Boss Under Glass – Saleen Mustang Parnelli Jones Edition – Trans AM Stallion

Parnelli Jones went onto do other things, notably some successful endeavors in Baja racing, but he never forgot those halcyon Mustang years. In the late 1980s he was back at it, driving Mustangs for Steve Saleen in SCCA and helping the small volume manufacturer win the 1987 constructors championship, along with former Bud Moore teammate George Follmer.

Fast forward to 2005. The new S197 Mustang had hit the streets with a thunder not seen since the late 1960s. In many respects the second coming of the pony car, this new Steed proved a hit with its combination of vintage inspired styling and healthy performance for a reasonable price of $30,000. At this stage, Jones was thinking about restoring a 1970 Boss 302 to drive on the street, but when he saw the new Mustang he decided that a modern, street version of his old 1970 winning race car might be cool to drive around in. Steve Saleen agreed, but thought that instead of just building one, a limited production run of 500 cars could be built and sold to eager buyers. Parnelli and Steve got to work. The result was the 2007 Saleen Parnelli Jones Mustang.

The objective was to make this car as much as possible, a modern version of the classic Boss racer. To that end it has a real 302 engine under the hood and one that’s fully balanced and blue printed to boot – but that is where the similarities end. The new engine is a punched and stroked 281 modular V8, in this case a 3.55 x 3.80-inch bore and stroke increasing displacement to 302 cubes.  In place of old OHV Cleveland heads are a pair of aluminum single overhead cam units with three valves for each cylinder. Instead of a 780 Holley four-barrel, it drinks via sequential electronic fuel injection and a specially calibrated Saleen version of Ford’s ‘Spanish Oak’ electronic brain, that enable this pony to crank out 400 horsepower and 390 lb/ft of torque, at a peaky, but still quite useable 6000 max and 4700 rpm respectively. The car runs a Saleen built quick ratio five-speed manual gearbox and a 3.73:1 final drive ratio.

When you get behind the wheel, the car feels vintage and modern at the same time. There are a lot of elements found in the regular S197 GT, but the special steering wheel boss, seats, shifter, dash top gauges, along with Jones’ and Saleen’s signature between the center dash vents tell you this is special. The car also features a real shaker hood, so when you turn the key and blip the throttle it moves just like that on the original 1970 Street Boss does. 

The car sounds like a real Mustang should, throaty and distinctive and it pulls hard too. Mash the gas and it squats and goes – the torque is right there. The shifter is a stout piece, as befitting a muscle car but the gear changes come quick and swift. Down shifting spikes the revs and makes maximum use of that 3.73 final drive. Like the Trans Am car of old, the engine revs and the power keeps coming, stronger and harder – max hp is at six grand, remember. Saleen quotes 0-60 mph times of 4.5 seconds and a quarter run of 12.5. That’s mightily impressive for a street car and although we didn’t have a chance to log data on our driver, from our seat time, there’s no evidence to the contrary.

This is one fine car. The best Mustang out there to say the least. That strong, free-revving engine, beefed up suspension and retro racer look make it the total package.
When you buy a car like this, you’re buying a piece of the legend that surrounds it.