Much has been made of the Mustang’s much-lauded sonic tuning. And the Boss 302 has been blessed with a great set of pipes– four of them in fact. The quad exhaust features the regular dual outlets that exit at rear, and two additional side pipes that exit either side of the exhaust crossover, just before the rear wheels.
Snagging a traditional, bright orange model, with signature black striping and side “c” stripes, we head out along the glorious Monterey coastline, the jagged cliffs overlooking the crashing surf far below.
The Mustang sticks to the tight turns like glue, and regardless of what gear I’m in there’s plenty of power for passing slow moving Prius or powering out of upward climbing turns. Deeply bolstered Recaro buckets keep my butt firmly planted through hairpins and switchbacks.
It sounds just bloody fantastic – the quad pipe’s lusty song fills the cabin. Yet both my driving partner and I are surprised by just how well-behaved the car is when we move into busy traffic – it’s quite tractable in low gear, the clutch -- perfect for spirited heel n’ toeing is neither heavy nor grabby in daily driving. The Alcantara-wrapped steering wheel is grippy, the steering direct and provides plenty of feedback. Although it tilts, there’s no telescoping option however.
Ramping our fun up a notch, we exchange our Boss for the potent Laguna Seca Special Edition. Jet black with red trim and red enamel wheels, it looks menacing. A huge flat front splitter juts way out in front just inches from the pavement, the decklid sports a race car spoiler. There’s a cross brace where the rear seats should be, and don’t even think about a nav system or Sirius radio with this car – they aren’t available. Four-piston Brembo calipers clamp onto 14” drilled rotors, non-expanding brake lines help ensure immediate pedal response, while cooling ducts help prevent fade.
It rides on a heavily tuned suspension with revised spring and damper rates. It’s shod with Pirelli R-Comps and in between the 10” wide rear wheels is a torsion limited slip differential.
Snagging a traditional, bright orange model, with signature black striping and side “c” stripes, we head out along the glorious Monterey coastline, the jagged cliffs overlooking the crashing surf far below.
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| The Alcantara-wrapped steering wheel is grippy, the steering direct and provides plenty of feedback. (Photo: Lesley Wimbush/Auto123.com) |
The Mustang sticks to the tight turns like glue, and regardless of what gear I’m in there’s plenty of power for passing slow moving Prius or powering out of upward climbing turns. Deeply bolstered Recaro buckets keep my butt firmly planted through hairpins and switchbacks.
It sounds just bloody fantastic – the quad pipe’s lusty song fills the cabin. Yet both my driving partner and I are surprised by just how well-behaved the car is when we move into busy traffic – it’s quite tractable in low gear, the clutch -- perfect for spirited heel n’ toeing is neither heavy nor grabby in daily driving. The Alcantara-wrapped steering wheel is grippy, the steering direct and provides plenty of feedback. Although it tilts, there’s no telescoping option however.
Ramping our fun up a notch, we exchange our Boss for the potent Laguna Seca Special Edition. Jet black with red trim and red enamel wheels, it looks menacing. A huge flat front splitter juts way out in front just inches from the pavement, the decklid sports a race car spoiler. There’s a cross brace where the rear seats should be, and don’t even think about a nav system or Sirius radio with this car – they aren’t available. Four-piston Brembo calipers clamp onto 14” drilled rotors, non-expanding brake lines help ensure immediate pedal response, while cooling ducts help prevent fade.
It rides on a heavily tuned suspension with revised spring and damper rates. It’s shod with Pirelli R-Comps and in between the 10” wide rear wheels is a torsion limited slip differential.
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| Ramping our fun up a notch, we exchange our Boss for the potent Laguna Seca Special Edition. Jet black with red trim and red enamel wheels, it looks menacing. (Photo: Lesley Wimbush/Auto123.com) |