Autoblog

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We have been very lucky when it comes to having special Mustangs in our Autoblog garage. After a brief drive in a Shelby GT500, we were longing for more. Then we had a Roush 427R that Eric subjected to some serious instrumented testing. It performed well at the dragstrip and backed up its horsepower claims on the dyno. We also had some fun for a few days behind the wheel of a Saleen supercharged convertible, as well. That Saleen S281 SC Mustang was a 2006 with 435 hp and a lot of "hey, look at me" add-ons. A real kick in the pants in a straight line, but not our first choice for the twisty roads we enjoy so much. When we returned that S281 to Saleen, they mentioned that their newest special edition product would be available soon. When the words "Parnelli Jones" escaped the rep's lips, we felt a surge of adrenaline that led to an involuntary, "How soon?"

The 2007 Saleen/Parnelli Jones Limited Edition Mustang was first shown at the New York Auto Show last year. It promised 370 hp and a beefed up suspension that would emulate the performance of the 1970 championship-winning Boss 302 that Parnelli Jones helped make famous back in the golden era of Trans-Am racing. With retro touches like the Grabber Orange paint, black stripes, rear wing, jutting front lip, chrome surrounds on the grille and rear lights, rear window louvers, Minilite-like wheels, and the Shaker hood, it instantly became our favorite Mustang.

Follow the jump for the rest of the review and do yourself a favor and check out our high-resolution gallery of pics. We guarantee your next desktop wallpaper is in there somewhere. .

While we wouldn’t necessarily call the 2007 Saleen/Parnelli Jones Limited Edition Mustang the Best of Show overall at the NYIAS, it has easily nabbed the title of Best Mustang of Show. That’s not an insignificant feat considering Ford itself let two new ponies out of its corral – the “California Special” and the GT350H – and had the Shelby GT500 on display.

Following Ford back into the past, Steve Saleen and Parnelli Jones have faitfully recreated the 1970 Boss 302 Mustang that Parnelli himself piloted back in 1970, right down to Grabber Orange paint, shaker hood and Watts linkage rear suspension. (You engineers out there should appreciate the effort that must have went into putting that last item on the list.)

As we said in our earlier post, the Parnelli LE Mustang pumps 370 hp and 370 ft-lbs. of torque out of Ford’s modular V8. We also told you it would cost somewhere in the $50,000 range. Now we know that Steve and company only plans to build and sell 500 units, and Parnelli has dibs on the first one.

Follow the jump for more live detail shots of the Parnelli Mustang.