For months, we’ve heard that the ’13 Boss 302 will have new colors and a stripe scheme more like the ’70 Boss 302s. If Ford designer Melvin Betancourt’s charity tribute to Parnelli Jones’ 1970 Trans-Am championship winning Boss 302 provides a hint, then we like it.
The one-of-a-kind ’12 Boss 302 Laguna Seca was created for an auction to benefit cardiovascular care, research, and education at Henry Ford Health System. Betancourt suffered a serious heart problem 11 years ago and the high-risk surgery needed to repair a damaged aorta was performed successfully by cardiovascular surgeons at Henry Ford Hospital.
Betancourt says his goal with the Boss 302 Laguna Seca was to create a vehicle that would attract the highest bids from collectors and ultimately the most money for heart research and education.
“Everybody knows the School Bus Yellow Boss 302 that Parnelli drove to the Trans-Am championship in 1970,” said Betancourt, “so we decided to pay homage to that vehicle and do a modern version of his ’70 Mustang.”
The ’12 Boss 302 was painted yellow at the AutoAlliance International assembly plant in Flat Rock, Michigan, where all Mustangs are built. Instead of using decals, Betancourt painted the black graphics on the car, including the “hockey-stick” stripes, No. 15 on the doors, and Jones’ name on the roof.
The one-of-a-kind Boss 302 was auctioned on October 15 at the “Get Your Heart Racing” event at Ford Motor Company.