Shnack.com Mustang News

The folks over at Motor Trend have posted a comparison between the 2011 Ford Mustang GT 5.0 and the 2011 BMW M Coupe. Both cars have aluminum block V8 engines - 414 horsepower for the M3 and 412 horsepower for the Mustang, so MotorTrend thought it was a good idea to put the two head-to-head in a performance test. The Mustang performed quite well on the drag strip and held its own on the road course, putting up some impressive numbers.

Head over to Motor Trend to check out the rest of the Story.

How do you amp up a performance car package as complete as the new 2012 Mustang Boss 302 – already a street-legal race car in its own right? Pull out everything that doesn’t make it go faster and add in more of what does. The result is the limited-production Laguna Seca package – the ultimate 2012 Boss, named to commemorate the first-place Boss 302 finish at the 1970 Trans-Am series opener.

“The Laguna Seca package puts a race-ready version of the new Mustang Boss 302 directly into enthusiasts’ hands,” said Mark Fields, Ford president of The Americas. “Laguna Seca isn’t intended for Boss buyers who simply want an exhilarating daily driver. Think of it like a factory-built race car, which we hope avid racers and track-day fans are going to love.”

Boss Laguna Seca builds on the bumper-to-bumper improvements found on the standard Boss while further stiffening the chassis and installing an aerodynamics package carried over almost in its entirety from the Ford Racing Boss 302R.

“Drivers who know how to get the most from a tuned race car on a closed course are going to be amazed by what the Laguna Seca is capable of,” said Derrick Kuzak, group vice president, Global Product Development. “The balance, agility and tuning of each vehicle system places the driver at the center of the machine, completely connected to everything the car is doing.”

Ford gave the green light only once before: In 1968, management approved a special Mustang – a car that sacrificed nothing in its quest to be the best all-around road-going performance machine ever created by Ford Motor Company. That car became the 1969 Mustang Boss 302, and it remains one of the world’s most sought-after examples of American performance.

Forty-two years later, Ford has given the green light again.

The team of Ford engineers, designers and stylists – all Mustang enthusiasts to the core – that created the groundbreaking 2011 Mustang GT has distilled a new model to its purest form, strengthening, lightening and refining each system to create a race car with a license plate. Its name: the 2012 Mustang Boss 302.

“The decision to build a modern Boss was not entered into lightly,” said Derrick Kuzak, group vice president, Global Product Development. “The entire team at Ford felt the time was right and with the right ingredients, the world-class 2011 Mustang could support a successful, race-bred, worthy successor to the original Boss 302. For us that meant a production Mustang that could top one of the world’s best – the 2010 BMW M3 – in lap times at Laguna Seca. We met our expectations.” 

To celebrate the racing heritage of the new Mustang Boss 302, Ford will also offer a limited number of Boss 302 Laguna Seca models, named for the track where Parnelli Jones won the 1970 Trans-Am season opener in a Boss 302. Aimed at racers more interested in on-track performance than creature comforts, the Boss 302 Laguna Seca has increased body stiffness, a firmer chassis set-up and an aerodynamics package carried over almost in its entirety from the Ford Racing Boss 302R.

The 2004 Ford Mustang GT-R Concept was sold to the highest bidder last night at the RM auction in Monterey, CA. The final selling price of $100,000 was well under the pre-auction estimates of $250,000 – $350,000.The car is in working order and features a 5.0-liter cammer V8 producing 440 horsepower, race-prepped chassis, Tremec T56 6-speed transmission, Brembo brakes, full roll cage, and Pirelli racing slicks. The GT-R Concept was just one of several prototypes sold by Ford at the auction, with all of the proceeds benefiting the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation and The Children’s Center.

[Source: MustangsDaily]

Rumors about a new Boss 302 Mustang have been swirling for the past few years, and it looks like the car will finally make its debut next week. The speculation about a new Boss Mustang was solidified when Mark Fields, Ford president of the Americas, hinted at a new variant of the Mustang at the 2010 Ford dealer show. “We did the Bullitt, we did a Mach 1, we did the C/S. I can’t tell you what the next special edition Mustang will be, but I can give you a hint,” he told the crowd, at which point a 1970 Boss 302 Mustang drove across the stage.

In a recent broadcast of a Grand-Am Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge, the SPEED announcers gave away more details about the upcoming Boss 302 Mustang. “These cars weren’t introduced earlier this season (referring to the Boss 302R race car), but they are not being launched to the public – the road going car – until a couple weeks into August.”

Mazda Raceway’s Laguna Seca further confirms the launch date on its schedule for the 2010 Monterey Motorsports Reunion. Their web site lists a “Ford world debut of an all-new performance car at the Ford exhibit” from 11:50 to 12:00. Expect plenty of photos and details when the car is officially unveiled next week.