NOW WE DON’T MEAN TO BE BOSSY, WAIT, YES WE DO…
Most people are familiar with the BOSS 302, but few know how the famed pony car came to be and how it earned its namesake. Originally designed by Larry Shinoda, a former GM employee, Shinoda would frequently be asked what project he was working on. Due to the top secret nature of new vehicle development, he would simply respond “The bosses car”. Later this would be shortened to “The Boss”, but it wasn’t until 1970 after winning the Trans-Am Title that the name stuck. From that day forward the “Boss” was born.
The Boss Mustang has always been synonymous with performance. When we at ProCharger heard that Ford was re-releasing the Boss after a 42 year hiatus, we could not wait to get our hands on one to apply a healthy dose of ProCharged power. Today’s Boss provides a laundry list of performance and technology upgrades that were little more than a dream in 1970. The 2012 Boss comes rated at 444 HP / 380 TQ and compared to its GT sibling it features upgrades such as a short runner intake, CNC ported heads, upgraded cams, lightened valve train components, forged pistons and strengthened rods, oil cooler, and a baffled oil pan.
The first order of business for us was to strap the new Boss to the dyno to establish a baseline wheel horsepower. The numbers were a solid 373 HP / 329 TQ at the wheels representing slightly less than 16% driveline loss. Next comes the magic, we installed the ProCharger Stage II Intercooled System featuring the P-1SC-1 self-contained supercharger and 3 core air-to-air intercooler. The results….well let’s just say for the first time, hearing your Boss scream is a very good thing! The ProCharged Boss put down 588 RWHP / 432 RWTQ on a modest 7.5 lbs of boost, that’s a 58% gain in HP. After the addition of some Kooks headers and exhaust the Boss put out 640 RWHP and 462 TQ.
The crankshaft horsepower numbers translate into 740 HP / 536 TQ, a nice little 290+ HP bolt on. The current tuning platforms for the Boss do not allow usage of the track key feature with forced induction at this time, there are plans to include it in the future once the tuning option is available. 2012 Boss Mustang Stage II Systems, Stage II Tuner Kits and Race Kits are available now, call us today for more information and for the name of a dealer in your area.
Stay tuned for more updates on the Boss coming very soon, and for up to 1,000+ HP Boss applications, be sure to check out our previous blog “One Bad BOSS”.
