2026 Mustang RTR Spec 5 intro & drive by Misha Charoudin

[DH401]

I have my doubts about how well you can keep up with a 992 GT3RS on the straight.

The GT3RS is a full second less in the quarter mile and approximately 10 mph faster, as compared to a Dark Horse.

If headers and a Palm Beach Dyno tune on 93 octane pump gasoline could pick up that kind of acceleration, Kooks would not be able to keep S650 headers in stock, and PBD would be stuck in long term back order from a tsunami of consumer demand.

Modern GT3RS owners complain about the increased weight of the 992 platform, lol , at 3268 lbs.

Our two ton track barges can only dream of being so svelte . . .

It takes a lot of horsepower to make up for an extra 730 pounds of fat . . .

And the GT3RS starts out with more horsepower . . .

You are a great source of information here (and I mean that), but I think you have a perception problem when trying to keep up with a rival's Porsche on the track . . .

While I am not keeping up exactly as they do pull away a bit at COTA which has the longest back straight I have ever been on they are by no means pulling an enormous gap on me. My father has done really well for himself and since he is as addicted to tracking his car as I am he traded in his GT500 a few months ago on a 992 GT3rs and while he is undoubtedly instantly able to do better lap times than us in our heavy beasts, He was only doing 4 mph faster in the back straight than I was able to achieve in my car which in a 1 mile distance is about 6 tenths of a second so it really is not making the time difference in the straights. Road course time is all made up in the corners as I have proven by running a faster time in my dark horse at every track than I was able to do in my fathers GT500. And I definitely think with a cold air intake and intake manifold you could achieve that 4 mph gain, I could be wrong but I believe it is very achievable. As O stated before I personally never plan on putting any kind of forced induction on my dark horse. Everyone has their own opinions though and if you decide you want to whipple it I say go for it.

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[Junkyard Dog]

I personally never plan on putting any kind of forced induction on my dark horse. Everyone has their own opinions though and if you decide you want to whipple it I say go for it.

I certainly have not decided. If it can't be cooled, I doubt I will do it (although maybe I would just to drag race it instead, or maybe buy a base model GT and Whipple it with big fat rear tires and front skinnies . . .)

The Dark Horse was loads of fun at the track, and right now I would not want to ruin that, although I would like to make it faster down the straight. Two things happened on the straight. It was fun to be able to pass almost every car in my class. It was a little frustrating not even to be able to keep up with the C7 Z06 (3500 lbs, 650 hp, and what I might have purchased if not for having two cute little kiddos at home).

It is difficult for me to imagine being able to afford or drive a GT3RS, but good for your father (and I mean that! I can congratulate him and still be a little jealous, lol)

 

[DH401]

I certainly have not decided. If it can't be cooled, I doubt I will do it (although maybe I would just to drag race it instead, or maybe buy a base model GT and Whipple it with big fat rear tires and front skinnies . . .)

The Dark Horse was loads of fun at the track, and right now I would not want to ruin that, although I would like to make it faster down the straight. Two things happened on the straight. It was fun to be able to pass almost every car in my class. It was a little frustrating not even to be able to keep up with the C7 Z06 (3500 lbs, 650 hp, and what I might have purchased if not for having two cute little kiddos at home).

It is difficult for me to imagine being able to afford or drive a GT3RS, but good for your father (and I mean that! I can congratulate him and still be a little jealous, lol)

Yes I understand the frustration of not being able to keep up with cars like a c7 Z06 in the straights but generally I have found for the most part if you can catch up to a car like that in the corners and are faster in the corners than they are then they will let you by and you will still pull away from the over the course of a lap because of your corner speed differential. There is a reason Porsches at every track event I have been to are the most common cars, They aren’t the fastest cars in a straight line yes they are still fairly fast but there are always faster in a straight line cars at every event, but they are pretty much the best handling and cornering cars out there which is why they are some of the fastest cars on the nurburgring period. The higher your average speed is around the track the faster your laps will be if you have a car that can make more speed in the straights but significantly less in the corners you are still going to be slower overall.

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