Racer lightweight seat, six-point safety harness, a quick-release steering wheel and an AIM data-acquisition system with GPS.

Each of the 50 Boss 302S copies planned will be built from a body-in-white, though assembly will take place at the Auto Alliance plant. Cars can be ordered in white or orange, and each will have retro-styled Boss 302 graphics based on the ’69 model.

Ford Racing intends the Boss 302S to be used in World Challenge GTS and NASA American Iron series competition, and the cars will be available through Ford dealers that participate in the Ford Racing Performance Parts program. Keep an eye out for these cars in competition, and check Ford Racing site at www.fordracing.com for more details and updates.