Last month we told you about a one-off 2012 Mustang Boss 302 painted in ‘School Bus Yellow’ that would be auctioned off for charity. The car was offered to the highest bidder this past weekend and fetched $300,000 that will be donated to the Edith and Benson Ford Heart & Vascular Institute at the Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit.
The custom car was the idea of Ford designer Melvin Betancourt, who suffered heart problems 11 years ago and credits the hospital for saving his life. “I went to the doctor thinking I had a bad cold and the specialists at Henry Ford told me I had what is called an aortic dissection – a tear in the major blood vessel that carries blood away from the heart to the body,” Betancourt said. “As a result, my aorta had grown to the size of a softball, and I needed immediate open-heart surgery.”
Betancourt used Parnelli Jones’ 1970 Mustang Boss 302 Trans-Am race car as inspiration for the project. The car is painted in School Bus Yellow and features black stripes and graphics that he chose to paint on rather than use decals. To top things off, Parnelli offered his endorsement of the car by signing it during the event.
While this Boss 302 may be a one-off, it will likely be a preview of the 2013 Mustang Boss 302 that will feature new colors including ‘School Bus Yellow’ and feature graphics inspired by the 1970 Boss 302.
