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.
2011 Ford Mustang Boss 302R
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 Ford Mustang Boss 302 prepared by Bud Moore Engineering, Ford Racing is introducing the Ford Mustang Boss 302R, a factory-built race car ready for track days and road racing in a number of Grand-Am, SCCA and NASA classes.
"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 Ford 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."
The Ford Mustang Boss 302R is a serialized off-road-only vehicle ready to race. Each base model will come with a 5.0-liter four-valve engine and a 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, starting at an MSRP of $79,000.
And, with a special Grand-Am Homologation Package (M-FR500-Boss R1), it will also be ready to compete 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. Five Boss 302R race cars will be delivered to customers ready to race in Daytona. MSRP of the Boss 302R1 is $129,000.
The Grand-Am Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge-ready Ford Mustang Boss 302R will feature a sealed high-output race engine with an upgraded cooling system, a close-ratio six-speed transmission with integral shifter, a seam-welded body, race suspension/KONI dampers and ABS brake tuning, race performance exhaust and a high-speed balance one-piece driveshaft.
According to Jamie Allison, director of Ford North American Motorsports, "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."
"Racing has long served as a technical proving grounds for production engines," said Allison. "What's good enough for the streets is now good enough for the racetrack. The 5.0-liter block and architecture in the Ford Mustang Boss 302R is the same as the 2011 Ford Mustang GT."
