The Boss is Back
Ever since the first and original “Pony Car”, the Mustang, appeared at the 1964 World’s Fair in New York there has been a love affair with this sporty little car from Ford Motor Co. So much so that it prompted offerings from it’s competitors.
In 1965 the Mustang started to appear on race tracks all over the country racing in a new class in SCCA racing. In 1968 Ford Motor Co devised a plan that would take the little Mustang to a new level making it better for racing. Ford wanted to beat the new Penski Camaro’s driven by Mark Donahue ( who actually started out in 1965 campaigning a Mustang in SCCA) that were winning in the SCCA TransAm production series.
That’s when they assigned Larry Shinoda to make the Mustang more athletic and muscular which incorporated a new 302ci hi-reving engine designed to compete in road racing…Larry coined the name Boss to his secret project….The first “Boss” appeared in 1969 and the rest is history with the 1970 Boss302 Mustang driven by Parnelli Jones winning the 1970 SCCA TransAm championship.
The original high reving engine of the 1970Boss 302 built for the track
Fast forward four decades later and finally Ford has a new Boss for us that can be driven both on the street and once again on the race track. Only this time there are two versions available…..the base Boss302 and the LagunaSeca named in honor of the car’s first win in the 1970 TransAm season opener.
Led by Chief Engineer Dave Pericak, Chief Designer Darrell Behmer, V8 Engine Program Manager Mike Harrison and Engineering Manager Tom Barnes, the Ford team wanted a car that, like the original was both athletic and muscular so they set out to take the current Mustang GT to a whole new level by addressing the suspension, aerodynamics and engine power train and turning it into modern day a race bred corner carver thus the 2012 Boss302 was born.
Let’s take a look at what Ford has accomplished and brought to us with this new 2012 Boss302.
Here’s a pic of both the standard Boss302 and the Laguna Sega Boss302 (forground)
Standard Boss302 shown in Blue
LagunaSega shown in Black with red accents
Standard Boss shown in Red
Silver LS rear view
EXTERIOR: The Hi-performance 2012 Mustang Boss 302 features a unique exterior treatment, race-inspired wheels and aerodynamics
Special 19” Black light-weight racing wheels (19x9 front) and (19x10 rear) with a set of Pirelli P zero max tires
The Laguna Sega version sports a unique race-track inspired aluminum light weight red accented painted wheel. (19x9 front) ( 19x10 rear) and sticky Pirelli P zero Corsa‘R’ compound tires.
Four-piston Brembo brakes clamp fourteen-inch front rotors and provide excellent braking capacity. A revised pad compound for the rear single-piston calipers further aids the 11.9” rear rotors in braking duties.
To aid in the cooling of the brakes on track the LS version comes equipped with front brake cooling ducts
A large rear spoiler in the Laguna Seca model is sized to complement the effect provided by the front splitter and underbody aero treatments
The new Boss also has an improved front spoiler design to add the needed front downforce and the LS version has even a larger one than the regular Boss. Both cars benefit from the new underneath cladding to help improve aerodynamics and keep the nose down to help enable high speed cornering.
Regular Boss (forground) Laguna Sega (rear)
Here is a picture of the underside of the Laguna Sega front spoiler
INTERIOR:As you open the door to enter the 2012 Boss you are greeted by this…
Standard 2012Boss302 seating with the signature Boss Logo sewn on backrest
A short-throw six-speed manual transmission with cue-ball shifter knob is standard equipment on Boss 302 and Laguna Seca cars
Revised instrumentation reflects the higher performance potential of the 2012 Mustang Boss 302….
Shown here is the tachometer with the highlighted 7500 RPM red line.
The performance gauges for the Laguna Seca model of the 2012 Ford Mustang Boss 302 include oil pressure, vehicle performance( ‘G’ Force gauge) and engine coolant temperature.
2012 Mustang Boss 302 interior showing standard Alcantara-covered steering wheel and IP treatment
2012 Ford Mustang Boss Laguna Seca features standard Recaro front seats which are also available as an option in the regular Boss 302
They were designed by Ford SVT in cooperation with Recaro for high-performance Mustang models, and are shared between the Boss and GT500 for 2012
Ford Mustang Boss Laguna Seca eliminates the rear seats, instead adding a cross-car X-brace that couples the structure between the rear wheels. The brace offers chassis stiffness improvements of as much as 10 percent and allows the suspension tuning - precisely calibrated by Mustang team members - to better do its job.
TRAC-KEY
With a cost of $302. the track key will unlock all the track ready features of the new Boss including more than 400 engine parameters. This will give the driver a more aggressive driving experience with things like a quicker throttle tip-in for better throttle response, better engine braking to help conserve the brakes , better fuel demand and a race car sounding idle.
You also get a two-stage launch control feature similar to that on the Cobra Jet race car. Using a combination of steering wheel buttons, drivers can set the tach to a desired RPM. Floor the throttle and the engine will rev only to that preset RPM setting until the clutch is released, helping aid in acceleration and vehicle control from a standing start.
Powertrain ( Engine, transmission and rear differential)
Bulletproof and blower-free
V8 Engine Program Manager Mike Harrison and the Engine team worked very hard to be sure the new Boss engine would be up to the rigorous demands put upon it for the many hours of both street driving and the 7500RPM on track racing use.
Many things had to be considered and implemented, things like ………..
A new CNC ported cylinder head with thicker castings for the task of achieving better breathing. It received a 5-angle valve job, combustion chamber work and major intake and exhaust porting too.
Race-specification crankshaft main and rod bearings for higher load capability and improved high-speed durability
The valve train was lightened for high-RPM use with the addition of hollow stem valves, sodium filled exhaust valves to help with heat, beefier valve springs and revised cam chain tensioners. Forged aluminum pistons with sinter-forged connecting rods and stronger rod bolts keep the bottom half of the engine together.
A new harmonic balancer and an upgraded steel-backed clutch were also added to deal with the extra forces generated by the Boss 302 engine. A revised 8.5 quart oil pan helps to prevent oil starvation when dealing with the Boss’ neck snapping cornering G-forces of greater than 1.0 plus G’s.
5W50 full-synthetic oil with engine oil cooler for improved oil pressure and longer-lasting lubrication during extreme racing conditions
Unique to the Boss is it’s special combination rear outlet and side outlet quad exhaust piping shown here giving it an exhaust note like no other bringing the excitement of a race car feel to the occupants.
The rear differential can be optioned with Torsen limited slip internals (standard on the LS version) 373 gears and all Boss models are capped off with a finned cover borrowed from the 2011GT500 to aid in the cooling.
The Boss also has 5-way adjustable Tokico shocks The Laguna Seca version gets even more dampening as the highest selection on standard Boss’ dampeners are equivalent to the 1st position on the LS version.
The Mustang’s electric steering system has also been reworked, giving the driver a choice of three feedback settings—Comfort, Normal, and Sport. Traction and stability-control systems are reprogrammed to offer a choice of full engagement, no engagement at all, or an intermediate sport mode.
Up front a 34.6mm stabilizer bar helps keep the car’s body roll under control on both versions of the Boss. A 26mm bar is fitted in the rear of the Laguna Seca and a 25mm bar is standard. Compare those to the 34mm front and 24mm rear of the GT500 and the 34.6mm tubular/24mm solid front and rear stabilizers bars from the GT.
Price for the 2012 Boss 302 Mustang is $40,145 for the base car (unlimited production) and $47,140 for the Laguna Seca. Only 750 Laguna Sega’s will be produced.
Specifications
Performance by testing produced
0 to 60mph in 4.1 seconds, ¼ mile in 12.3 seconds @ 117 mph
1.02 g’s on the skid pad
74mph mph through the slalom
Braking 60 – 0 in 112 ft., 80-0 in 191 ft
My thanks to Ford Motor Co for providing the facts and pictures displayed here....
Credits: All pictures and video are provided by Ford Motor Co.
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Originally Posted by Birdman
