Scale Autos
There’s no doubt that the decision to retro-style Ford’s Mustang in 2005 captured the American public’s imagination and encouraged greater sales. They’ve been remarkably popular over here too. You are sure to find one or more post-2005 Mustangs at most classic car shows. Ford didn’t sit back after the car’s introduction, however. No doubt spurred on by similarly retro-styled Camaros and Challengers, they have since continued to refine the Mustang and to offer special editions, usually with enhanced performance, to encourage further sales.
One such was their Boss 302, offered in 2012 and 2013. This was an homage to the original 1969 and 1970 Boss 302s that were created by designer Larry Shinoda specifically for homologation purposes, to qualify the cars for competition in the Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) Trans-Am series. After initial teething troubles with both tyres and pit stop efficiency in 1969, the Mustangs of Bud Moore won the Championship in 1970, with legendary driver Parnelli Jones at the wheel of one of the team’s pair of Mustangs.
Jones arranged for Saleen to create a modern version of his winning Mustang in 2007, which was limited to 500 examples, all painted the classic Grabber Orange. Ford saw the advantages of this and brought the Boss 302 back in 2012, with substantial engine and suspension upgrades compared with the standard 5.0 litre GT. The engine produced a claimed 444bhp, which resulted in 0 to 60mph in 4.3 seconds and the quarter mile in 12.8 seconds! Bear in mind this is a production car on street tyres – quite remarkable!
In 2020 Revell GmbH replicated this car as a 1:25 scale plastic kit in their flat-style box for the European market. It’s not clear from online references whether it is new tooling or a modification of the Boss 302 introduced in the States in 2014. Either way, this is a full kit with 208 parts moulded in white with vinyl tyres.
It has an opening bonnet to display the multi-part Coyote V8 engine and six-speed manual transmission.
The kit also has a fully detailed suspension, including a dual exhaust system. The interior has high-back seats, nicely engraved door panels and if it’s a reincarnation of the earlier American kit, clear plastic instrument dials to which you apply the instrument decals from behind. The decal sheet includes the characteristic black ‘hockey stick’ stripes, replicating those on the original Sixties cars. A detailed kit of a much soughtafter modern classic, the kit is widely available and currently listed on Amazon for a reasonable £22.90, though, as always, do shop around.