EXCLUSIVELY BY AUTO 2 G
Laguna Seca destroys brakes. Its 300 feet of elevation change per lap make up for its lack of ultra high-speed straights. What’s more, its technical nature exposes tires that are not up to the task in only a few laps. We’ve driven many street cars here that simply can’t manage repeated lapping. To that notion, the 2012 Ford Mustang Boss 302 raises a large, American middle finger before it disappears into Rainy Curve at 7,500 rpm.
There is clearly something special going on here. We’ve driven faster cars, but there’s a certain reward that comes from the Boss’ sound, the solidity of its shifter and the consistency of its brakes (four-piston Brembos clamping 14-inch rotors up front). Steering feedback is good, despite being electrically assisted, and every input is met with deliberate response from the chassis and engine. On a smooth track like Laguna, you’d never know there’s a straight axle holding up the back of the car. Nothing was overlooked. And as a result, this thing simply flies. consistent 120 mph on Laguna’s front straight in both the standard Boss 302 and the Laguna Seca package car. The aero bits on the Laguna Seca package are good for 80 pounds of downforce at that speed. The base cars we drove on the track, however, had the optional Torsen differential, Recaro buckets and brake cooling ducts from Ford Racing, so discerning a difference between the two on a slow track like Laguna meant driving them both very, very hard. Do so and the differences are subtle, but they matter.
Laguna Seca destroys brakes. Its 300 feet of elevation change per lap make up for its lack of ultra high-speed straights. What’s more, its technical nature exposes tires that are not up to the task in only a few laps. We’ve driven many street cars here that simply can’t manage repeated lapping. To that notion, the 2012 Ford Mustang Boss 302 raises a large, American middle finger before it disappears into Rainy Curve at 7,500 rpm.
There is clearly something special going on here. We’ve driven faster cars, but there’s a certain reward that comes from the Boss’ sound, the solidity of its shifter and the consistency of its brakes (four-piston Brembos clamping 14-inch rotors up front). Steering feedback is good, despite being electrically assisted, and every input is met with deliberate response from the chassis and engine. On a smooth track like Laguna, you’d never know there’s a straight axle holding up the back of the car. Nothing was overlooked. And as a result, this thing simply flies. consistent 120 mph on Laguna’s front straight in both the standard Boss 302 and the Laguna Seca package car. The aero bits on the Laguna Seca package are good for 80 pounds of downforce at that speed. The base cars we drove on the track, however, had the optional Torsen differential, Recaro buckets and brake cooling ducts from Ford Racing, so discerning a difference between the two on a slow track like Laguna meant driving them both very, very hard. Do so and the differences are subtle, but they matter.
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