The Ford Mustang Boss 302 has made a serious impression on enthusiasts everywhere, but the special muscle car won't make it to the 2014 model year, Ford tells us.
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"Like the original from 43 years ago, this version of the Mustang Boss 302 also is limited to just two years, which concludes at year's end, and as Ford initially promised," Ford spokesman Craig Daitch tells us.
The Mustang Boss 302 arrived for the 2012 model and may not have won our 2011 Best Driver's Car competition, but our editors had nothing but compliments.
"Once in a while, a car is greater than the sum of its parts. This Mustang is greater still," we wrote in the 2011 Best Driver's Car story. Even Randy Pobst said at the time that it had to be the best Mustang ever built.
The 2013 Ford Mustang Boss 302 is powered by a 444-hp 5.0-liter V-8 with 380 lb-ft of torque, up in horsepower but down 10 lb-ft in torque from the stock Mustang GT. On the track, we found the car was remarkably balanced, more so than many other Mustangs. We tested a 2012 Ford Mustang Boss 302 Laguna Seca edition accelerating from 0-60 mph in 4.0 seconds on to a quarter-mile time of 12.4 seconds at 115.0 mph.
A few months after the Mustang Boss 302 competed at the 2011 Best Driver's Car competition, it lost to the Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 in a comparison, but we maintained that the limited-production Ford was the best Mustang ever built.
2014 Ford Mustangdealer order guide leaked?
What appear to be dealer order guides for the 2014 Ford Mustang have leaked and, if the guides are to be believed, the 2014 Mustang will add Oxford White and Ruby Red Metallic exterior colors while dropping Red Candy Metallic, High Performance White, and the Boss-exclusive School Bus Yellow. There's a new appearance package that includes 18-inch wheels, but no interior or equipment updates. The guide suggests that the Shelby GT500 returns with standard heated seats, if you haven't selected the available Recaros.
Recently, we caught a 2015 Ford Mustang prototype with its hood open -- you can check out the photos here. Will the Boss 302 model return on the next-generation Mustang? Ford was quiet on the subject, but we wouldn't be surprised to see a 2015 or 2016 Ford Mustang Boss 302.
Until the new Mustang arrives, enjoy this 50-image gallery of 2012 and 2013 Ford Mustang Boss 302s -- some of which you'll only find onMotor Trend.
Source: Ford, Mustangs Daily
I’ve come a long way since I drove sugar packets across restaurant tables as a kid, pretending they were cars. With more than 17 years of experience, I'm passionate about demystifying the new car market for shoppers and enthusiasts. My expertise comes from thoughtfully reviewing countless vehicles across the automotive spectrum. The greatest thrill I get isn’t just from behind the wheel of an exotic car but from a well-executed car that’s affordable, entertaining, and well-made. Since about the time I learned to walk I’ve been fascinated by cars of all shapes and sizes, but it wasn’t until I struggled through a summer high school class at the Pasadena Art Center College of Design that I realized writing was my ticket into the automotive industry. My drive to high school was magical, taking me through a beautiful and winding canyon; I've never lost the excited feeling some 16-year-olds get when they first set out on the road. The automotive industry, singing, and writing have always been my passions, but because no one seeks a writer who sings about the automotive industry, I honed my writing and editing skills at UC Irvine (zot zot!), serving as an editor of the official campus newspaper and writing stories as a literary journalism major. At USC, I developed a much greater appreciation for broadcast journalists and became acquainted with copy editing rules such as why the Oxford comma is so important. Though my beloved 1996 Audi A4 didn’t survive my college years, my career with MotorTrend did. I started at the company in 2007 building articles for motorcycle magazines, soon transitioning to writing news posts for MotorTrend’s budding online department. I spent some valuable time in the copy editing department, as an online news director, and as a senior production editor. Today, MotorTrend keeps me busy as the Buyer's Guide Director. Not everyone has a career centered on one of their passions, and I remind myself all the time how lucky I am.
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