Establishing that there's nearly boundless possibility for fresh varieties of its iconic pony car, Ford Motor is heading all the way back, 42 years to be precise in order to dust off one of its most celebrated names.

It's bringing back the Mustang Boss 302.

The initial Mustang Boss 302 made its debut in 1968. Following its pattern, Ford is adding performance parts, a fancy paint job and a famous name to try to evoke nostalgia for a more carefree era.

The Boss will come with a 5.0 liter V-8 engine producing a whopping 412 horsepower. The decision to build a modern Boss was not entered into lightly," said Derrick Kuzak, a Ford group vice president, in a statement. "The entire team at Ford felt the time was right and with the right ingredients, the world-class 2011 Mustang could support a successful, race-bred, worthy successor to the original Boss 302.”

The original Mustang Boss was developed to compete with rival Chevrolet’s Camaro Z28. No specific pricing details have been announced.

"The Boss is back," proclaimed one of the executives, Mark Fields, Ford's president of the Americas, as he emerged from a blue model. "We developed this vehicle to live up to the original."

Ford executives won't say how many they plan to sell, but they intimate that big Boss sales aren't really the point. "We make cars that are emotional," marketing Chief Farley said. Fields says more Mustang versions are in the pipeline. Just what, he won't say.

The car could be just the support Ford needs in its rivalry against the Chevrolet Camaro. Mustang outsold Camaro in the U.S. last month — by three cars.