It’s no secret that American sports cars are seldom victorious in Europe. But when German car mag Sport Auto drove the Ford Mustang Boss 302 Laguna Seca around the Hockenheim circuit, the bona fide American pony car ended up with a best lap time of 1:13.2 at the hands of editor Christian Gebhard.
Out of context, that doesn’t say much… until one considers that the new BMW M5 (F10) put up a time of 1:12.9, Audi’s R8 4.2 FSI recorded 1:13.4, and the Aston Martin DBS as well as the Ferrari California ran the same in 1:13.5. In other words, the Mustang beat out the Audi, Aston Martin, and Ferrari but was a tad slower than the BMW. The success story isn’t over yet.
Sport Auto also tested the braking performance of the Boss 302 Laguna Seca and came away with the following figures: from 100 km/h (62 mph), the Mustang came to a complete stop in 33.3 meters (109.3 feet); and from 200 km/h (124 MPH) to a standstill in 124.6 meters (109.3 feet). That’s better than the new Porsche 911 Carrera S 991 wearing the optional PCCB (Porsche Ceramic Composite Brakes).
The Boss 302 is powered by the smooth and high-winding Coyote V8 making 440 horsepower and 380 pound-feet of torque, the same engine is found in the standard Boss. But the Laguna Seca package takes the already-amazing Boss 302 a step further by removing the rear seat and installing a cross-car X-brace, adding lightweight staggered wheels and R-compound ultra-high-performance tires, aerodynamics components such as an agressive front splitter and large rear spoiler, as well as Ford Racing front brake ducts that funnel outside air directly to the 14-inch vented front rotors, helping eliminate brake fade. Overall, the Laguna Seca offers a stronger chassis and adds parts that place it closer to the Boss 302R used by Ford Racing.
In the U.S., the Mustang Boss 302 stickers at $41,105 while the Laguna Seca package bumps that up to $48,100. For comparison’s sake, the Audi R8 that the Laguna Seca outperformed has an MSRP of $114,200. How’s that for a Cinderella story?
The Motrolix Take
This is what happens when The Blue Oval’s SVT team focuses on making the track car of track cars… and collaborates closely with Ford Racing. But we bet that the Laguna Seca is capable of even a faster lap time, since the driver in the video doesn’t seem to exhibit the best track skills…. although it’s possible that we could be off our rockers.
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