The Boss 302 Mustang is a high performance variant of the Ford Mustang originally produced in 1969 and 1970, but revived in the 2012 model year. It was produced for the Trans Am racing series, while the Mustang Boss 429 which was produced the same years was built around a larger engine.
The Camaro/Mustang rivalry had begun in 1967 with the introduction of the Chevrolet Camaro by General Motors. The Camaro was the largest threat to the lead Ford had in the pony car field, a niche of car manufacturing largely created by Ford with the introduction of the Mustang in mid year 1964. Despite the lead Ford had in this field, the performance of the Mustang did not stack up to that of the Camaro. The small block and big block Chevrolet were more than a match for the 289 and 390 Fords placed in the Mustang. Ford, in an effort to burnish their total performance image introduced the 428 Cobra Jet in mid year 1968, and in 1969, built one of Detroit's most interesting power plants, the Ford Boss 302 engine V8. The design was a composite engine using the tunnel port Windsor block and large Cleveland heads. The engine was fitted to Mustangs sold to the public to allow Ford to use the new engine to compete in the Trans Am series.