2024 Dark Horse Mustang Driving Reviews Are Here! Articles/Videos Compilation

[BlackFerret69]

I am loving those night shots in the Car and Driver review:

What's with the flimsy seatbelt retaining strap on the cloth seats but the nice hard loops on the Convertible and Recaro Seats?

I really like the hard loops in my '01 GT, and am most annoyed by the lack of any seatbelt guide at all on my '06 GT, I am 6'4" tall and the seatbelt is always dragging against my neck.


Lastly, and most importantly.

Hey Ford, would you please stash one of these in the trunk of my Dark Horse??

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[OppoLock]

Somewhat dissappointing in most respect….if you like the interior and the tablet dash seems like a no brainer. From a performance standpoint it doesn’t seem like any noticeable excitement over the Mach I delivery. i want so much to love it but I’m struggling with prices dropping on C8s and the fact that they are here now and on the lot. I just don’t know if it can hold out for another 9-12 months for a Dark horse Based on these reviews. I was hoping for a much stronger emotional reaction.

It’s the iPhone 14 to the Mach 1’s iPhone 13

Basically the same product, refined, a little pricier. If you weren’t in the market for an M1 timing wise then the DH will serve you analogously

 

[Q6543]

STANGMODE sounded big sad that the DH is so much slower than the GT

 

[Pyroguy]

STANGMODE sounded big sad that the DH is so much slower than the GT

Did they not allow him on the track?

 

[VaporGT]

the Dark Horse is a really interesting car but at the price they are selling it I believe there are better cars available.

 

[ThreePedalPlow]

STANGMODE sounded big sad that the DH is so much slower than the GT

Yea, it was a really odd video honestly. Felt like he was trying to sell it even though he didn't want to. Pretty much all generic comments about the Dark Horse being the one to get without really explaining the cost difference in the models or even comparing the behavior of the vehicle vs the GT PP. He is all about drag racing and the GT ran to 60mph faster yet he still was trying to sell the Dark Horse with what seemed like a sad tone to me.

 

[ThreePedalPlow]

STANGMODE sounded big sad that the DH is so much slower than the GT

Did they not allow him on the track?

He ran to 60mph in the GT in 3.9 and he was only able to do 4.1 in the Dark Horse. He has a Dark Horse on order and he is more into drag racing so he seemed sad about the whole experience in my opinion.

 

[Dub347sbf]

He ran to 60mph in the GT in 3.9 and he was only able to do 4.1 in the Dark Horse. He has a Dark Horse on order and he is more into drag racing so he seemed sad about the whole experience in my opinion.

Buying a DH for 0-60 times is a head scratcher. A base GT with no options except 10r80 is going to produce the best 0-60 and quarter on power to weight ratio. It also will not stand up to constant flogging on a road course without going into limp mode, nor will it match a Dark Horse lap time.

This has been obvious since 2021, but if you only want quarter mile and 0-60 times, the GT is the car for you. If you like HPDE road course days, that's where the Dark Horse (Mach 1) slots in.

 

[Lastoutlaw_21]

I think people are getting confused as to what the DH is. It is a track car that you can drive. I keep hearing people saying not a Shelby for that price. I'm just waiting for reality to set in and people realize that the Shelby is gonna be 100k plus mark ups. So I can easily see the Shelby getting treated like the c8 z06 and the hellcats 140k-200k. So I would stop complaining about the DH cost, lol far worse is waiting for us price wise with the gt500. I think the both GT & DH appealed to their intended audience. Ford just needs to make them so we can enjoy them.

 

[bnightstar]

I am disappointed that Ford did not improve the steering on the Dark Horse model compared to the GT. Additionally, it is likely that we will not receive the handling package and Torsen differential in Europe. This is a problem because the Dark Horse is priced in the same range as a fully loaded RS3 or M2, and just 15,000 euros below the GTS 4.0. I expected more from them at this price point.

The only real competitor here will be the new M2. I have a friend who own both RS3 and GTS4.0 and my 305/30 AR-1 2017 GT is faster than both cars on track. I do thing a Dark Horse even in Euro spec will be slow but the M2 will be on a totally different level and for sure cheaper in Europe. If you have a pricing for Dark Horse in Europe please share ? I beleive it will be in the region of 70-75 000 euro which is a lot of money for that car. I did buy mine for 37 000 euro brand new but was left over and since is Euro spec and Manual I do believe I still can sell it for at least 30 000 euro.

 

[Ace]

I have a friend who own both RS3 and GTS4.0 and my 305/30 AR-1 2017 GT is faster than both cars on track.

Sorry but if your friend is slower with a RS3 and a Cayman GTS than a 15-17 GT he should really invest into track driving lessons.

Here are some C&D Lightning Lap examples:
2022 Audi RS3, 2:52.5
2018 Porsche 718 Cayman GTS, 2:56.7
2015 Ford Mustang GT, 3:05.2

He ran to 60mph in the GT in 3.9 and he was only able to do 4.1 in the Dark Horse. He has a Dark Horse on order and he is more into drag racing so he seemed sad about the whole experience in my opinion.

Overall I think these times are plausible but still disappointing. Remember how big of a deal Ford made out the "sub 4s 2018 GT"? It's clear why Ford never spoke about performance metrics of Gen 7. I'm not a fan of Stangmodes clickbaity Mustang videos, but his try to sell the DH while his disappointment and non-exitement is obvious hurts to watch

Don't get me wrong, if there wasn't the C8 I stilll would have traded my 18 Camaro SS for a 24 GT or DH. But it's still a letdown since I wished it would just beat out a Camaro SS 1LE, a Mach 1 HP, etc in every possible way. Reviewers saying DH HP is not the best handling pony car is quite sad.
Still looking fordward to drive a Gen 7 by myself. Ford europe is currently saying maybe early 2024, so it will be a while

 

[bnightstar]

Sorry but if your friend is slower with a RS3 and a Cayman GTS than a 15-17 GT he should really invest into track driving lessons.

Here are some C&D Lightning Lap examples:
2022 Audi RS3, 2:52.5
2018 Porsche 718 Cayman GTS, 2:56.7
2015 Ford Mustang GT, 3:05.2


Overall I think these times are plausible but still disappointing. Remember how big of a deal Ford made out the "sub 4s 2018 GT"? It's clear why Ford never spoke about performance metrics of Gen 7. I'm not a fan of Stangmodes clickbaity Mustang videos, but his try to sell the DH while his disappointment and non-exitement is obvious hurts to watch

Don't get me wrong, if there wasn't the C8 I stilll would have traded my 18 Camaro SS for a 24 GT or DH. But it's still a letdown since I wished it would just beat out a Camaro SS 1LE, a Mach 1 HP, etc in every possible way. Reviewers saying DH HP is not the best handling pony car is quite sad.
Still looking fordward to drive a Gen 7 by myself. Ford europe is currently saying maybe early 2024, so it will be a while

My Mustang is heavy moded while his cars are stock. I'm very close in spec to a Mach 1 HP (2021 Ford Mustang Mach 1, 2:51.4) without aero but my local track is very slow so not Aero heavy. My Mustang is also on par lap time wise with a new G82 M3/M4 stock. But again we are talking stock cars vs heavy modified track prepped car. I'm faster in every single corner while he is faster on the straights with the GTS 4.0. But yeah I bought my GT for 37 000 euro new I spend 9 000 euro on mods (Apex SM-10 19x11, 305/30/19 Nankang AR-1's, Ohlins R&T, Gloc R12/R8 brake pads, Steeda Sway Bar, Steeda IRS Base kit and Kenny Brown Jacking Rails) and with stock 420 hp the car did 1:06.39 while my friend Stock GTS 4.0 did 1:06.65 so not a huge difference but he also spend 90 000 euro on the car.

Now if we are talking Dark Horse based on the videos that I seen the car is an improvement every where in track performance is probably the most track sorted Mustang out of the factory ever build. But for 75 000 euro in non-hp eu spec which likely will also not have 500 hp it will be a very tough sell. I don't care for digital screens my Sync 3 give me literally everything I need, I'm sure I will be close in lap times to an EU Dark Horse anyway, and though cooling on engine, trans and diff are cool to have they are not exactly needed for 1 lap Time Attacks.

However if you don't own a Mustang and the other options on the list: Supra, Nissan Z, BMW M2, BMW M3/4, Cayman GTS 4.0, Corvette C8 are not your coupe of tea and you don't care about lap times. The Dark Horse will be an amazing car to own and daily. As the Mustang after all is very usable car. And if you do care about lap times I think the M2 offer best performance out of the box especially because it's the only car on the list with track ready traction control that you can fine tune. And an M2 here you can have for 70 000 euro speced how you like it.

 

[Ace]

OK a heavily modified Mustang makes sense then, but as you say it's hard to compare to stock cars. I'm totally with you, the Dark horse will still the best dynamic Mustang you can buy in Europe, but it's a hard sell. To my knowledge the Bullitt sold well in Europe since it was only slightly more expansive but the GT, but the Mach 1 kind of failed since it was heavily overpriced since it got the same engine tuning as the Bullitt. Will be interesting how many people will spend ~75k-80k€ on a DH. To me the big miss is not offering the Handling package here, we don't even get the normal DH wing but only small spoiler lip that look off balance on the car.

As you say Ford is putting the car right next to M2 or RS3 money. Besides the M2 being ugly as hell the EU DH has to show if it holds up in terms of performance, but interior materials is already totally off for the money

A good friend of mine drives an 18 GT and though about switching but came to the realisation that he has invest 30k€ on top of a trade in. For that amount of money you can build an insane custom Mustang with supercharger, bodykit, suspension, etc out of his current car that will easily beat any DH.

 

[Baldilocks]

I am disappointed that Ford did not improve the steering on the Dark Horse model compared to the GT. Additionally, it is likely that we will not receive the handling package and Torsen differential in Europe. This is a problem because the Dark Horse is priced in the same range as a fully loaded RS3 or M2, and just 15,000 euros below the GTS 4.0. I expected more from them at this price point.

Even as a Mustang fan, I can say, with confidence, that the M2 is a much better car at the same price point.

 

[Piotr]

The only real competitor here will be the new M2. I have a friend who own both RS3 and GTS4.0 and my 305/30 AR-1 2017 GT is faster than both cars on track. I do thing a Dark Horse even in Euro spec will be slow but the M2 will be on a totally different level and for sure cheaper in Europe. If you have a pricing for Dark Horse in Europe please share ? I beleive it will be in the region of 70-75 000 euro which is a lot of money for that car. I did buy mine for 37 000 euro brand new but was left over and since is Euro spec and Manual I do believe I still can sell it for at least 30 000 euro.

I do not have pricing for Europe, as I am basing my opinion on the price difference in the United States. I have watched several reviews of the M2, including one by Savagegeese, in which he said that he felt "dead inside" after driving it. I have also seen the Throttle House review, in which they chose the Audi RS3 over the M2. Based on these reviews, I do not believe that the M2 is a suitable alternative. I'm not looking for a track car though so it doesn't matter if mustang is slower. That's also why I'm a bit disappointed because I don't mind a slower heavier car but I want steering feel and driving emotions.

I have a friend who own both RS3 and GTS4.0 and my 305/30 AR-1 2017 GT is faster than both cars on track

Mustang GT is not a sports car and is significantly slower than the RS3 and GTS 4.0 in most track reviews. Isn't it like 300 kg heavier than the GTS 4.0 ?

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