Time’s up for atmo-V8-engined, rear-driven, manual-shift muscle cars, right? Wrong, says seventh-generation 'Stang
With large-capacity performance cars dropping like flies in Europe, it comes as a pleasant surprise to tell you that the Ford Mustang is back for another round.And it arrives on these shores not as an item of near-contraband, attainable only via third-party importation. The new Mustang is a true dealership-spec production model, with right-hand drive and a long warranty. More than that, the seventh-generation car, codenamed S650, also ushers in an entirely new moniker for the Mustang: Dark Horse. It’s what we’re testing here.We will delve into what exactly the Dark Horse is in a moment, but the concept is simple enough. Ford has never been afraid to adorn special versions of its famous muscle car with their very own name tags – in the past we’ve had Boss, Mach 1, Bullitt and the Shelby GT350 and GT500 twins – and the Dark Horse is simply the latest to join the gang. It takes the regular Mustang GT and hones the driveline and chassis to make the car more track-capable – and perhaps a sweeter B-road proposition, too. In the US, a Handling Pack is available to up the ante with wider tyres and more aggressive suspension geometry, though this isn’t currently being offered in the UK.Which isn’t to say that the Dark Horse will be the fruitiest S650 Mustang. Shelby versions are incoming, as is the fearsome GTD. Best to think of the Dark Horse as Ford’s version of the Porsche 911 Carrera GTS, compared with the entry-level Carrera. On paper it is tightened up, not transformed. The GTD, on the other hand, is a circa-£315,000, 800bhp, track-bred brute designed to take on the likes of the 911 GT3 RS. On the bottom rung, the 2.3-litre, four-pot engine is still available in certain markets (not the UK). All in all, the scope of the original ‘pony’ has never been greater, which is an achievement in the current legislative climate.For British buyers the Dark Horse does come at a price, however. Stateside, the car starts at just over $63,000 (roughly £50,000); here, it is knocking on the door of £70,000. Transatlantic mark-ups are nothing new, but that price does put this more focused Mustang into competition with profoundly talented alternatives, not least the updated BMW M2. It’s also a £10,000 uplift on the car the Dark Horse effectively replaces – the S550-gen Mach 1. Worth it? Time to find out.
