Did you know that “Mystichrome” is technically the sales name?

The working name for the paint formula while under development on all internal documentation between Ford and DuPont was “Purple Haze.” So, don’t be surprised if, on your Ford dealer’s sales or service invoice for your car, it lists the paint color as Purple Haze.

Did you know that a Mystichrome Cobra is technically an SVT Cobra with an options package?

In order to properly allocate at least one Mystichrome Cobra to every full-line Ford SVT dealer across the nation, a 2004 SVT Cobra with order code 68M had to be specified, and order code 68M was the Mystichrome Appearance Package. Thus, it is both an options package and an appearance package, which included the special paint, the special interior, and the 17×9-inch chrome wheels that were optional on other Terminator Cobras. The Mystichrome Appearance Package was a $3,650 option.

Did you know that, back in 2004, Mystichrome Clearcoat Metallic paint was considered as one of the most expensive automotive paints in the world, valued at $150 per pint?

Today, after 19 years of inflationary adjustments, that same pint is valued at over $238. To properly coat one vehicle, it takes nearly a gallon of paint, and one gallon equals 8 pints. You do the math! Don’t forget to add all the requisite labor costs to produce a showroom-quality finish in your final tally. Today, a concours-quality paint job of an entire vehicle is about $40,000.

Did you know that both DuPont and BASF are tied to the Mystichrome paint formula?

DuPont was originally commissioned by Ford to simply create the Mystichrome paint formula. Once DuPont’s chemists were finished and their work was accepted by Ford, the resulting Mystichrome paint formula was sold to BASF, who then supplied the paint to Ford. Even today, whenever a batch of Mystichrome paint is needed, BASF formulates and supplies it to Ford.

Did you know that, to this day, the Mystichrome paint formula is proprietary and well-guarded?

As the formula is proprietary and the paint is so expensive, when a damaged Mystichrome Cobra visits a Ford dealer’s body shop, the car is first verified as a factory-built Mystichrome Cobra. Then, a Ford employee from Dearborn headquarters is required to bring the paint in person and supervise the usage of the special paint. The damaged car is once again verified to be one of the 1,010 special Cobras. Once the body shop is finished using the Mystichrome paint, all unused paint must be put back in the can and sealed, and the supervising Ford employee returns to Dearborn with any unused paint.

Did you know that the Mystichrome Cobra has the same styling DNA as the Ford GT?

Of course, not just the Mystichrome Cobra, but all Terminator Cobras. If you look very closely and compare certain styling cues of the Terminator Cobra with the 2005–2006 Ford GT supercar, you will notice some striking similarities. Camilo Pardo was the Ford designer in charge of developing the exterior styling of both vehicles at the same time, and both vehicles were engineered and developed concurrently from the ground up by SVT. Both cars have a similar front fascia treatment with the way the foglights are recessed and the design execution of the adjacent air ducts (which route cool air to the front brakes) and the large, lower grille opening (for the intercooler). The Terminator’s sculpted hood with twin-recessed airflow scoops evokes the same sculpted lines of the GT’s front decklid with deep, twin recesses. Both vehicles have vertically-oriented, functional side skirts that improve vehicle aerodynamics and reduce unnecessary drag at high speeds. The Terminator’s full-height side scoops, albeit fake, are mirrored in the GT’s functional side scoops that route air to the rear brakes; however, one popular and somewhat easy Terminator Cobra modification is to actually make those side scoops functional for better rear-brake cooling. Both cars have a subtle ducktail-style, rear spoiler treatment: the Terminator’s is a separate piece painted body color and bolted onto the composite decklid; the GT’s is integrated into the rear-end bodywork.

Did you know that early Mystichrome Cobras built in December 2003 are undersprayed?

Any combination of certain hidden areas — the bottom of the engine bay; the undersides of the doors, hood, and trunk; and in the door jambs — have a faint to light coating of Mystichrome paint with little to no clearcoat applied. This was a factory mistake that was eventually rectified by quality control on builds sometime in the middle of December 2003, so that no metal or fiberglass surfaces were left unpainted and exposed to the elements.