Ford’s new Mustang has gone back to its Trans-Am racing roots with the revival of the mighty Boss 302 and its track-focused Laguna Seca sibling…
Given Ford’s latest propensity for bolting relatively economical V6 engines to its Mustangs of late, it was inevitable that the latest iteration of the pony car was due for a brace of tyre-smoking limited edition models.
Enter the 2012 Ford Mustang Boss 302 and its Laguna Seca counterpart. These models hark back to the original Boss 302 of the late 1960’s. At that time Chevrolet’s big block V8 Camaro models were beginning to eat into the Mustang’s market share and threatened to dilute the performance-oriented association that was long held with that product. Ford’s emphatic response was to drop a 4,9-litre V8 into the engine bay and turn the Mustang into a hardcore Trans-Am racecar.
Forty years on, the rivalry between the Mustang and Camaro is still evident and Ford has made the same play by introducing a pair of powerful performance models in response to such as the 298 kW Camaro SS-based Indianapolis 500 Pace Car edition.
Whether it’s finished in the A-Team van-aping black and red or retina-searing orange, the Boss 302 looks every bit the retro-racer. The original Boss 302 was styled by former GM designer Larry Shinoda and his signatures cues, the “c-stripe” flank decals and black bonnet, have found their way onto the new cars. The Boss 302s also sport a model-specific nose treatment and rear spoiler. The track-oriented Laguna Seca model rolls on a set of 19-inch lightweight alloy wheels, features uprated aerodynamic bits a race-ready chassis and suspension setup and dispenses with the rear seats in favour of a roll cage.
The Boss 302 is based on the latest Mustang GT model. Ford’s engineers have taken this car, stripped out much of the superfluous weight, strengthened the chassis and upgraded such components as the brakes (now 14-inch Brembos up front) and suspension (stiffer suspension bushings, uprated anti-roll bar, adjustable shock absorbers and higher rate coil springs). The steering has also been tweaked with the addition of a speed-sensitive electronic system with three driver-selectable presets.
At the heart of the Boss 302 lies a heavily reworked version of the GT’s 5,0-litre V8 engine. This unit features a new intake, a retuned ECU and revised camshafts which help lift the output from 302 kW to 324 kW and 515 N.m of torque. Power is fed to the rear wheels via a six-speed manual gearbox with a beefed up clutch and short-throw shift action. The standard limited-slip differential can be replaced with an optional Torsen unit. One of the car’s most noteworthy features is the revised sports exhaust system. This setup features a quad layout with exhaust tips exiting both the rear and flanks of the car, as well as removable sound suppression components to provide a suitable track…er, soundtrack.
Ford Engineers have used the BMW M3’s 1 minute 42 Laguna Seca lap time as a benchmark for the racier of the two models, and while 0-100 km/h times have not yet been divulged the 302’s top speed has been pegged at 250 km/h.
You can view a video of the Ford Mustang Boss 302 by clicking on the VIDEO tab.
