1970 Ford Mustang Boss 302 Race Car From Trans Am Glory Days Up For Auction

Jan. 02, 2015 11:00 AM ET by Jacob Joseph Classic Cars / 40 Comments

Did you miss the production run of the Boss 302? Well, this one is better anyway.

One of the bigger driving factors behind the muscle car wars of the late Sixties and early Seventies was Trans Am racing, with ever more powerful cars coming from the Big Three (and AMC) in an effort to show up one another on the track. By 1969, Ford had abandoned the idea of running cars branded as both Fords and Mercury's, and instead put all of its money into racing Boss 302 Mustangs, although there were still several different teams.

The car here, which will go up for auction in just a couple of weeks, was built towards the end of 1970 for the 1971 season. It has 460 horsepower and Ford was expecting to repeat the championship win it had in 1970. But the '71 season was shortened, Ford took second to AMC and this specific car, the last one built, wasn't even finished in time to race at all. It actually sat unfinished for quite some time, but was eventually completed by the original builders in 1971-season specs. It is truly the very last of the great Trans Am Boss 302s, and is expected to go for $250,000 to $450,000.