Mustang Club of Maryland

The BOSS 302R Ford Mustang
A New “Boss” is in Town

By Jonathan Lamas

Years ago Larry Shinoda designed the original BOSS 302 special-edition Ford Mustang. The car, which was offered in 1969 and 1970, was a high-performance machine built to compete in the Trans Am Racing series. No doubt, the car became a major highlight in the history of the Ford Mustang.

In December of 2009, Ford Racing announced the highly anticipated return of the BOSS Mustang. The new car, named the BOSS 302R, will be available as a serialized off-road-only vehicle, limited in number to a total of 50 units. Ford reports the car was designed in honor of the 40th anniversary of Parnelli Jones’ 1970 Trans-Am championship in a Mustang BOSS 302 prepared by Bud Moore Engineering.

“To keep pace with consumer demand, the Ford team has built modern versions of the most iconic performance Mustangs over the years,” said Jamie Allison, director, Ford North America Motorsports. “From Shelbys to Bullitt, Mach and Cobra Jet, it is now time for BOSS to join the list of America’s most coveted Mustangs. The original BOSS 302 was a championship-winning legend and the new Mustang BOSS 302R will carry on the tradition. The Mustang was born to race from the start, and this new Mustang is bred to win.”

Standard Model BOSS 302R
The new BOSS 302R will feature Ford's new 5.0-liter four-valve engine, six-speed manual transmission with a roll cage, race seats, safety harness, data acquisition and race dampers/springs, and a Brembo brake and tire package. As for the car’s 5.0L engine, Allison said, “Racing has long served as a technical proving grounds for production engines. What’s good enough for the streets is now good enough for the racetrack. The 5.0-liter block and architecture in the Mustang BOSS 302R is the same as the 2011 Mustang GT.” Estimated MSRP for the car is said to be $79,000, although a strong demand for the vehicle could easily raise this price substantially.

Grand-Am Homologation Package 302R1
A special Grand-Am Homologation Package (M-FR500-BOSS R1) will also be offered. Named the BOSS 302R1, this package is for the most serious of racers. Straight from the factory, this package will allow the owner to participate in the Grand-Am Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge series (formerly known as KONI Challenge), starting with the season-opening race in Daytona on Jan. 29, 2010. Ford reports that five of the cars will be delivered at the Daytona race in January. This package will set you back an estimated $129,000 MSRP.

The package includes:

* Sealed high-output race engine with an upgraded cooling system
* Close-ratio six-speed transmission with integral shifter
* Seam-welded body, race suspension/KONI dampers
* ABS brake tuning
* Race performance exhaust
* High-speed balance one-piece driveshaft

Allison added, “We expect the BOSS 302R to continue the successful tradition of winning with factory-built production-based race cars from Ford Racing. The FR500C and FR500S road racing Mustangs, and the Mustang FR500CJ (Cobra Jet) for drag racing have proven to be great cars for our customers, helping teams win races and championships. We believe that the BOSS 302R will provide that same sort of competitive product for our customers with the tradition you can only get from Ford Racing.”

Ford says you can expect to begin seeing these cars on dealer lots in the third quarter of 2010. Fans of the Grand-Am Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge series should begin seeing these cars on the track well in advance of dealership delivery.

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