Ford has opted for a blast from the glorious past, writes Alastair Sloane
Ford is bringing back the Boss Mustang - 42 years after the original hit the road and won on the track in the United States.
The carmaker will also build a limited-edition version of the car, a hardcore performer called the Mustang Boss 302 Laguna Seca edition.
It features race-spec suspension, no rear seats and a more pronounced bodykit. The name is a reference to the Laguna Seca track in California, where Ford says the Boss Mustang was benchmarked favourably against the BMW M3.
The street-legal Boss 302 is based on the Mustang GT. Ford says it is the real thing - unlike Mustangs of the past which looked the part but didn't perform.
Mustang chief engineer Dave Pericak says the Boss 302 is special. "The Boss 302 isn't something a Mustang GT owner can buy all the parts for out of a catalogue or that a tuner can get by adding a chip," he said.
"This is a front-to-back re-engineered Mustang with every system designed to make a good driver great and a great driver even better."
The Boss gets Ford's 5-litre supercharged V8. Thanks to a new air intake, more aggressive camshafts and a retuned ECU, power climbs from 302kW to 323kW. The car is only available with a close-ratio manual gearbox and a limited slip differential is standard.
To ensure the Boss sounds the part, the car gets a novel quad exhaust layout with two pipes exiting at the side of the car, and two at the rear.
The suspension has been thoroughly upgraded too, with new anti-roll bars, adjustable dampers and stiffer springs. To complement the mechanical changes, the Boss gets retro-style decals, a special bodykit featuring a front splitter and rear wing, and 19-inch alloys.
The original Boss 302 Mustang was a high performance variant produced in 1969 and 1970 for the Trans Am racing series. The Mustang Boss 429 was produced at the same time but built around a larger engine.
The Boss 302 is a product of the rivalry in the 1960s and 70s between Ford and General Motors. Ford dominated through the mid-60s with the Mustang, but took a back seat to the more powerful Chevrolet Camaro from 1967. The Camaro threatened Ford's reputation in the "pony car" market, a niche largely created by Ford with the introduction of the Mustang in 1964.
The Chevrolet engines were more than a match for the V8s Ford ran in the Mustangs. Ford set out to restore its "total performance" image with the 428 Cobra Jet in 1968.
A year later, it built one of Detroit's most interesting power plants, the Ford Boss 302 engine V8. The design was a composite engine using a Windsor block and large Cleveland heads.
It was fitted to Mustangs sold to the public to allow Ford to use the new engine to compete in the Trans-Am series.
The Boss 302 Mustang was designed by Larry Shinoda, a former GM stylist. He placed the reflective "c-stripe" strips on the car and eliminated the fake rear-end scoops found on the 1969 Mustang model.
The distinctive styling included optional black horizontal rear window shades, blackout hood and was one of the first production cars with a front spoiler and rear deck wing.
