The Ford Mustang has been in constant production since it’s debut back in 1964. That’s 60 years of uninterrupted production! That is 60 years of having a V8 engine and a manual transmission offered every single year! The Mustang has seen geopolitical turmoil, wars, inflation, deflation, crashing economies, pandemics along with sky high oil prices and it has survived it all.
It has survived it all by knowing what makes the Mustang so special, its Americana wrapped in metal. It’s a rolling symbol of a country and you can’t really deviate from that simple formula without throwing away the entire meaning of the car in the first place. Ford knows that and when the tides of EVdom sprung forth a few years back…they stood their ground. Or in other words:
As we know now, GM reversed their idiotic decision and ‘maybe’ back in the ICE game but who knows…
So around 2017, as every automaker collectively fapped each other at the mere suggestion of ridding themselves of the ICE engine as a whole, Ford did the opposite. They said ‘good for you’ and continued to invest in ICE development. As a further ‘frack you’ Ford spent even more money in developing the latest iteration of the Coyote V8!
The culmination of all their stubborn hardwork is this Dark Horse. The Dark Horse name maybe new but think of it as a 2024 version of the Mach 1, so it’s a trim level that slots right above the GT. So what does the Dark Horse give you?
It gives you the best pieces from the Mach 1, GT500 and GT350 into one model. Let’s break it down:
Mach 1
Steering Knuckles
GT500
Block
Connecting Rods
GT350
Transmission
From there all of those pieces get bolted to a GT in which, every single bit was fiddled, prodded and altered. It’s not done yet, those piece get bolted to a Dark Horse’d body with it’s ‘aero errywhere’ treatments and stunning Blue Ember paint. That aero gets added assistance with a set of massive Pirelli Super Trofeo RS R Compound Tires. All of those details, give you the following:
As I said on my first drive of the old GT back in 2018, the Mustang can no longer be called a Pony Car/Muscle Car…it’s legitimately dropped kicked itself into the Sports Car realm. Every iteration from there was just another notch in its performance pedigree belt. This Dark Horse is just another notch toward perfection.
Just like the old Mach 1’s turn in ability was instant, the Dark Horse builds upon that and delivers rapid turn-in ability in a moment’s notice, completely shrugging off it’s girth in rapid and immediate fashion. That girth, by the way, is a massive 107” wheelbase and almost 4000 lbs curb weight.
It doesn’t matter though, the Dark Horse laughs at the face of physics. If anything, this beast feels agile and lithe in the corners. The adaptive suspension tuning, revised rolls bars and those massive Pirelli tires deliver so much grip, that coming close to it’s limit on the streets will not just get you arrested but land you in solitary confinement.
Since it’s a track ready Mustang, you would assume the on-road demeanor is like hugging Jack the Ripper but you would be wrong. It’s excellent to the point that it’s damn near civilized. Dial the suspension and steering to Comfort and enjoy settled highway ride. Even with the massive R compounds, the ride is never jarring nor is the road noise all enveloping.