- A one-off 2012 Ford Mustang Boss 302 Laguna Seca inspired by the 1970 Boss 302 driven by Parnelli Jones will cross the auction block on Saturday to benefit cardiovascular care.
- The custom car gets a School Bus Yellow paint job and will be signed by the racing legend.
- The special Mustang pays homage to the School Bus Yellow Boss 302 that Jones drove to victory in the 1970 Trans-Am Championship.
DEARBORN, Michigan — A one-off 2012 Ford Mustang Boss 302 Laguna Seca inspired by the 1970 Boss 302 driven by Parnelli Jones in the 1970 Trans-Am Championship will cross the auction block on Saturday to benefit cardiovascular care.
The custom car gets a School Bus Yellow paint job and will be signed by the racing legend. The special Mustang pays homage to the School Bus Yellow Boss 302 that Jones drove to victory in the 1970 Trans-Am Championship.
Proceeds from the auction will benefit the Henry Ford Health System in Detroit. Specialists at the hospital system treated Melvin Betancourt, 49, a Ford designer, when he suffered from a serious heart problem 11 years ago. Betancourt suffered from aortic dissection, according to a statement by Ford.
The Mayo Clinic says aortic dissection is "a serious condition in which a tear develops in the inner layer of the aorta, the larger blood vessel branching off the heart." It said the condition is "usually fatal" and occurs most often in men ages 60-70. More importantly, the auction is another example of Ford turning its attention to a medical cause. The Dearborn automaker is a high-profile supporter of breast-cancer research, most notably with its Warriors in Pink effort.
Betancourt's handiwork is evident in the custom Mustang. Ford said instead of using decals, the designer painted all of the black Laguna Seca graphics on the car, including the "hockey-stick" stripes on the sides, Parnelli Jones' No. 15 on the doors and Jones' name on the side rails.
"I approached the project from a car collector's perspective," Betancourt said in a statement. "I asked myself what would happen if they took me from today, put me back in 1970 and asked me to design a car for Parnelli Jones."
The car is powered by a 444-horsepower 5.0-liter V8 engine linked to a six-speed manual transmission. It includes a Brembo front-brake package and a four-pipe exhaust.
The car will be auctioned during the Get Your Heart Racing event at the Ford test track here on Saturday.
More information about the auction can be found at GetYourHeartRacing.org.
Inside Line says: Ford wears its heart on its sleeve with this Mustang Boss 302 Laguna Seca auction.
Add A Comment »
jennyhop says:
05:50 AM, 11/17/2011
This is crazy! LA AUTO SHOW 2011 started yesterday and there are tons of high resolution photos of the legendary 2012 Ford Mustang Boss 302 and many more! You've got to see it, it's amazing!
http://www.wisecarshopper.com/2011/11/17/2012-ford-mustang-boss-302-rules-at-la-auto-show-2011/
dmpete says:
03:35 AM, 10/17/2011
Isend2C. sound like you're just a hater, on a very good car. Just about every pro that sit his/her butt in the Boss say that it is the best Mustang ever built. You might be a Chevy guy and that's alright. Camaro is a good car, but the Boss, well it's still the Boss, and the Camaro is just fetching it some coffee.
isend2c says:
11:40 PM, 10/15/2011
Detroit has different color (nasty) school buses than the rest of the country apparently... It looks ugky and I hope it fails to sell well.
cmike2780 says:
11:20 AM, 10/14/2011
That color screams mid-life crisis. It should come in any color as long as it's black.
julianb says:
10:21 AM, 10/14/2011
The Boss 302 is thee Best Muscle Car Currently available. Low weight & track features make for a very efficient vehicle. And by efficient I mean Power-to-weight ratio, traction & aerodynamic efficiency.
A slight boost in Horsepower would be nice though. Maybe even Turbocharged... wait is it direct injected??? *Looks it up*
bankerdanny says:
08:34 AM, 10/14/2011
Now THAT is a Boss I would be happy to drive. OK, who am I kidding, I would be happy to drive any Boss. But if somebody gave me a Laguna Boss I would go trade it for one whithout the pimp paint job. This one however I would keep shiny and show off at every opportunity.
cobreezy says:
07:55 AM, 10/14/2011
Ladies and Gentlemen, introducing the next Boss 302.