Steve Saleen is highly underrated. He knows how to engineer a good race car, and the Parnelli Jones Boss 302 is a true engineering marvel. Jack Roush is the same way, as was Carroll Shelby. Great automotive engineers of our era.
I remember this car, so wanted one but certainly couldn't get it at the time. Thankfully I got my Mach 1 in 2021, but would still love one of these someday. Looks so cool!
the late Paul Brown raced a modern 2012 Boss 302 that equalled Parnelli's race wins... do a video about Paul... he was a friend and an amazing driver.. and had a cat named Purrnelli... R.I.P. Paul.. miss you
I always loved these Saleen Mustangs. When I saw Mustang GT-R Concept in the game Ford Racing 3, I found on the internet this "Mirinda" orange Saleen with those similar "divided" headlights. Shame the GT-R concept did not go further.
The Parnelli Jones Edition is a direct evolution of the GT-R Concept, since they used a lot of the same parts on the car and the GT-R Concept was envisioned in the same vein that the Boss 302 was.
Not that I would have been in the loop about such things, I had never heard of these Mustangs before this video. I'll bet that 5 l mod motor sounds good as hell.
I still remember seeing a WWE DVD on John Cena’s car collection back in 2007 or 2008 and him having a new Parnelli Jones Mustang at the time also I hope u talk about the Boss 302 Mustang next
There are actually two more in this series of Saleen. A Dan Gurney build as well as a George Fulmer tribute. I’m not sure how many got made because of financial issues. You should look into it and do a video. My dad bought a Parnelli brand new. They offered an option post sale for a super shaker conversation which was the addition of the Saleen Speedlab supercharger. I did the conversion along with a T56 magnum swap for my dad. It’s one the best all around mustangs built IMO.
Finally!!! Someone on UA-cam talks about this special edition Mustang. THANK YOU!!! I've owned my PJ #424 since 2010 and I haven't seen a good review on this special edition since these cars debuted. It's rare to see these on the streets or car shows. 400HP is plenty to have fun on the streets. The car handles great with the suspension set up. The Watts Link makes a huge difference when making those tight turns. A great balanced car, IMO. The look on these cars is as closest will ever get to the first gen mustang, but with a modern touch. Not to mention, a beautiful replica of Parnelli's 1970 Trans Am championship car with the colors, stripes, and minilite wheels. For sure... an underated Mustang.
Great review with little known information. Saleens are all numbered on the front bumpers. I own Parneli Jones Edition #71. Purchased from a collector in 2008 with just a few miles on it. I have had mine on the track. A blast to drive and turns heads everywhere I go. I also owned a 2008 Stage 3 Roush Speedster. Got rid of the Roush. Still have the PJ if that tells you anything.
Yes as I have an S281 Saleen convertible that I special ordered car a stroker engine big brakes, staggered wheels,watts link suspension, a 6 speed transmission
😭😭😭 yes i knew these cars existed but never saw one on the road (b.t.w this week i finally did see 2013 boss 302 at a stop light it made my day 😊😊😊) anyway to answer your question i would pick svt cobra 03-04 as they look not too mean or too sedate but did pack 4.6L supercharger 'terminator' motor that left any one begging for luck (unfortunately it wasn't meant to be 😂😂😂) after leaving them in there dust so thank you rare cars for the video and have a good day bye now later.
My family had 2 2005s and I owned a 06 pony pkg GT. All were in sonic blue (the original light blue color) I ALMOST got the original green but it didn’t grow on me until I had a friend with the green so I went with the blue. Had a set of faux knock offs on my wheels and everything. My grandma who had a 67 loved mine
The PJ 302 was the best S197 1st Gen. It’s perfect. A DFW owner owns one of each, original and the PJ. Find him at a show. He will talk your ear off! Also… the Watts Link animation is not correct. Thanks for the video. I had a chance to buy one about 15 years ago but funds were tight. Sadly.
They should have made the tail lights like mine in my avatar. If I could do it they could have too. Actually Ford should have done this to the S197 platform themselves. Saleen has always made great cars.
I wish they made more of these I woulda definitely got one. I ended up getting rid of my 06 for a 04 mach 1 (my dream car) then they came out with the boss 302 the year I got my Mach…. Still will eventually get a 2013-14 boss at some point won’t get rid of the Mach to do it though 😅
Sometimes it's not that people over look some cars but the advertisement is just bad. I've been a Mustang guy my entire life and never hear about this car until today. Good video tho!
I think the Saleen S281 has the second best Mustang rear end/tail light set up ever. Of course 67+68 fastback Shelby is the best imho but a Saleen is actually obtainable to me 😢😂
The Parnelli Jones Edition is a direct evolution of the GT-R Concept, since they used a lot of the same parts on the car and the GT-R Concept was envisioned in the same vein that the Boss 302 was.
Still regardless of the pedigree, I can’t justify the overhead prices to a Saleen S281. I would personally save my money and buy a Shelby since the insurance is sky high on the S281!
Not "overlooked"... More like "unknown". 🤔 I've seen similar (the same ?) style Mustangs and heard of the "Parnelli Jones Edition", but never knew what it was.
I would roll in it, not like it's a slow car and the legitimate handling modifications make a nice driver. It's not like your going street racing with it, modern performance cars overmatch these in a straight line but you can still get a thrill with it. Enjoyable driving is possible without risking an impound and uninsurable status. Take it to the road course that's where it will do what it was designed for if you want to compete with it.
@rarecars3336 I like all Mustangs, But the New Edge side view reminds me of the 60s Mustangs. The Bold curves are slowly fading away with each newer design and eventually will be bland like the Fox body. Unfortunately the top of fenders has become too small in newer generations , used to be wide.
No I didn’t specifically know of it. Known about Saleen, Calloway, and other cars from Car and Driver Mags I read back in the 80’s when I was in high school. That’s only superficially for me. At the time my dad was very much into SBC and our house specifically had built SBCs which my dad planted in vehicles which mom raced extremely successfully with. I could only dream of anything from these boutiques. We did have a fox body Thunderbird, black with wire wheels, believe it was an 82 with the 302. Then an 86 Monte SS black. This vehicle had a special transmission from the factory which my dad had to send fluid from in special kits which he’d mail to GM. He had many corvettes. Then we had a Honda Prelude. None of these cars were anything but nice vehicles to take on tour or go to dinner in. Step mom drove some of them to work sometimes. I really appreciate your channel, I have gear shifting in my blood. 🩸 I love fast cars and motorcycles. I’ve had beautiful rides as well. Wish I could afford more, but I am a priority driven man. I will spend more on a car than maybe I should, but I have to stop short of financially eliminating another hobby. Can anyone relate?
I feel like this exposes how much of a dog most of the 4.6s were. They knew that motor sucked but they kept selling it with projects like the Terminator Mustang to emphasize they knew. It's embarrassing. Reliable or no, Mustangs and Crown Vics shouldn't have the same motor. Old LTDs were big so if a Mustang had the same motor it was cool. Modern Mustangs ain't skinny so how is it a muscle car with a power to weight ratio slightly better than a Town Car? It's not. That way they can charge a king's ransom for something that's not a device for displaying stickers. I feel like the Chevy guys have a pretty good point. Compare the C5 Z06 let alone the base C6 compared to the hot garbage Ford was slinging. And now their big new thing... A half million dollar Mustang. Who is that for? Putting a V6 in a supercar to sell it in regular cars should be litigated at the Hague. And that was before we found out they were designed to be disposable.
A lot of the clips you showed, showed the car was modified, like why modify a rare car? You’ll just ruin the value of it, also the front looks like the prototype mustang gtr
Yup it is sad that the S650 STILL has the locked ECU. Really makes you question if its worth it when you can whipple an S550 and still make big power and tune it for way less money
This was done right. Roush and Saleen are crappy iterations in my opinion because the chassis couldn’t really handle the power that the superchargers typically added. Even my all time favorite Mustang (2013-14 GT500) was a dog for the power it had. It was a pig on wheels when it came to corners and don’t even mention the brakes. Brembo brakes my ass. Lol This is also why the Boss 302 at the end was more regarded as the drivers Mustang than the GT500. Even tho its value didn’t keep as well as the GT500 tho being that it was the last Shelby Carroll Shelby had a development hand in.
Steve Saleen is highly underrated. He knows how to engineer a good race car, and the Parnelli Jones Boss 302 is a true engineering marvel. Jack Roush is the same way, as was Carroll Shelby. Great automotive engineers of our era.
Jack Roush is NO Carrol Shelby, or Steve Saleen.
The latter built entire road cars, ground up. Jack runs teams, bolts parts onto Fords....
I remember this car, so wanted one but certainly couldn't get it at the time. Thankfully I got my Mach 1 in 2021, but would still love one of these someday. Looks so cool!
21' Mach is a MEAN car, got an 04 mach myself. Just can't go wrong with a limited production mustang!
@@rarecars3336 I miss my Dark Shadow Gray '03 Mach 1, got rear-ended by someone not paying attention while going ~50 and crunched it pretty well.
the late Paul Brown raced a modern 2012 Boss 302 that equalled Parnelli's race wins... do a video about Paul... he was a friend and an amazing driver.. and had a cat named Purrnelli... R.I.P. Paul.. miss you
I always loved these Saleen Mustangs. When I saw Mustang GT-R Concept in the game Ford Racing 3, I found on the internet this "Mirinda" orange Saleen with those similar "divided" headlights. Shame the GT-R concept did not go further.
The GTR concept was such a sweet car it is a shame they never made it
Ford asked Saleen to create it believe or not.
The Parnelli Jones Edition is a direct evolution of the GT-R Concept, since they used a lot of the same parts on the car and the GT-R Concept was envisioned in the same vein that the Boss 302 was.
Great video again. You do a great job finding these gems. 🎉🎉🎉
Not that I would have been in the loop about such things, I had never heard of these Mustangs before this video. I'll bet that 5 l mod motor sounds good as hell.
Those cars are bad ass. Some even had a "Suh-leen" supercharger added afterward. They also did a Folmer car a few years later.
We saw one of the Folmercars at a Mustangs Northwest show about 10 years ago
I still remember seeing a WWE DVD on John Cena’s car collection back in 2007 or 2008 and him having a new Parnelli Jones Mustang at the time also I hope u talk about the Boss 302 Mustang next
John Cena and a Parnelli Jones Mustang is SO mid 2000's I love it
There are actually two more in this series of Saleen. A Dan Gurney build as well as a George Fulmer tribute. I’m not sure how many got made because of financial issues. You should look into it and do a video. My dad bought a Parnelli brand new. They offered an option post sale for a super shaker conversation which was the addition of the Saleen Speedlab supercharger. I did the conversion along with a T56 magnum swap for my dad. It’s one the best all around mustangs built IMO.
Yes, I have known about these cars. I was able to purchase a spoiler of one from eBay for my car. I also installed a Watts Link suspension.
How big of a difference did the watts link make to yours?
The Watts link makes cornering better. @@rarecars3336
Finally!!! Someone on UA-cam talks about this special edition Mustang. THANK YOU!!!
I've owned my PJ #424 since 2010 and I haven't seen a good review on this special edition since these cars debuted. It's rare to see these on the streets or car shows.
400HP is plenty to have fun on the streets. The car handles great with the suspension set up. The Watts Link makes a huge difference when making those tight turns. A great balanced car, IMO.
The look on these cars is as closest will ever get to the first gen mustang, but with a modern touch. Not to mention, a beautiful replica of Parnelli's 1970 Trans Am championship car with the colors, stripes, and minilite wheels.
For sure... an underated Mustang.
Great review with little known information. Saleens are all numbered on the front bumpers. I own Parneli Jones Edition #71. Purchased from a collector in 2008 with just a few miles on it. I have had mine on the track. A blast to drive and turns heads everywhere I go. I also owned a 2008 Stage 3 Roush Speedster. Got rid of the Roush. Still have the PJ if that tells you anything.
Saleen had the coolest rear taillight panel..(
They 100% did
Our friend has had one for many years and absolutely loves the car.
Great Video, I didn't know how special this car is, I appreciate it 💯
Constructive criticism: it sounds like you're speaking through a coffee can.
✨☠️
The horizontal splitter on the headlights is a nice reference to the two horizontal vents at the front corners of the ‘70 Mustang.
Love this channel and content. Also love Mustangs. I know...... I know....... Mustangs! But I just love them.
Wow this car is awesome. Saleen always were my favorites but wow this one went the extra mile.
Yes as I have an S281 Saleen convertible that I special ordered car a stroker engine big brakes, staggered wheels,watts link suspension, a 6 speed transmission
S197 is such an underrated chassis. It is quite capable.
😭😭😭 yes i knew these cars existed but never saw one on the road (b.t.w this week i finally did see 2013 boss 302 at a stop light it made my day 😊😊😊) anyway to answer your question i would pick svt cobra 03-04 as they look not too mean or too sedate but did pack 4.6L supercharger 'terminator' motor that left any one begging for luck (unfortunately it wasn't meant to be 😂😂😂) after leaving them in there dust so thank you rare cars for the video and have a good day bye now later.
My family had 2 2005s and I owned a 06 pony pkg GT. All were in sonic blue (the original light blue color) I ALMOST got the original green but it didn’t grow on me until I had a friend with the green so I went with the blue. Had a set of faux knock offs on my wheels and everything. My grandma who had a 67 loved mine
I didnt know about this car. Now i want one!
That is 1 gorgeous Mustang!
I wonder how this pj boss would do against the laguna seca boss 🤔
The PJ 302 was the best S197 1st Gen. It’s perfect.
A DFW owner owns one of each, original and the PJ.
Find him at a show. He will talk your ear off!
Also… the Watts Link animation is not correct.
Thanks for the video.
I had a chance to buy one about 15 years ago but funds were tight. Sadly.
You should talk about the Dan Gurney version of that mustang that came out the following year.
They should have made the tail lights like mine in my avatar. If I could do it they could have too. Actually Ford should have done this to the S197 platform themselves.
Saleen has always made great cars.
Agreed actually the ones in ur avatar pic would have fit this car better
I wish they made more of these I woulda definitely got one. I ended up getting rid of my 06 for a 04 mach 1 (my dream car) then they came out with the boss 302 the year I got my Mach…. Still will eventually get a 2013-14 boss at some point won’t get rid of the Mach to do it though 😅
What a beautiful car!!!
My interest in Mustangs peaked with Steve McQueen's Bullitt Mustang... Big block, four speed, Job done☺
Sometimes it's not that people over look some cars but the advertisement is just bad. I've been a Mustang guy my entire life and never hear about this car until today. Good video tho!
I don't know those Roush's were Sick!!!
Possibly one of the best S197's ever made, but Musto has got to figure out a better booth for his audio.
Lol I am not Mike Musto but I am flattered at the comparison
@rarecars3336 🤣 c'mon man, we all know that accent. Either way, the voice over audio is terrible.
Ford needs to bring back the Boss 302.
I think the Saleen S281 has the second best Mustang rear end/tail light set up ever. Of course 67+68 fastback Shelby is the best imho but a Saleen is actually obtainable to me 😢😂
I didnt know the extent of engine mods....🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩
Me either - I thought it was just a 3V 4.6 but its way more!
The Parnelli Jones Edition is a direct evolution of the GT-R Concept, since they used a lot of the same parts on the car and the GT-R Concept was envisioned in the same vein that the Boss 302 was.
Still regardless of the pedigree, I can’t justify the overhead prices to a Saleen S281. I would personally save my money and buy a Shelby since the insurance is sky high on the S281!
S197 mustang’s version of the new edge machine 1
Not "overlooked"... More like "unknown". 🤔 I've seen similar (the same ?) style Mustangs and heard of the "Parnelli Jones Edition", but never knew what it was.
Roush for me...
The roushes are cool too, a guy at my old gym had one of the roughest stage 2 cars you have ever seen and always parked it out by my car
I would roll in it, not like it's a slow car and the legitimate handling modifications make a nice driver. It's not like your going street racing with it, modern performance cars overmatch these in a straight line but you can still get a thrill with it. Enjoyable driving is possible without risking an impound and uninsurable status. Take it to the road course that's where it will do what it was designed for if you want to compete with it.
It Kinda reminds me of the Dominator in GTA 5.
Nice car but I love my New Edge Mustang GT to me is better, but I'm not a fast back style guy.
Have a new edge myself and I love the body style, one of the best looking stang generations imo
@rarecars3336 I like all Mustangs, But the New Edge side view reminds me of the 60s Mustangs. The Bold curves are slowly fading away with each newer design and eventually will be bland like the Fox body. Unfortunately the top of fenders has become too small in newer generations , used to be wide.
No I didn’t specifically know of it. Known about Saleen, Calloway, and other cars from Car and Driver Mags I read back in the 80’s when I was in high school. That’s only superficially for me. At the time my dad was very much into SBC and our house specifically had built SBCs which my dad planted in vehicles which mom raced extremely successfully with. I could only dream of anything from these boutiques. We did have a fox body Thunderbird, black with wire wheels, believe it was an 82 with the 302. Then an 86 Monte SS black. This vehicle had a special transmission from the factory which my dad had to send fluid from in special kits which he’d mail to GM. He had many corvettes. Then we had a Honda Prelude. None of these cars were anything but nice vehicles to take on tour or go to dinner in. Step mom drove some of them to work sometimes. I really appreciate your channel, I have gear shifting in my blood. 🩸 I love fast cars and motorcycles. I’ve had beautiful rides as well. Wish I could afford more, but I am a priority driven man. I will spend more on a car than maybe I should, but I have to stop short of financially eliminating another hobby. Can anyone relate?
Salem cars have always looked better than Roush ones.
I feel like this exposes how much of a dog most of the 4.6s were. They knew that motor sucked but they kept selling it with projects like the Terminator Mustang to emphasize they knew. It's embarrassing. Reliable or no, Mustangs and Crown Vics shouldn't have the same motor. Old LTDs were big so if a Mustang had the same motor it was cool. Modern Mustangs ain't skinny so how is it a muscle car with a power to weight ratio slightly better than a Town Car? It's not. That way they can charge a king's ransom for something that's not a device for displaying stickers. I feel like the Chevy guys have a pretty good point. Compare the C5 Z06 let alone the base C6 compared to the hot garbage Ford was slinging. And now their big new thing... A half million dollar Mustang. Who is that for? Putting a V6 in a supercar to sell it in regular cars should be litigated at the Hague. And that was before we found out they were designed to be disposable.
So it got it up to LS2 power
No, I didn't. Good vid.........
suh-LEEN
Sadly, the Mustang hasn't been a car to get excited about since before the 80's. Folks can pretend, but that's the hard reality of it. 🤷
A lot of the clips you showed, showed the car was modified, like why modify a rare car? You’ll just ruin the value of it, also the front looks like the prototype mustang gtr
17 years forward an all new mustangs have the ecu locked, so whipple 5.0 packages or nothing else when talking about the engines.
Yup it is sad that the S650 STILL has the locked ECU. Really makes you question if its worth it when you can whipple an S550 and still make big power and tune it for way less money
This was done right. Roush and Saleen are crappy iterations in my opinion because the chassis couldn’t really handle the power that the superchargers typically added.
Even my all time favorite Mustang (2013-14 GT500) was a dog for the power it had. It was a pig on wheels when it came to corners and don’t even mention the brakes. Brembo brakes my ass. Lol
This is also why the Boss 302 at the end was more regarded as the drivers Mustang than the GT500. Even tho its value didn’t keep as well as the GT500 tho being that it was the last Shelby Carroll Shelby had a development hand in.