Never mind pushing the envelope… this new Mustang shreds the envelope to bring epic road course performance to a street legal car. The original BOSS 302 was specially built for Trams Am competition, first appearing in 1969. The opening race the following year was at Laguna Seca and the top spot on the podium was taken by Parnelli Jones, driving the BOSS 302 Mustang.

“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.”

Building on the newly-announced Boss 302 Mustang platform, the Laguna Seca edition takes a more directed approach. The rear seat has been removed and replaced with an X-brace for additional roll stiffness. The aero pack currently used on the Boss 302R is migrated almost completely onto the exterior of the new car.

The standard front seats were designed by Ford SVT in cooperation with Recaro for use in high performance Mustangs. Optional on the regular Boss, the Laguna Seca edition gets a 3.73-ratio Torsen differential as standard equipment. The Boss’ standard suspension is augmented by lightweight 19-inch rims, shod with race-spec rubber. Nine-inch wide rims will hold 255/40ZR-19 tires in the front, while ten-inch versions support 285/35ZR-19 tires in the rear.

“The R-compound tires on the Laguna Seca are so sticky we had to really work on the rear suspension tuning to make sure drivers can get the most out of them,” explains Mustang chief engineer, Dave Pericak. “The rear stabilizer bar is the largest we’ve ever installed on a production Mustang – including any SVT product. The rear spring rate was also maximized to work with the massive rear tires and balance the car for minimal lap times.” Brakes will run cooler on the Laguna Seca Mustang which features air ducts to route cooling air directly to the front disks.

According to the company, the improvements put in on this version are anticipated to improve 0-60 time by a tenth of a second, reduce 60-0 stopping distance by three feet and improve lap times by one to two seconds “on a typical road course,” when compared to the regular Boss 302.

“Balance is the key on Boss, and even more so on Laguna Seca,” added Pericak. “A winning race car has to do everything well, and we’ve had the ability to test all the engineering that went into Boss Laguna Seca on the Ford Racing 302R. It’s not for everyone: It’s stiffer, there’s no back seat, and the aero package is designed for downforce, not speed bumps in the mall parking lot. But for hard-core Mustang racers who want something they can occasionally drive on the street, to shows or whatever, Laguna Seca is the car they’ve been waiting for, and they’re not going to be disappointed.”