1970 Mustang Boss 302 Vs 2011 Mustang V6: And The Winner Is…
The 1970 Mustang Boss 302 is a legend. Created specifically to compete against the Camaro z-28 in the Trans Am championship, the Boss 302 is a much rarer pony than its nemesis. Only 1628 were built in 1969 and 7013 in 1970. Its claim to fame was the unique pairing of the Windsor 302 block with the biggest Cleveland heads possible, the result rated (conservatively) at 290 hp. Somewhat surprisingly, CR bought and tested one in 1970. And since they just finished comparing the 2011 Mustang V6 against the Camaro, CR pitted the stats of the two against each other. Let’s just say that the forty years have brought some progress:
The little V6 makes more power, and scoots the 2011 down the road substantially faster. Now those test results from the Boss look a little slow compared to the commonly published figures of the times (0-60 in 6.9; 1/4 mile in 14.6 @98mph). But then the buff books didn’t buy their Bosses anonymously, like CR did. Anyway, the V6 still equals those numbers. And gets more than twice the mileage. The prices: similar too, adjusted for inflation, comparing a base 2011 to the Boss. And the 2011 gives you a the comforts that either weren’t available or extra in 1970: AC, power steering, music and a host of other creature comforts. Progress; although maybe not as much as some of us might have imagined in 1970. Predictions then would have had us all in electric cars long ago.
More by Paul Niedermeyer
Comments
Join the conversation
It's kinda funny how people who savage modern near/mid luxury cars for not hitting 60 in 5.5 suddenly dismiss 0-60 times when they apply to cars they loved in their youth. My Saab 9-5 will rip the hell out of most '60s muscle cars - but no way in hell is it fast enough now.
That a V6 Mustang can even be compared to a Trans Am racing homologation special is testament to the march of technological progress. But since this is supposed to be "Truth About Cars" let me set the record straight on the Boss's performance or lack thereof. I owned two 1970 Boss 302s back when they were cheap used cars. They weighed in at 3,270 lbs. One was stock, the second the engine was modified to 400+ hp. Around town gas mileage was really bad, but not single digits, and on the highway they would do 20 mpg. Both cars had 3.50 gears. The stock car (minus rev limiter) would top out at 144 mph when it ran out of revs, as witnessed by the SC Highway Patrol. Quarter mile was easily in the fourteens, if you could get a good launch. 0-60 was no less than 7 seconds. Bottom end torque was not its strong point, because of the monster intake ports the powerband did not come in until 4,500 rpm, but then it screamed - definitely not slow and exciting and really fun to drive. The modified car revved to 7,000 rpm and would haze the tires at 70 mph, while the car was going sideways, scary fast. Again, in the stock car, I remember once beating a big block chevy Corvette in a street race and only losing by a car length to a Stage 1 Buick GS, from a roll-on. So, even stock it could hold its own. Great V6 Mustang - its performance is comparable to a vintage Boss 302, with better fuel economy, better handling (even if somewhat porky weight), without making your eyes burn from unburned hydrocarbons like the old one would. No need for revisionist history, though. I doubt in forty years people will pay big bucks for this latest technological gem, as they do today for the legendary Boss 302.