Ford backs Dark Horse

MUSTANG: SHARPEST AND MOST AGILE PRODUCTION VERSION EVER MADE

- Mark Jones

It might have been Soichiro Honda, the founder of Honda Motor Company, that is credited for uttering the phrase, "Racing improves the breed", but it is Jim Farley, the CEO of Ford Motor Company that is currently living this mantra by injecting some serious enthusiasm into the world of Ford, with the Ford Performance brand.

And this is being done by offering a crazy mix of Raptor lifestyle models like the Ranger, F-150, and Bronco, and cars like the hardcore, racetrack-only, Mustang GT3, to the wildest street legal Mustang money can buy in the GTD, right down to the Mustang Dark Horse we got to drive this week.

If you exclude the supercharged, 600kW, 325km/h, left-hand drive only, Mustang GTD, the Mustang Dark Horse is the sharpest, most agile, production Mustang ever offered globally by Ford straight off the production line.

Offering 334kW of power and 540Nm of torque from its naturally aspirated 5.0-litre Coyote V8 engine and some tailored dynamics to go with a bunch of under-the-skin improvements, this Mustang actually has what it takes to hustle around a mountain pass and not just straight off it.

The foundation for the Mustang Dark Horse is the new seventh-generation Mustang, which was also just released the other day. Visually it differs both inside and out, and I will let the pictures explain this, because I want the space to talk about the goodies that you can't see and that make this Mustang a fun place to be when the road is no longer straight.