Parnelli Jones Edition

When we reported in January Ford was planning to resurrect the Boss 302 name and add it to the Mustang lineup for the 2008 model year, we failed to mention that Saleen, the boutique automaker based in Irvine, California, will sell you one now. You read that right: Buy your Boss 302 Mustang today! Simply visit the nearest certified Saleen Ford dealer or the new Saleen Store in Irvine, scrawl your John Hancock on a check for $61,565, and begin frosting that shiny orange paint with white clouds of Pirelli smoke.

What's the catch?

Well, Saleen plans to produce just 500 examples of its Boss, so if you don't act quickly you may miss out. Furthermore, Saleen's version isn't exactly a Boss, as it's devoid of "Boss" decals-Ford, naturally, is a bit protective of the name-so you won't be spending hard-earned money on a "Boss 302," per se. Rather, Saleen's 'Stang comes tattooed with another name, one that arguably carries more fame and cachet than Boss. The signature is none other than that of Parnelli Jones (literally, Parnelli signs the dashes of all 500), the legendary race car driver who, in addition to winning the Indy 500 and numerous sprint-car, stock-car, and Baja truck races, piloted a Boss 302 Mustang to the 1970 SCCA Trans-Am title, beating the likes of Mark Donohue, Dan Gurney, Sam Posey, and George Follmer. All of which makes Parnelli Jones the Boss.

In addition to Parnelli's Sharpie script on the metallic dash, the Saleen/Parnelli Jones Mustang comes with just about every Boss 302 cue from 1970-save for the obvious one-each tastefully performed on Grabber Orange Mustang GTs that, following arrival at Saleen's Irvine facility from Ford's Flat Rock, Michigan, assembly plant, are completely stripped down and rebuilt to Saleen's specs. The nostalgic touches, applied in Irvine, consist of black side and hood stripes, the latter framing a functional "shaker" hood; a black decklid, rear spoiler, and louvered rear window cover; and 19-inch Minilite-inspired alloy wheels. Of course, all the powertrain and chassis goodies are there, too, including a 3.73:1 rearend, a Tremec five-speed manual, specially calibrated Saleen N2 dampers and linear-rate coil springs, a Watts Linkage on the live rear axle, 14-inch slotted front brake discs with four-piston calipers, and the requisite 302-cubic-inch, 24-valve Ford modular V-8 replete with forged-aluminum pistons and forged-steel connecting rods and crankshaft.