Official: 2026 Dark Horse SC makes 790hp

[MAGS1]

Look at some of the Lightning lap times:

Mustang Shelby GT500 (2020) 2:44.6 #14 (2021)
Mustang Dark Horse (2024) 2:51.2 #17 (2024)
Mustang Mach 1 (2021) 2:51.4 #15 (2022)
Mustang Shelby GT350R (2016) 2:51.8 #10 (2016)
Mustang GT Performance Package Level 2 (2018) 2:53.8 #12 (2018)
Shelby GT500 (2013) 3:00.6 #7 (2013)
Mustang Boss 302 Laguna Seca (2012) 3:02.8 #6 (2012)
Mustang Ecoboost HiPo (2020) 3:04.4 #14 (2021)
Mustang GT (2015) 3:05.2 #9 (2015)
Mustang GT (2011) 3:08.6 #5 (2011)
Shelby GT500 (2007) 3:11.0 #1 (2006)
Mustang V-6 (2011) 3:12.5 #5 (2011)
Mustang GT (2010) 3:13.3 #4 (2009)
Mustang Ecoboost (2015) 3:15.6 #9 (2015)

The GT500 is almost 7 seconds faster than the Dark Horse/Mach 1.

Look how big the gap is between the 662hp 2013 GT500 and the 460hp 2018 Mustang GT PP2.
Only a 2 second gap between that same GT500 and the 444hp Laguna Seca (same S197 chassis etc). And then only 2 seconds between that car and the 305hp EcoBoost HiPo (different chassis as it's an S550)

And look how much of an improvement the Magneride suspension and Sport Cup 2 tires make the 2018 GT PP2 than the 2015 Mustang GT (same S550 chassis), almost a 12 second improvement (the gen 3 does have a little more hp than gen 2). It's also the reason the EcoBoost HiPo is 11 seconds faster than the 2015 base model Ecoboost.

The extra 150 power of the PP2 GT makes it almost 10 seconds faster than the Ecoboost HiPo with the same chasssis and similar suspension/tire setup.

And that 2011 Mustang V6 beat the 2010 GT and 2015 EcoBoost because it was a performance pack car, those other cars were on crappy base tires and suspension.

Don't forget Edmund's had all kinds of problems with their supercharged Dark Horse when they took it to the track

https://www.edmunds.com/car-news/ford-mustang-dark-horse-track-day-problems-long-term-update.html

The fact that a 2011 V6 is only 1.5 seconds slower than a 2007 GT500 still blows my mind.

The DHSC will be setup very much like the S550 GT500, it will have all the necessary cooling and Ford was able to learn some things from the GT500 to apply to the DHSC. The DHSC should have a faster lightning lap time than the GT500, I’ll be curious to see how close they are.

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[Hack]

Look at some of the Lightning lap times:

Mustang Shelby GT500 (2020) 2:44.6 #14 (2021)
Mustang Dark Horse (2024) 2:51.2 #17 (2024)
Mustang Mach 1 (2021) 2:51.4 #15 (2022)
Mustang Shelby GT350R (2016) 2:51.8 #10 (2016)
Mustang GT Performance Package Level 2 (2018) 2:53.8 #12 (2018)
Shelby GT500 (2013) 3:00.6 #7 (2013)
Mustang Boss 302 Laguna Seca (2012) 3:02.8 #6 (2012)
Mustang Ecoboost HiPo (2020) 3:04.4 #14 (2021)
Mustang GT (2015) 3:05.2 #9 (2015)
Mustang GT (2011) 3:08.6 #5 (2011)
Shelby GT500 (2007) 3:11.0 #1 (2006)
Mustang V-6 (2011) 3:12.5 #5 (2011)
Mustang GT (2010) 3:13.3 #4 (2009)
Mustang Ecoboost (2015) 3:15.6 #9 (2015)

The GT500 is almost 7 seconds faster than the Dark Horse/Mach 1.

Look how big the gap is between the 662hp 2013 GT500 and the 460hp 2018 Mustang GT PP2.
Only a 2 second gap between that same GT500 and the 444hp Laguna Seca (same S197 chassis etc). And then only 2 seconds between that car and the 305hp EcoBoost HiPo (different chassis as it's an S550)

And look how much of an improvement the Magneride suspension and Sport Cup 2 tires make the 2018 GT PP2 than the 2015 Mustang GT (same S550 chassis), almost a 12 second improvement (the gen 3 does have a little more hp than gen 2). It's also the reason the EcoBoost HiPo is 11 seconds faster than the 2015 base model Ecoboost.

The extra 150 power of the PP2 GT makes it almost 10 seconds faster than the Ecoboost HiPo with the same chasssis and similar suspension/tire setup.

And that 2011 Mustang V6 beat the 2010 GT and 2015 EcoBoost because it was a performance pack car, those other cars were on crappy base tires and suspension.

Don't forget Edmund's had all kinds of problems with their supercharged Dark Horse when they took it to the track

https://www.edmunds.com/car-news/ford-mustang-dark-horse-track-day-problems-long-term-update.html

Great post! This demonstrates exactly what I was talking about. The older GT500 662 supercharged HP on the dyno doesn't mean the car can sustain power through multiple laps. The same is true of someone adding a blower to their GT. It must have enough cooling and supporting mods.

Of course if you aren't going on track and just want an occasional on-ramp blast, adding a blower to a GT might be perfect for you.

 

[icecreamtruckz]

I am one of those. For the amount of money, I want something that isn’t just a Mustang GT. That’s good enough for me. It could be a Ford GT350 and I would be happy. Doesn’t have to be a Shelby.

If I’m gonna lay out 100k for a Mustang, it better be a GT500. I have zero brand excitement for a Dark Horse. Not when you have the GT350 and GT500 so recently. It’s a slap in the face, Ford just being cheap and not wanting to cut Shelby in.

 

[dccz302]

Look at some of the Lightning lap times:

Mustang Shelby GT500 (2020) 2:44.6 #14 (2021)
Mustang Dark Horse (2024) 2:51.2 #17 (2024)
Mustang Mach 1 (2021) 2:51.4 #15 (2022)
Mustang Shelby GT350R (2016) 2:51.8 #10 (2016)
Mustang GT Performance Package Level 2 (2018) 2:53.8 #12 (2018)
Shelby GT500 (2013) 3:00.6 #7 (2013)
Mustang Boss 302 Laguna Seca (2012) 3:02.8 #6 (2012)
Mustang Ecoboost HiPo (2020) 3:04.4 #14 (2021)
Mustang GT (2015) 3:05.2 #9 (2015)
Mustang GT (2011) 3:08.6 #5 (2011)
Shelby GT500 (2007) 3:11.0 #1 (2006)
Mustang V-6 (2011) 3:12.5 #5 (2011)
Mustang GT (2010) 3:13.3 #4 (2009)
Mustang Ecoboost (2015) 3:15.6 #9 (2015)

The GT500 is almost 7 seconds faster than the Dark Horse/Mach 1.

Look how big the gap is between the 662hp 2013 GT500 and the 460hp 2018 Mustang GT PP2.
Only a 2 second gap between that same GT500 and the 444hp Laguna Seca (same S197 chassis etc). And then only 2 seconds between that car and the 305hp EcoBoost HiPo (different chassis as it's an S550)

And look how much of an improvement the Magneride suspension and Sport Cup 2 tires make the 2018 GT PP2 than the 2015 Mustang GT (same S550 chassis), almost a 12 second improvement (the gen 3 does have a little more hp than gen 2). It's also the reason the EcoBoost HiPo is 11 seconds faster than the 2015 base model Ecoboost.

The extra 150 power of the PP2 GT makes it almost 10 seconds faster than the Ecoboost HiPo with the same chasssis and similar suspension/tire setup.

And that 2011 Mustang V6 beat the 2010 GT and 2015 EcoBoost because it was a performance pack car, those other cars were on crappy base tires and suspension.

Don't forget Edmund's had all kinds of problems with their supercharged Dark Horse when they took it to the track

https://www.edmunds.com/car-news/ford-mustang-dark-horse-track-day-problems-long-term-update.html

I watched the M1 and DH videos. And it’s so weird how Ford decided to provide a Tremec manual transmission for the GT350R and Mach 1 laps, but decided to provide a 10R80 automatic transmission for the Dark Horse. It seems like they didn’t want an apple to apples comparison.

 

[MAGS1]

It could be a Ford GT350 and I would be happy. Doesn’t have to be a Shelby.

If I’m gonna lay out 100k for a Mustang, it better be a GT500. I have zero brand excitement for a Dark Horse.

Talking out both sides of your mouth, so which is it??

 

[wingnutt]

Talking out both sides of your mouth, so which is it??

lol…if I were to guess, he’s referencing the price points of both the 350/500 are quite similar and at that number, he would take the 500 over the 350

 

[MAGS1]

lol…if I were to guess, he’s referencing the price points of both the 350/500 are quite similar and at that number, he would take the 500 over the 350

He seems to be talking branding though. In one sentence he says he doesn’t care if it has a Shelby name. In the next, it better be a Shelby name for $100k. So, does he care about the Shelby name or not? To me, the name doesn’t matter as long as the car performs

 

[robvas]

 

[MAGS1]

I also noticed Ford has dropped Grabber Blue and has brought Avalanche Gray back. There’s a new dark blue color as well

 

[icecreamtruckz]

Talking out both sides of your mouth, so which is it??

Huh?
It’s not a hard concept to grasp. I’m not spending 100k on a mustang GT.

It doesn’t have to be a “Shelby”. It can be a ford GT350. Or a Ford GT500.

is that easy to grasp Copernicus?

 

[MAGS1]

Huh?
It’s not a hard concept to grasp. I’m not spending 100k on a mustang GT.

It doesn’t have to be a “Shelby”. It can be a ford GT350. Or a Ford GT500.

is that easy to grasp Copernicus?

It’s an upgraded GT500 with a different name. By all accounts, designed and built just as the S550 Shelby’s were. All the pieces designed to work together, not just a blower strapped to a DH.

By the way, GT350 and GT500 belong to Shelby, not Ford. So you won’t see Ford name a vehicle GT350 or GT500 without the Shelby name attached (which they have to pay for, it was $800 per vehicle for S550). So, Copernicus is indeed correct, you need a Shelby name to justify $100K for a Mustang. Which is fine, just say it.

 

[Thomas]

ok, hold up…Vmax does not compute (unless you are referencing the Yamaha bike that dominated in the 80s/90s) did you mean;

Va
Vc
Vd
Vdf
Vfc
Vh
Vmo
Vne
or
Vno

…my pilot brain is asking, not me

Ah, that's me ad-libbing "maximum velocity" into an engineering-style variable nomenclature.

Its 184 according to the speedo

 

[Epiphany]

Lots of the Z06s are having tranny problems.

And based on the news pretty much every frigging day, they are not alone.

 

[robvas]

And based on the news pretty much every frigging day, they are not alone.

Links for us who aren't in the corvette world?

 

[Epiphany]

Links for us who aren't in the corvette world?

My commentary, in jest, was about the pronoun galaxy.

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