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

[Junkyard Dog]

The front end looks like it gets a lot more cooling air in to coolers compared to the standard GT/Dark Horse front end. I hope this means good things on track.

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[Ewags81]

Overall looks very ZL1

i wondered if it was just in pictures. like a ZL1 and GT500 met late night in a lonely hotel bar...

 

[Upacurb]

The lower front grill looks horrible in that last picture…. Very Raptor / truckish

 

[AZ_Ryan]

That is A LOT of plastic.

 

[Thomas]

The information on that came out in Sept. 2022 and it came from Ford. Articles linked below. On Sept. 10, 2022 the new 7th Gen Mustang was revealed which happened to be my sister's birthday. She was a big Mustang fan and the only reason I remember the exact day of its world premiere. Since the 7th Gen was introduced and no GT500s were built for 2023 people were naturally wondering when the GT500 would return. Ford Authority broke the news, and everybody reported on this. If they weren't planning on building a new 2026 GT500 Ford wouldn't have released the article.
Ford planning new Mustang Shelby GT500 for 2026, according to report - Autoblog
S650 Ford Mustang Shelby GT500 Coming In 2025 As 2026 Model

The news of rebadging the GT500 started in May of 2024 again from Ford. They had been testing S650 GT500 mules starting in April of 2023. They even mention Dark Horse in the article and wanted to use IP created by Ford and attract younger owners.
S650 Ford Mustang May Not Use Shelby GT500 Name: Exclusive
Ford Testing S650 Mustang Shelby GT500 Mules: Exclusive
S650 Ford Mustang Designed To Appeal To A Younger Customer

To say the new Dark Horse SC has lineage or similarities to the 2020-2022 GT500 is an understatement! They are shockingly similar. I can easily argue the Dark Horse SC has much more in common with the 2022 GT500 and it does the current Dark Horse. The car came out exactly as predicted. Halfway through they decided to use Ford IP instead of Shelby. Right around that time as well Ford is realizing the $Billions they had invested in the EV market were going to Tank come Fall as Autopens electric dreams would come to a screeching halt. The bean counters may have come out of the woodwork as well trying to save money at every corner to counter the debt from their Electric blunder. Ford does have a lot of great IP though going back to the very beginning. If someone has the skinny on Ford and Shelby getting separated chime in with the story, I am curious!

Shelby actually confirmed in what at the time was a facebook post (if I recall), that they no longer had a naming contract with Ford. That was in 2022 after GT500 production ended. It was a whole thread on Mustang6g but I don't know where it went.

 

[Bikeman315]

Shelby actually confirmed in what at the time was a facebook post (if I recall), that they no longer had a naming contract with Ford. That was in 2022 after GT500 production ended. It was a whole thread on Mustang6g but I don't know where it went.

For those not on M6G this 2022 thread is a fun. As always a lot of could’ve, would’ve, should’ve, but a lot good stuff to.

https://www.mustang6g.com/forums/threads/2023-gt500.176080/page-18

 

[robvas]

So, saw the SC in person today at Detroit Auto Show. Wheels are hideous in person. Caliper color looks like ripped off Project Mu. Overall looks very ZL1. Some great parts.

to be fair they aren't as fugly as the dark horse CF wheels

 

[Dragster]

to be fair they aren't as fugly as the dark horse CF wheels

I don't think the SC wheels are bad looking at all. Now those regular DH carbon fiber wheels...

 

[roket]

here's some new info:
wheel sizes - non-track pack has a 20x11" cast aluminum square setup. track pack has a 20x11.5" carbon fiber square setup.
internal name - "SHELBY VERSION #2", same as the 2020-2022 GT500.
diff ratio - 3.73 Torsen.
all caliper colors shown off are now known, being Notorious Blue w/ white text, Race Red w/ white text, and Teal Tonic w/ black text.
potentially a new color called "Incognito green-gray" - this is super unconfirmed so don't quote me on this.
Avalanche, however is a confirmed color for the Dark Horse SC.
mentions of a "classic package" and "splash package".
950A and 970A equipment groups.
ones have been built so far in mainly Race Red, Argon Blue, Avalanche, Shadow Black, Oxford White, Carbonized Grey, and Adriatic Blue.
Teal Tonic calipers can seem to be optioned independent of the teal accent package (one had teal calipers with black and red seat belts).
mention of a "special color" seat belt.
potentially independently optioned painted black roof.

 

[DannyJ7]

to be fair they aren't as fugly as the dark horse CF wheels

I'm not a fan of CF wheels simply from the repairability and serviceability (tire places do not want to touch CF wheels) standpoint. Seeing them up close is a far different experience. They are truly some of the ugliest wheels I've ever seen.

The biggest ways to resolve the appearance issues I took issue with is going for non-CF wheels and not optioning the front facia with the CF.

I LOVE CF in a lot of cases, but it just seems to be applied poorly on the SC IMHO.

 

[Rocket Man]

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.

Dodge (and Ford) fan and owner here. Laughing my ass off about all the whiney complainers. You haters might as well call Ford an tell them to cancel the Mustang because you're so dissapointed. Be glad there are so many choices (GT, DH, DHSC, GTD) compared to only an EV or a 6cyl Charger and no Challenger. Don't like the new car? Don't buy it. They will still sell all they make.

 

[Rocket Man]

And no, in 20 years no one is going get the feels when they hear Dork Horse SC.
[/QUOTE)
how do you know?

 

[Rocket Man]

where is our S650 version of the GT350?
If/when that comes it better have a manual. And I like the 5.4L suggestion too. It needs a unique motor. It will probably be called the Dark Horse X or something

Never gonna happen. No 5.4 comin and not likely any more 6 speeds (except maybe GT's and DH's for a short while.) Just about done industry wide.

 

[Rocket Man]

I applied and got denied for whatever reason.

Evidently you didn't matter enough to Ford.

In hindsight I'm glad that I didn't drop $400K on a 4,400 lb carbon clad car (what's up with the weight saving just to get to 4,400 lbs by the way).

Because it's better than a 4500-4600 LB car.

Anyway if I had ended up with the car it would bug the hell out of me that the heart of the car and the dash is shared with another Mustang priced at +- 25% of the price of a GTD. Not to dismiss the level of performance the GTD has over any other Mustang, but that is not good optics.

Sounds like you are waiting for a car thats just not comin. Sucks huh?

 

[broncoboy22]

Never gonna happen. No 5.4 comin and not likely any more 6 speeds (except maybe GT's and DH's for a short while.) Just about done industry wide.

Maybe not a 5.4, but there will for sure be 6 speeds. They’re not done quite yet.

I’m pretty confident there will be a S650 version of the GT350. Only a matter of when

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