Today Automobile Magazine announced the recipients of their 2012 All-Star awards, with the 2012 Ford Mustang Boss 302 named as one of the winners. The Boss 302 was part of the ten car list that included cars like the Ferrari 458 Italia/Spider , Audi TT RS, Porsche Boxster/Cayman and Range Rover Evoque. Here’s what Automobile Magazine had to say about the Boss 302:
The Boss 302 is the best Mustang ever, but that’s merely a footnote to the real story. The big news is that Ford’s newest bad boy not only puts an epic whupping on its traditional rivals — we’re talking to you, Chevrolet Camaro and Dodge Challenger — but also stands tall against perennial bullies like the BMW M3.
The 5.0-liter V-8 found in the Mustang GT has been upgraded with a new intake manifold, forged rods and pistons, high-lift cams, and other hot-rod hocus-pocus to produce 444 hp at a free-revving 7400 rpm. Straight-line enthusiasts will geek over 0-to-60-mph times near four seconds flat and quarter-mile blasts in the mid-twelves. But even more impressive is how well the Boss handles despite a live rear axle seemingly designed when Henry Ford was a young punk. The standard model benefits from stiffer springs, a beefier rear antiroll bar, and five-position manually adjustable dampers. Or you can upgrade to the Laguna Seca package, which includes rear seats replaced by an X-brace to improve structural rigidity, snug-fitting Recaro seats, grippy nineteen-inch R-compound PZero Corsa tires, a serious front splitter, a hefty rear wing, brake-cooling ducts, and a Torsen differential. Although the $7000 premium sounds pricey, this gives you a $48,000 track-day car that can crush competitors costing twice as much.
Yet the Boss manages this feat without overwhelming the driver. On the contrary, everything about it just feels right — the Alcantara steering wheel; the confidence-inspiring Brembo brakes; the close-ratio, short-throw six-speed manual with the throwback ball shift knob. Oh, and it also looks pretty sweet and sounds positively wicked — and that’s before getting rid of the easily removable exhaust baffles. The new Boss many not ever be worth as much as the original 302 sold in 1969 and 1970, but it might make you king of the hill in 2012.
[Source: Automobile Magazine]
