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During the 1980s and 1990s, high performance American cars weren't nearly as plentiful as they had been in earlier decades.

But Ford assembled a group -- the Special Vehicles Team -- that carried its company's banner into the muscle car battle and produced some interesting cars.

Among them was the 1993 Mustang Cobra, powered by a 235-horsepower, 5.0-liter V-8. It could reach 60 in 5.9 seconds and do a quarter mile in 14.55 seconds with a top speed of 98 mph, according to a Web site operated by the Muscle Car Club, a national group of car enthusiasts.

The Cobra had huge 17-inch wheels and special engine tuning and modification done by Ford tuner Jack Roush. Ford sold 4,993 Cobras in the six months after its midyear introduction.

GMP recently introduced a ¹/₁₈-scale model of the Cobra that, as you might expect, has considerable detail. It's available in red, teal and black metallic paint, and retails for $100,

This is about as close as many of us will ever get to a 1993 Cobra, given its relative rarity and expense, and GMP makes sure the experience for modelers will be well worth the cost.

It comes equipped with rubber vacuum lines and serpentine belt, working doors with magnetic closures, retracting front cloth seat belts, a functional center console arm rest and actuating handbrake lever.

Other features include the Cobra 5.0 engine with photo-etched engine badges, photo-etched Cobra rear and fender emblems, plumbed engine and chassis and countless other features.

You won't find anything to fault on this one. Everything fits perfectly and all pieces that open and close have tight shut lines. Even the rubber molding around glass parts is expertly replicated, and the engine is a work of art that could easily stand on its own as a saleable item.

For more information, see GMP's Web site, www.gmpdiecast.com.