[Harpoon PV2]

289 Cobras were quoted as having 271hp at 6,000rpm and 312lbs ft. 3400rpm on 11.00 compression! You can buy a 5,0L cast iron roller rocker engine with 9.0 compression that is advertised as 300hp, not sure what rpm, but I am sure high enough! This is at Summit, but pretty much all the good builders can meet that. Funny note, after the 1965 FIA Class III win, Alan Mann talked about how much he hated the 289, because it broke when pushed above 6,500 rpm. He went on and said, "it was a lousy engine, the 289, and basically unreliable, though $250,000-worth of development would have made it a world-beater." I think if he should have added another zero, that's probably what Ford spent to make the 302 into one of the best engines of all times!
One last note, I have never meant anyone who drove a small block Cobra in the 60s or 70s who looking back complained about the lack of power, that includes me! We all just smile with that far away look of someone remembering their first love! Cheers, Dennis