It’s not every day that you get to buy a brand-new 50-year-old muscle car, but that’s exactly what Classic Recreations is offering. The Oklahoma-based outfit will sell you a new 1969 or 1970 Ford Mustang Boss 429, Boss 302, or Mach 1 that’s been officially licensed by the Blue Oval.
Classic Recreations made its name building re-creations of classic Shelby Mustangs from earlier in the 1960s, but now the company is turning its attention to the Mustang’s later hits. Fans consider the Boss models and the Mach 1 to be some of the greatest muscle cars of all time, and originals fetch big money.
Both the original Boss 429 and Boss 302 were built to meet racing homologation rules, which are meant to ensure that cars in race series for production-spec models actually resemble what people can buy, and were much stricter in the late ’60s than they are today. Racing was also much more important to automakers from both a marketing and ego standpoint.
Ford built the Boss 429 so it could certify a massive 429-cubic-inch V8 for NASCAR competition. Just 1,400 were made, and one example sold for $330,000 at a Barrett-Jackson collector car auction earlier this year. Boss 302s aren’t quite as valuable, but still fetch high sums and have a great back story of their own. Ford developed the Boss 302 to race in rge Trans-Am racing series against cars like the Chevrolet Camaro Z/28 and Dodge Challenger T/A.
The Mach 1 wasn’t developed for racing, but became an icon thanks to that awesome name and racy styling features. Rumor has it that Ford will revive the Mach 1 name for its upcoming electric SUV, a vehicle about as far removed from a vintage Mustang as you can get.
Classic Recreations will build the Boss models and the Mach 1 using original Mustang bodies, or completely new bodies officially licensed by Ford. Because the cars have Ford’s approval, Classic Recreations prefers to call them “continuation cars” rather than replicas.
The Boss 429 will get a bespoke 429-cubic-inch engine with some modern upgrades like electronic fuel injection. The Boss 302 will be offered with the same “Coyote” V8 used in the current-generation Mustang GT, or a 363-ci stroker V8 based on an original 302 block. The Mach 1 will be available with any engine in Classic Recreations’ catalog — including turbocharged Ford EcoBoost engines.
Pricing hasn’t been announced but, given that Classic Recreations’ least-expensive Shelby Mustang starts at $149,000, putting a new Boss or Mach 1 in your driveway probably won’t come cheap. But Classic Recreations points out that owners of original cars are often afraid to drive them, for fear of ruining their investments. These new versions will have the same look and feel as the originals, but without the pricey pedigree. Classic Recreations will unveil the first completed Boss 429 at SEMA 2018 in Las Vegas, with the Boss 302 and Mach 1 appearing sometime after that.
