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Ford recently unveiled the all-new Mustang Dark Horse, a track-focused performance variant poised to set a new standard for this legendary nameplate.
A New Breed of Mustang
The seventh-generation 2024 Ford Mustang has arrived and with it some new performance variants for the street and the track. The Mustang’s striking new looks are a modern take on vintage design cues harkening back through the Stang’s storied generations, borrowing liberally from the first-gen’s fastback models. The new Mustang does not just look new, either. It’s got performance updates as well to the familiar pair of an EcoBoost four-cylinder and Coyote V8. Most impressive of all, however, is that the Mustang has a new generation at all, something neither the Dodge Challenger nor Chevy Camaro can say.
Ford not only saw fit to forge ahead with a new generation of gas-powered Mustangs, but it also took the opportunity to add new performance variants, the Dark Horse and Dark Horse R, to the mix. These track monster Mustangs pile on the performance goodies culminating in some of the quickest and most agile Mustangs ever built.
2024 Mustang Specs
Before we get to the Dark Horse, here is what to expect from the current 2024 Mustang. The seventh-gen Mustang comes in two flavors, EcoBoost and GT. The EcoBoost comes with a turbocharged (EcoBoost) 2.3L four-cylinder making a quite impressive 315 horsepower and 350 lb.-ft. of torque paired with a 10-speed automatic transmission. The Mustang GT carries the familiar Coyote 5.0L V8. But this is not the last gen’s engine. Instead, the 2024 GT’s Coyote V8 has dual throttle bodies and dual air intakes to up output to 480 horsepower and 415 lb.-ft. of torque. It too comes with a 10-speed automatic but with the added option of a six-speed Getrag manual.
Both the EcoBoost and GT can be equipped with the Performance Package that adds an assortment of performance features including Brembo brakes, a Torsen limited-slip differential, MagneRide active dampers, front strut-tower bracing, and wider wheels. In the case of the GT, horsepower is bumped just slightly to 486. Though the engines are not a major shift, Ford’s efforts in revamping the car’s suspension have yielded the most agile and compliant Mustang yet.
Dark Horse and Dark Horse R
The new Mustang Dark Horse is a track-focused variant that piles on yet more performance. The Dark Horse tunes the 5.0L Coyote V8 all the way to a full 500 horsepower and, like the GT, offers a choice between the 10-speed automatic and a six-speed manual. But unlike the GT, the Dark Horse gets a significant upgrade when it comes to that manual. That is because it trades the Getrag six-speed, the durability of which has come in for criticism, for one made by Tremec. The Dark Horse also gets multiple exhaust modes, from a quiet street note to a hyper-aggressive one for track day. Ford says the Dark Horse will start at $59,565.
The Dark Horse R is a track-only turn-key race car intended to slot in between the GT3 and GT4 Mustangs. Upgrades for the Dark Horse R include seam welding for added rigidity, a full roll cage, window safety net, and fire suppression system. It too comes with the upgraded Tremec six-speed manual as well as FIA approved Recaro bucket seats with FIA racing harness. Performance ABS and Brembo racing brakes round out the Dark Horse R. For your chance at an out-of-the-box Mustang race car, the Dark Horse R starts at $145,000.
No matter how you option it, the new 2024 Ford Mustang is making the most out of its seventh generation; first with a great pair of engines, the punchy EcoBoost and the guttural naturally-aspirated Coyote V8 along with killer new performance variants like the Mustang Dark Horse.
