We’re constantly on the hunt for the next big thing at CarMoses, and we believe we’ve found something monumental for fans of the V8 muscle car. Ford has filed three trademarks each containing the term ‘Boss.’
Boss as a standalone term was filed with the United States Patent and Trademark Office and the European Union Intellectual Property Office, but something even more specific was filed in Europe: ‘Dark Horse Boss.’
A Brief History Of The Mustang Boss
We won’t go into excessive detail, but the first time the Boss nameplate appeared was as an optional extra. The 428 Cobra Jet V8 engine option was made available for the 1968 mid-year Mustang, while the Ford Boss 302 option came in 1969. The former’s sheer size required reworking the body through a Ford subcontractor, and several other upgrades were made to Boss cars to improve their handling. After all, the name was born for homologation reasons.
In 1971, the Boss 351 arrived without the racing pedigree of its forebears, but it was arguably the best street car to carry the badge when it arrived. In 2012, the S550 version arrived with several performance upgrades, including some derived from motorsport. That brings us to the present day, when we consider what Ford is cooking up next.
We Predict A Toned-Down Mustang GTD
Since Ford has recently become the first US automaker to lap the Nürburgring in under 7 minutes, it’s certainly stamped its authority on the hierarchy of American all-time greats. The Blue Oval intends to return to the Ring this year, and it might even become the boss of the 911 GT3 RS if all its goals are achieved. Regardless, we suspect that the Dark Horse Boss will be something of a midway point between the $300,000 GTD and the considerably more attainable S650 Dark Horse, which effectively replaced the S550 Mach 1 in the lineup.
Our guess is that a supercharged 5.2-liter V8 will appear alongside improved suspension, some carbon fiber add-ons, and some stripes. But what would really sell the vibe would be a widebody conversion, perhaps also in limited numbers, like the originals. We’ll have to wait to see what Ford is cooking up, but it’s clear that the muscle car still has life as we head into the second half of the decade. And even if Ford is the only one flying that flag in 2025, at least there’s still plenty of variety with more to come.
