U.S. #5715
2022 60¢ Pony Cars – 1969 Ford Mustang Boss 302
Issue Date: August 25, 2022
First Day City: Sacramento, CA
Type of Stamp: Commemorative
Printed by: Ashton Potter (USA) Ltd.
Printing Method: Offset
Format: Pane of 20
Self-Adhesive
Quantity Printed: 45,000,000
Ford dominated racetracks in the early days of the Pony Car craze. When Chevrolet took the top sopt in 1968, Ford refused to be outdone and developed its legendary Mustang Boss 302.
Ford brought in a new president, former GM vice president Semon "Bunkie" Knudsen. Knudsen quickly hired famed Corvette C2 designer Larry Shinoda to develop the new Mustang. The project was a secret, so when asked what he was working on, Shinoda simply replied "the boss's car," leading to the Mustang's name. The "302" in the name is a reference to the 302-cubic inch engine.
In addition to upgrades under the hood, the 302 had larger front wheel wells for bigger tires, front and rear spoilers for better aerodynamics, and black matte paint on the center of the hood to reduce glare. The 302 also had black decals that stood out against the Bright Yellow, Calypso Coral, Wimbledon White, and Acapulco Blue paint jobs.
After losing the 1969 race to Chevy, the Boss underwent slight modifications and claimed victory in 1970. Canadian racer Allan Moffat drove a Boss 302 to 101 victories out of 151 races in Australia between 1969 and 1971. Ford briefly revived the Boss name in 2012, giving car enthusiasts a chance to relive the nostalgia of the golden age of the pony car.