► Dark Horse meets Big Apple
► We take a ride around the NYIAS
► First impressions
Pick somewhere to test Ford’s most track-focused Mustang yet, and Manhattan probably wouldn’t be at the top of your list – but that’s exactly where we are. Overcast skies, rush-hour traffic and winter tyres (because these near-production cars were transported from Michigan at the 11th hour) mean we can only get a gist of the all-new Dark Horse, but so far, the signs are good.
Sharper, louder and significantly angrier-looking than the already brutish base car, the Dark Horse is the first new Mustang series to be launched in 21 years. You’d have to go back to the Bullitt and the ICE-friendly days of the Noughties for the last time Ford expanded its Mustang range (we’re ignoring the Mach-E). So why now – and more importantly, how?
Keeping The V8
Keeping the 5.0-litre ‘Coyote’ V8 in the range requires a lot of jumping through hoops these days, but it turns out Ford has been preparing its routine for years. By pushing hybrid and electric power, the Blue Oval has been able to balance its emissions books and eke out the life of its legendary V8 for longer than you might expect. Simply put, cars like the electric Explorer SUV and the Mach-E – as well as the EcoBoost model – have given the Dark Horse room to co-exist.
‘Ford Motor Company has a cross enterprise strategy around [greenhouse] emissions and how we’re going to manage those,’ explains Laurie Transou, chief engineer of the new car. ‘So it’s not looking just at one vehicle, but the whole portfolio, and we’ve invested a lot of time and money and making sure that we strategise and plan for that. And that’s how we’re able then to offer a V8. We’ve been thinking about it for a long time.’
Look around the New York show, and you’ll see many bits of American muscle that simply aren’t making it across the Pond. However, in the same way Ford is fighting against the current to keep the V8 alive, it’s also persisting with offering the car in the UK.
‘We’re super excited it’s going to Europe still,’ says Transou. ‘There are a lot of European regulations, but we’re right on top of them. I know we’ve had a really strong customer base there and so we’re going to [offer it in the UK] for the foreseeable future. We will try to make sure we can keep delivering this and building it and shipping it.’[PT1]
The why behind the Ford Mustang Dark Horse?
So that’s the how, but why? The Dark Horse represents the first expansion of the Mustang for 20 years. It’s highly counterintuitive against the current backdrop of emissions regulations and an increasing push to EVs, but Ford is confident there’s a new opportunity and market to be had.
‘What we’re trying to do is appeal to the next generation of enthusiast,’ explains Transou. ‘So we’ve got a huge opportunity to continue to grow, share the brand [and] Mustang and Dark Horse is a great way to bring the Gen Z and millennial group into the fold. It also leans into a racing heritage: you’ll see some ties with Dark Horse in the motorsports space.’
By pushing up the price to around $60,000, or £52,000, (the EcoBoost is $32,000 and the GT is $47,000 ) Ford is making a faster, more exclusive and likely more profitable product.
So what about the car?
The Mustang’s most recent facelift builds on the predatory looks of the last model, but adds even blunter, brutish forms – and the Dark Horse takes things further. ‘Almost every piece of sheet metal has changed, really,’ Transou reveals of the facelift. ‘So, the roof is the same, and I think part of the door structure remains the same. But beyond that, everything else is new. And the interesting thing too is this time, for the first time ever, we made a different front end for the EcoBoost, the GT and the Dark Horse. So, all three of them from the front look just a little bit different.’
The Dark Horse gets smoked LED headlamps, a model-specific radiator grille and its own alloy wheels. There’s a dedicated aero package, which includes a lower front splitter, deeper side skirts and an aggressive rear diffuser with a black chrome quad-exit exhaust system. There’s a choice of two rear wings, and it’s also available with optional full carbonfibre wheels – something that’s only previously been offered on the Shelby GT models.
What’s it like to ride in?
Roaring into life with the push of a button, our first impression of the Mustang is good – but familiar. Peering over the bonnet at the Manhattan traffic, our driver pulls out and immediately uses the entire rev dial while making the most of a gap in the traffic. The car we’re in uses a Tremec six-speed manual shifter with rev-matching (a 10-speed auto is also available), and although the acceleration is as visceral as before, it’s hard to feel the extra power on these roads.
The Dark Horse makes 500bhp (around 20bhp more than the base model) thanks to some tinkering under the hood; alongside a remap, there’s a new dual throttle-body intake, oil cooler and improved cooling. Better roads would help us to tell the difference, though.
The ride feels harder than before – expected for a track-focused car – and that’s thanks to further fettling. There’s extra bracing for the front and rear strut towers, a larger anti-roll bar and firmer dampers, too. Beefed-up Brembo brakes and a Torsen limited-slip diff have been thrown in to account for the extra power. Our driver also tells us that this generation of Mustang has a far quicker rack than the model before.
Rattle off the spec list above and you’d expect the ‘Stang to have all the ride quality of a skateboard, but its active Magneride suspension means it’s relatively compliant. The winter tyres aren’t helping though; we can feel their blocks complaining whenever we pick up the speed.
There’s only so much you can tell from around 30 minutes in the passenger seat, but even then, it’s clear this Mustang is pulling the Pony into the 21st century – and the world of higher-end, lower-number sports cars. But how do you keep it ‘Stang?
Maintaining the brand
‘So we have an essence of typical things that we do to make sure that we are rooted in our heritage, but then [we’re] forward-looking and progressing,’ Transou tells us before our ride. Sure enough, there’s a blend of the old and the new, inside and out.
More traffic presents a good chance to take a proper look inside the new Mustang. New for this model is Ford’s Sync infotainment system, displayed across a 12.4-inch cluster and a 13.4-inch infotainment screen and linked with one panel of glass. Sync 4 is already shipping with a handful of models, but it gets a few additions on its Mustang debut.
Just like the previous car, there’s a range of driving mode specific screens such as Dragstrip mode, Track mode and Comfort that all have their own steering, traction, and ride settings – but they’re joined by six additional individual profiles.
Ford has also included a retro skin that emulates the analogue Fox Body Mustang cockpit dials. When the lights are on, it’ll even glow in the same pale green as the original. ‘Our customers love to accessorise their vehicles,’ says Transou. ‘So, in the past it was always hardware. You could buy maybe a different cover for your shift knob.’
The new car has modern, fully-digital layout, but crucially it’s using technology to tap into the Mustang’s mythology: ‘Now we have the opportunity to do software, digital expression, digital customisation, so that’s really exciting to me,’ explains Transou. And there are plans for more: ‘We’ve already got some plans. I can’t share them with you, but we absolutely have some plans,’ she adds.
Early verdict
It’s now time to pull in, but even after 40 mins of city driving it’s clear this is a proper Mustang, but one for the digital age. Almost everything about this car is a blend: it’s stiffer and more agile than before, but it’s got the same classic V8 and the same aggressive looks as every model before it. The interior is more modern now, but there’s a handbrake-style drift brake and skins to emulate classic Mustang dials.
We’ll update this article when we get behind the driver’s seat for ourselves – but so far the Ford Mustang Dark Horse looks like a brand-new breed of pony car.