2026 Mustang Dark Horse SC - Official Specs, Photos, Videos

[Neggytive]

This is a HALO car, Ford already had one with the GTD, but this one is probably more attainable to those who can afford it.

I'd love to know how much they are going to lose on every sale?

You can't price them high enough to recover the design and production costs, even if there are parts shared with the GTD and I don;t know how many specialty parts they share.

The CF wheels alone are going to add $10K to the car IMHO, plus the costs of really high end tires to go on them.

Another $15 grand for the supercharger

This will be a DH times 2 as far as price goes, and that is before the dealers do their "market adjustment"

Hey if you can afford one and can get an allocation, enjoy it. I'll be happy for you.

But this isn't a car that your normal Mustang GT or even DH owners can afford to own.

I wonder if Ford is going to put a clause in the P&S that you can't flip it for 2 years?

Dollars to donuts, I'd have rather seen another trim level above the DH with a supercharged 5.0 and some trick parts that was still obtainable by mere mortals.

Hell I'd love to see a SC option on the GT from the factory.

Wouldn't you like to know what they did to stiffen the car up to take that much power and track abuse?

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[AZ_Ryan]

My honest thoughts.

The good -

Im genuinely glad Ford is continuing to make cars like this. The specs sound great and Im sure its going to be a ridiculous performer. And thank christ its not a Super chargered coyote.

The bad -

The name just plain sucks. Dark Horse SC sounds like a sub model of a Dark Horse or a variant of an I phone and doesn't invoke super car prestige like Shelby or Cobra. That was a massive swing and miss IMO. The front end is fugly. Way too boxy and square. It makes me miss the flowy lines of the GT350 and GT500. I will say It looks better painted though, but still too much plastic.
Those teal accent brakes, badges, and interior stitching are an absolute tragedy. Im mean what in the actual f**k where they thinking? I get Auto transmissions are the standard for fast track cars, but no manual option is disappointing.

All in all I wasn't expecting an actual revision to the GT500 which is both good and bad. Good because Ford is still making great Supercars. Bad because the pricing on this will surely be well north of 100k and will price out most people from owning one. And I still prefer the looks of the GT500. I'll also be curious how this effects regular Dark Horse sales. As it seems this kind of marginalize those cars a little.

 

[AZ_Ryan]

Hopefully that doesn’t mean all future Ford Racing Mustang products have to have the Dark Horse moniker…

It does, unfortunately.

 

[Ewheels]

Road & Track had a sneak preview of the new Dark Horse SC ahead of its reveal, during which they had a chance to ask a Ford spokesperson why this car is named Dark Horse SC and not branded a Shelby.

“This is a Ford Racing vehicle, and the reality is that Shelby doesn’t race,” a spokesperson tells R&T. “In taking what we do on the track and bringing it to the road, it is really important that we maintain that link, and show that this is a Ford Racing product.”

The PR appropriate way of saying "we discontinued the contract with Shelby to use their name."

 

[bountifulgoose]

So ford basically made an s650 gt500 without having to use the shelby name, Thats bad ass. Yeah its going to be expensive but hell a gt500 4 years ago started around 75-80k for a bare bones cars. Most of the gt 500 you saw on dealer lots were 100-120k before any mark up. Considering the economy and inflation a good starting price for this would be high 80’s early 90’s with a fully loaded model going for 130-150.

 

[Bikeman315]

Put me in the minority, but I have been extremely disappointed with this the whole generation of Mustang. The transition from the S197 to the S550 was a lightyear leap compared to this current generation. As we can see, the hype machine is mashed to full throttle trying to create excitement for something that Ford has already done before.

Still waiting patiently for Ford to come out with either a powertrain or a chassis that will demand my $$. It is very peculiar that there is very little comparisons out there between the Dark Horse and the GT350. Ford, please tell me why would I upgrade to this generation when the performance is either a dead heat or losing to a platform that came out in 2016 and costing considerably more?

Now we have this "new" car. Will there be any comparisons between Darkhorse SC to the GT500 in terms of performance to justify the premium $$?

Multimedia screens do not push the needle. It would be a better $$ proposition to purchase a top-tier used GT500 than deal with the obnoxious ADM and higher base price for something that Ford did with the S550.

However, if there is a planned variant that has a 6 speed Godzilla under the hood....

See post #40.

 

[robvas]

Wouldn't you like to know what they did to stiffen the car up to take that much power and track abuse?

Stiffening?

The S550 GT500 was just fine. This is just a re-hash. There were no complaints about the performance of the previous car.

 

[Rated R]

“This is a Ford Racing vehicle, and the reality is that Shelby doesn’t race,” a spokesperson tells R&T. “In taking what we do on the track and bringing it to the road, it is really important that we maintain that link, and show that this is a Ford Racing product.”

Is it a Ford Racing vehicle? They don't race the 5.2. I get all the other innovation but what about the actual engine that they race with? A breathed on 5.4 that they actually race with seems more compelling than a 5.2 that they've put in the GT500, Raptor and GTD that they don't race with.

 

[Bikeman315]

You do realize that any Chevy and/or Dodge fan reading this thread would be laughing their asses off at us whiny little spoiled brats. And crying in their beer wishing they had such problems.

 

[Bikeman315]

Is it a Ford Racing vehicle? They don't race the 5.2. I get all the other innovation but what about the actual engine that they race with? A breathed on 5.4 that they actually race with seems more compelling than a 5.2 that they've put in the GT500, Raptor and GTD that they don't race with.

Come on now. The GTD isn’t a race vehicle either. But they are track capable and therefore the tie in with Ford Racing.

 

[AZ_Ryan]

See post #40.

Im not sure if you're aware of this, but people are allowed to have differing opinions than yours.

 

[Bikeman315]

Im not sure if you're aware of this, but people are allowed to have differing opinions than yours.

Of course I do, but playing Devils Advocate is fun. You’ve been around long enough to remember the bashing the S550 originally took. And the bitching about the GT350, Bullitt, and Mach 1. Now it’s the Dark Horses time. The car will never be what everyone wants and that’s OK. At least Ford is giving us choices.

 

[Rated R]

Come on now. The GTD isn’t a race vehicle either. But they are track capable and therefore the tie in with Ford Racing.

The way I see it is the engine is the heart of the car, and if you're going to say 'this is a Ford Racing product' the engine that you race with should be in the car. Otherwise it's just marketing.

 

[Bikeman315]

The way I see it is the engine is the heart of the car, and if you're going to say 'this is a Ford Racing product' the engine that you race with should be in the car. Otherwise it's just marketing.

It is just marketing. Thats why they changed the name from Ford Performance.

 

[Ricketts]

No Mustang without the Shelby name is worth upwards of 100k. None.

Uhhhhh, what about the GTD? lol

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