WhichCar
wheels

In-Depth Review: Ford Mustang Dark Horse

Mustang-mad Aussies have made the new Dark Horse a sell-out success. Have they wasted their money or scored a future classic? Wheels took a deeper look in a recent issue.

10ac1204/ford mustang dark horse 77 jpg
Gallery19

When Toyota Australia recently discontinued the V8 in the 70-Series LandCruiser, it inadvertently endowed the Ford S650 Mustang with a dubious honour. It is now the only new vehicle you can buy in Australia that has eight cylinders, sends drive to the rear wheels and requires drivers to select their own gears. Sad, isn’t it?

Familiar Ecoboost and GT variants continue, but there’s a new hero at the summit of Ford’s seventh-generation muscle-car range, wearing a $100,000 price tag and the first new performance Mustang nameplate in two decades – the Dark Horse. Let’s face it, Under Dog doesn’t have quite the same ring to it.

348e12d7/darkhorse thomaswielecki 17 jpg
19

Paying six figures for a ’Stang isn’t without precedent for Aussie buyers, but whereas in the previous generation that bought you 522kW/827Nm of supercharged R-Spec, the Dark Horse only offers 350kW – a measly 5kW more than the standard GT – and a spec list that looks remarkably similar to the previous Mach 1. Is this a case of marketing selling a gelding as a stallion?

In a sense, it’s irrelevant. Every one of the 1000 Dark Horses coming to Australia has a customer’s name next to it, with plenty on the waiting list ready to capitalise should any drop out. History tells us that over the S650’s lifespan there will be other limited-edition specials – at the launch, Ford Australia rolled out an example of the Bullitt, R-Spec and Mach 1 that all appeared throughout the S550’s tenure – but if you specifically want a Dark Horse and don’t already have an order? Tough luck.

Nevertheless, there is hopefully some justification for the $22,000-plus premium over a standard Mustang GT, not that the spec sheet provides many clues. The naturally-aspirated V8 scores connecting rods from the Shelby GT500, added cooling and a unique calibration, but power only increases fractionally to 350kW at 7250rpm and torque remains static at 550Nm at 4850rpm.

343312d0/darkhorse thomaswielecki 04 jpg
19

MagneRide adaptive dampers are included as standard with a unique tune, there are different springs and the wheels are a half-inch wider at both ends (19 x 9.5-inch front; 19 x 10.0-inch rear), albeit with the standard tyres (255/40 and 275/40 Pirelli P Zeros front and rear respectively) stretched over them. A Torsen limited-slip differential is installed in the rear and there are rear subframe-mount bushings from the GT500 as well. But it’s the gearbox that’s the headline act here.

The GT retains the extremely long-legged Getrag MT82-D4 and a 3.55:1 diff ratio which results in the following speeds at 7250rpm in each gear: 83km/h (1st); 128km/h (2nd); 190km/h (3rd); 270km/h (4th); 332km/h (5th); 435km/h (6th). Obviously, the last couple of numbers are purely hypothetical, but on your typical 100km/h country road you’re out of speed limit at 5650rpm in second and 3800rpm in third.

Combine the Dark Horse’s 3.73:1 diff (manual only, the auto remains 3.55:1) with the Tremec TR-3160 from the Shelby GT350 and the resultant speeds-in-gear are: 79km/h (1st); 115km/h (2nd); 160km/h (3rd); 207km/h (4th); 257km/h (5th); 408km/h (6th). Suddenly, pretty much all of second and most of third is available without falling afoul of the law, and the intermediate ratios are much more closely stacked together – fifth in the Dark Horse being shorter than fourth in the GT.

33f612cd/darkhorse thomaswielecki 01 jpg
19

Sadly, there’s no road drive of the Dark Horse at the S650 launch, just a few laps of The Bend Motorsport Park to make our assessment, but according to Laurie Transou, the Mustang’s chief engineer, that’s exactly as it should be: “It was inspired by the track, it’s intended for the track, it’s tied to our Dark Horse R which is track-only. This is a street version of those track products [and] very focused on performance.”

A number of laps in a GT provide both a warm-up and a benchmark. It’s improved, not least because added cooling means it can do more than a lap without drastically cutting power, but from the moment you push the clutch in and select first gear, the Dark Horse feels different.

The Tremec requires more muscle and the throws are much tighter. Power might be more or less identical, but leaving pitlane the torque multiplication of the shorter gearing makes the Dark Horse feel far more urgent, the engine greedily chasing the redline. Sounds good, too. Selecting Track Mode firms up the adaptive dampers, backs off the stability control, sharpens up the throttle and helpfully alters the digital instrument cluster. The rev counter is now graduated, each 500rpm increment becoming wider so that you can time your shifts near redline with expert precision. Or at least you can if you’re not greedy and don’t run into the soft limiter.

341912d5/darkhorse thomaswielecki 11 jpg
19

At turn one, the first movement of the steering wheel provides further evidence of the changes, the Dark Horse diving towards the apex with a keenness the GT could only dream of. With the same tyres and similar steering (same ratio, different calibration), this increased response must be a result of the suspension alterations and they make the flagship far more accurate and easier to place.

The changes mean attacking The Bend’s West Circuit in the Dark Horse is a very different experience to a GT. Second-gear corners are now taken in third, peak speeds between turns are higher and you can up the commitment level, secure in the knowledge the car will support you. The most obvious difference is down the main straight – where the GT is labouring along in fourth gear, the Dark Horse is charging in fifth.

Braking remains a Mustang strong suit, the huge 390mm front discs with six-piston calipers, supported by 355mm rears with four-piston calipers, proving more than equal to the task of hauling up 1822kg, lap after lap after lap. This is particularly impressive as the rev-match function allows the brake pedal to be slammed at the last possible moment without having to worry about heel-toe downshifting – it always feels like cheating, but the system is so effective it seems silly not to use it.

345412d7/darkhorse thomaswielecki 05 jpg
19

According to the stopwatch, there’s 1.3sec difference between GT and Dark Horse around the 90-odd-secondWest Circuit, but the difference in enjoyment is greater.

The GT is honestly very good, but the Dark Horse obeys driver commands more effectively. There’s a suspicion, though yet to be verified, that the on-road experience might be even better again.

If you’re not a track aficionado, there is still plenty to get excited about with the Dark Horse, chief among which is the way it looks. While dimensionally identical to the GT, the larger bi-plane rear spoiler, unique front end and different wheel design give it plenty of presence, especially in the Dark Horse-specific Ember Blue, which changes from blue to purple to black, depending on the prevailing light.

348412d2/darkhorse thomaswielecki 08 jpg
19

An optional appearance pack adds a black roof, blue brake calipers, a unique hood graphic and blue accents for the seats. Snug Recaros are again optional, but selecting them deletes the heating and cooling functions so they’re of questionable value.

The equipment list largely mirrors that of the GT but that’s primarily because Aussie Mustangs come loaded to the hilt so there’s dual-zone climate, keyless entry and go, a 12-speaker B&O stereo, wireless smartphone mirroring and charging, a heated steering wheel, ambient and Mustang-logo puddle lighting, adaptive cruise control and a full suite of active safety features. About the only omission is a head-up display.

It’s a nicer interior than before, with better-quality materials, panoramic twin digital displays that could be lifted from a BMW, and a steering wheel that’s thicker and feels more premium. It’s still irritating that the handbrake and starter button remain located for left-hand drive, and you can add the lack of physical HVAC controls to that list, but the higher price tag does at least have a cabin to match.

34a012d7/darkhorse thomaswielecki 09 jpg
19

There’s also plenty of ‘easter eggs’ for the trainspotters to get excited about. The badge is the first time a Mustang has had a forward-facing horse on it, there are silhouettes of all seven generations of Mustang at the base of the rear screen, and the digital instruments not only have different layouts for the individual drive modes but can be made to imitate the cluster of the original ’60s Mustang, ’80s Fox Body or 1999-2001 SVT Cobra. It might sound like a gimmick but it’s actually a great feature; hopefully more are added in the future as the S650 has over-the-air update capability.

‘More than the sum of its parts’ comes to mind when describing the new S650 range-topper. A glance at the spec sheet suggests that it’s at best a Mach 1 with a different name and at worst, a slightly tweaked GT with a huge price premium. But there’s a level of athleticism that’s never been present in an Aussie-delivered Mustang before. It turns out the Dark Horse is a bit of a, erm, dark horse.

EXPERT HORSE HANDLING

Why don’t we get the ultimate hoofer?

The new dark horse is very good, but local versions aren’t as good as they could be. Blame Australian Design Rules.

In its homeland, the Dark Horse is available with an optional Handling Package that turns it into a proper corner carver.

It isn’t cheap at US$5495, but the footprint is massively expanded with inch-wider wheels at both ends – 19 x 10.5-inch front and 19 x 11-inch rear – wearing massive Pirelli P Zero semi-slicks 305/30R19 front and 315/30R19 rear. It’s like giving Black Caviar 20-percent bigger hooves.

In addition, there are bigger spoilers front and rear, stiffer springs, adjustable strut top mounts and further revisions to the chassis calibration. It’s difficult to imagine the tyres alone not being worth two seconds a lap around The Bend.

Sadly, that massive rolling stock is the issue, the US allowing tyre poke deemed unacceptable in Australia. Happily for local Dark Horse owners, Herrod Performance plans to offer the Handling Package parts, albeit with its own – still wider – wheel design to make sure they tuck under the guards.

2024 Ford Mustang Dark Horse Specifications

  • Body: 2-door, 4-seat coupe
  • Engine: 5038cc V8, dohc, 32v
  • Power: 350kW @ 7250rpm
  • Torque: 550Nm @ 4850rpm
  • Transmission: 6-speed manual/10-speed auto
  • L/W/H/W-B: 4811/1918/1413/2719mm
  • Weight: 1822kg
  • 0-100km/h: 4.5sec (estimated)
  • Price: $99,102 (man)/$103,002 (auto)
344812d0/darkhorse thomaswielecki 14 jpg
19
Scott Newman
Contributor

COMMENTS

Please enable JavaScript to view the comments powered by Disqus.