Imagine the following scenario: It’s 1971, you’re in Michigan, and you decide to spend some high-octane quality time at a local drag strip. What’s the race you’d most like to see? If you answered “Mustang Boss 302 vs. Dodge Challenger R/T,” you’re right: We’ve got one for you, and it doesn’t involve a time machine because those cars will still be racing V8s in 2024.
Okay, to be extremely specific, I should point out that the drag race between the two Golden Age icons features one “final year” of each: the 1970 Boss 302 goes head-to-head with a 1971 Challenger R/T. The small-block muscle Mustang was built between 1969 and 1970, while the Challenger Road/Track saw two years of production but began a year later (due to the model’s 1970 debut and premature retirement in 1971).
It’s no coincidence that Ford and Chrysler pulled the plug on pure performance after 1971. FoMoCo’s last stand was the Ford Mustang Boss 351, the last iteration of a legendary name from the muscle car’s heyday. On the other hand, Mother Mopar snuffed out the 426 Hemi that year and also dropped the Road/Track package from its sales brochures.
From that point on, both companies moved on to other market segments, so calling 1971 the swan song of automotive fun wouldn’t be an exaggeration. Proof of that are the two cars from those glory days: a 1970 Ford Mustang Boss 302 and a 1971 Dodge Challenger R/T, two icons of Detroit’s best years. Ford needs as little introduction as Mopar, but courtesy demands that we make the necessary introductions.
Photo: YouTube/Cars and Zebras
Ford's focus on performance began in the early 1960s, with heavy involvement in racing seen as a good argument for increased sales. Thus, the Ford Mustang launched in 1964 received the Carroll Shelby treatment for a few years, but Ford had its own ideas of speed. In 1969, a 302-cubic-inch (4.9-liter) small-block V8 was modified to compete with the Camaro Z/28 on the Trans Am circuit, and the model was replicated for 1970.
It proved to be a popular performance option: 8,641 Little Bosses were sold in the two years of production—7,013 in 1970, far outpacing the 1,628 sold in 1969. There weren’t many ways to customize a Boss Mustang (whether it was a 302 or its bigger, meaner 429-cubic-inch/seven-liter sibling). The engine was a 290-horsepower, 290-lb-ft (294 PS, 393 Nm) V8, and that was about it.
The Hurst T-Handled transmission was a four-speed manual with no gear changes; the rear was available with ratios of 3.50 (standard, with or without Traction-Lok differential), 3.91 (Traction-Lok mandatory), or 4.30 (Detroit Automotive No-Spin differential required).
Photo: YouTube/Cars and Zebras
The engine's interior was made of high-strength parts, from the four main bolts and forged steel crankshaft to the solid lifters, a 780 cubic foot per minute Holley four-barrel carburetor, and a high-capacity clutch. Ford confidently claimed the engine would rev to 7,000 rpm before the driver needed to shift gears. A racing suspension, front disc brakes, beefier shock towers, and a mean-looking front nose and rear wing completed the package.
However, the car in our story is a little different in that it has a 4.86 rear axle, as the host of the Cars and Zebras YouTube channel reveals. It’s a serious contender for the 3.91 differential in the 1971 Dodge Challenger R/T lined up next to it on the drag strip.
The Mopar Road/Track package was the most smiles per gallon Detroit had to offer, with a trio of legendary V8s and a bunch of special, heavy-duty, high-performance parts crammed inside. The R/T option debuted in 1967 on the Dodge Coronet and became a bomb in 1968 when the second-generation, fuselage-bodied Charger hit the road.
Photo: YouTube/Cars and Zebras
All in all, the R/T offered a 440-cubic-inch V8 as standard equipment, with the 426 Hemi as an alternative. 7.2 liters, for starters, was no joke, and the smaller 7.0-liter hemispherical-head engine was even meaner. In 1970, the newly launched Dodge Challenger pony car joined the fray. It introduced a somewhat tamer engine choice: the 383 V8 was the regular hardware in the Challenger R/T, with the 440 Magnum and 426 Hemi as extra-cost options.
In 1971, the R/T had the final say in the high-performance game: from the following year on, Chrysler Corporation completely forgot about fun and games for two decades (no, the '76-'79 Dodge Aspen R/T doesn't count). Unlike the final-year Boss 302, the final-year Challenger R/T of the first generation didn't impress buyers in a similar way, despite the addition of the 340-cubic-inch (5.6-liter) V8 to the lineup.
Only 4,892 Road/Track Mopars were sold in 1971 (out of a total production run of 27,377 across all displacements and body styles), most of which were powered by the standard 383-cubic-inch (6.3-liter) eight-cylinder engine. 2,450 Challenger R/Ts had the base big-block engine, detuned and rated at 300 horsepower (300 PS) and 410 lb-ft (304 hp, 556 Nm).
Photo: YouTube/Cars and Zebras
The Challenger offered a three-speed automatic transmission in the R/T package (the trusty Torqueflite) and was by far the public's favorite (1,985 were ordered with an automatic, compared to 465 with three pedals and a four-speed).
The big engine could definitely weigh the car down (pun intended) in the quarter-mile showdown we mentioned at the beginning of this story. The Boss 302 hauls 3,476 pounds (1,577 kg), while the Challenger has to move another 300 pounds (3,750 pounds total / 1,701 kg).
With its longer gears and lower body mass, the manual Ford seems to be the bookies' favorite over the beefier Mopar, and this time, the math on paper lines up with reality. The Mustang wins the first round (with an elapsed time of 15.28 seconds at 86.11 mph / 138.58 km/h).
Photo: YouTube/Cars and Zebras
The Dodge scored a 15.43 at 91.82 mph / 147.77 km/h, but its haste at the red light automatically disqualified it. In the second round, history meets the same ending: the Ford shows the challenging Challenger who's boss, with a 15.11 seconds and 94.67 mph (152.35 km/h) over 15.41 seconds, at 91.69 mph (147.56 km/h).
These times may seem ridiculous in the current era of high-performance cars (I have no intention of going down the road of heavy cars like high-end Lambos or the latest-generation raucous electrics), but remember, this race is by Pure Stock Muscle Car Drag Race rules. It's not that easy to get traction on skinny, bias-ply tires like these that these two cars are shod with.
