Aerodynamics have always been important to racing, but it wasn’t really until the 1970’s that American car companies started paying attention to how the air wrapped around their cars. Today wind tunnel testing is standard on all new automobiles, but special attention is paid to performance vehicles, especially those with track intentions in mind. And there’s something really cool about watching a race car in a wind tunnel.

So we’re happy that Ford Racing felt obliged to release this video of the 2012 Ford Mustang Boss 302S testing in the wind tunnel in Allen Park, Michigan, giving us an idea what areas Ford engineers really focused on when it came to aerodynamics.

In case you missed it, the Boss 302S is Ford’s track-only version of the Boss 302 Mustang. It replaces the 302R on the Grand Am circuit, and nowhere are aerodynamics more important than on the race track. One of the first tests Ford engineers undertook was checking the brake ventilation ducts, which divert air to the brakes to keep the stoppers cool during hard cornering. And you can see Ford engineers did a good job as the air flows right through Boss’s wheels. They also tested the extractor hood design, which sucks in cold air that flows over the roof. Another key design focus was the huge rear spoiler, which may seem unnecessary until you see how the air flow follows the contours of the Mustang, over the roof and down the back glass, above and below the spoiler, helping promote that downforce we hear so much about.

Another part of this test involved the thermal wind tunnel, where ambient air temperatures were raised as high as 100 degrees Fahrenheit to test the cooling system on the Boss as simulated at racing speed. Basically this just involved multiple dyno runs, but it is still a very cool video that includes some awesome Boss 302 dyno runs. Check it out, you won’t be disappointed.