Whoa, Dolly… The Boss Is BACK!

By Steel Trap on September 14, 2010

"This sista dig yo' whip!"

Something tells us Dolly Parton wouldn’t mind working 9-to-5 for THIS Boss! In a one-two punch follow-up befitting of the one US auto manufacturer to refuse the bailout, Ford answers the call of Camaro’s SS with first the return of the 5.0 for 2011, and then with a serious haymaker, the return of the Boss 302 in 2012. The two sub-brands are legendary for their allure as well as their performance. Conveniently when the one bowed, the other’s debut was inevitable, since 302 cubic inches equates to 5.0 liters, volumetrically. Pretty crafty, but the litany of mods on this blue oval doesn’t end with a metric conversion chart.

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The Boss 302's creator, Larry Shinoda. OK, so it's a '70. Shoot us.

Boy racer guise has received little applause upon these pages, and here proves no exception. We’re not certain about the reverse c-shape striping, which worked on the original ’69, but here looks a little out of place. We’d have much preferred the ’70 hockey stick graphics extending from the blacked-out power bulge on the hood. And, if we’re gonna go there, where are the rear-window slats and hoodscoop a la original Boss designer/creator Larry Shinoda? Seems like Cervini’s aftermarket kit for ’05—’09 has a better handle on how this bad boy should look. But, with only 7,000 of these being released annually, it’s hardly a crime against humanity. Besides, we’ve not become convinced of the 2010-and-up’s rearend styling either, and yet it seems here to stay. Despite the overzealous styling cues, just as in life, Ford’s visual chest-thumping can be overlooked, accepted even, if the performance backs it up.

Just add C-stripes! Cervini's 05-09 kit replete with Magnum 500s.

Good news, sports fans… with 440 horsepower and 390 foot-lbs of torque, The Boss delivers the hard-earned paycheck. That’s 28 more horses than the Mustang GT, all of which coming at 7,500 RPM—a much higher redline. And, if you’ve ever dreamed of race exhaust you could open up on track day and bottle-up to a mere burble on every other, Ford’s got your back with their unique quad exhaust. Flip a switch and the side-exit exhaust opens up to remind spectators hell hath no fury like a high-winding small-block Ford V-8.

Bottom line: We love the legacy-come-to-life and the grunt that comes with it, we just wish Ford Prez Alan Mulally would give Cervini and Shinoda Performance Vehicles a little phone call to get the proper look for this bad boy. However, if you gave us one this Christmas, we’d shut the hell up and drive this heap. Hey while yer at it Santa, make ours black without all the red boy-racer shit, will ya? 😛