Official: 2026 Dark Horse SC makes 790hp

[Strokerswild]

Ugly, and overpriced.

Therefore, zero interest in this camp. There is no WANT to buy this car, and that's a problem.

Sponsored

 

[robvas]

People act like you can't do a couple bolt-ons with one of these and make 850 at the wheels on 93....

 

[G.T.]

LOL. Basically he was saying everything costs less than a GTD. Because the thing is already so expensive.

Yup. But then Ford decided it wasnt expensive enough and brought out the GTD Competition lol!

 

[9secondko]

I also wonder if Ford ever truly grasped the number of buyers of 350s and 500s that were partially motivated by the Shelby name. Ain’t nobody motivated by the Dark Horse name.

And that's where a lot of these "genius marketing people" that have somehow weaseled their ways into large important companies have basically just been hacks. Huge and successful companies that have been around forever basically destroyed themselves in under a year due to some of the stupidest stuff imaginable, masquerading as brave, genius, or "relevant." This isn't at that level, but it's pretty boneheaded.

setting your car up for the future doesn't mean changing its name. It means building a truly epic car.

As of this moment, they've got it backwards.

Personally I LOVED the "Dark Horse" name - back when it was the winner of a competition on here to brand an appearance package that has since been renamed "Nite Pony." It was the perfect name for the appearance package. No better name for this exact application.

However, I HATE the name as a replacement for Shelby, GT350, GT500, Cobra, Boss, etc. It SUCKS at that application.

They should use this in MBA classes as an example of what not to do with a good marketing plan for a specific thing and then trying to make it do something it was never designed to do.

The age-old rule still applies: "The customer is always right." Somebody done forgot that one. .

 

[Franky16]

Blah blah blah I’m gay for the corvette blah blah blah. It’s only 100k cheaper than a zr1 basically the same price how dare they blah blah blah

 

[9secondko]

Blah blah blah I’m gay for the corvette blah blah blah. It’s only 100k cheaper than a zr1 basically the same price how dare they blah blah blah

Oh no. We are so ashamed. You called us that word. Whatever shall we do now. Recognizing greatness in something other than our preferred team isn't "gay." It's the grown up thing to do. It's Called being mature and rational. Not fanboys with our heads in the ground. "maybe if I don't acknowledge it, it won't be true." The heck with that.

Let's break down this...whatever this is:.

Oh you mean the clean-sheet, actually all-new Corvette ZR1? The one with over 1000 horsepower at the wheels and turbo so you don't heat soak in 30 minutes at the track? The one that beats the current and far more expensive GTD at the Nurburgring? That Corvette ZR1?

It's a 175k car. And it earned that price. We Mustang guys can appreciate a winner even if it's not in our stable. But it also gives us hope because competition is what gies Ford a kick in the pants to improve as the GTD Competition indicates.

As far as the Dark Horse SC being 70k cheaper than the ZR1, well... yeah. It should be. It's a massaged 6 year old car that was barely over 100k maxed out. you simply add the track pack and it's touching ZR1 pricing.

So you can try to poop on our opinions all you want with your post. But they're valid and that kind of immature shaming only worked in Jr. High.

We're just not OK with spending a lifetime of money on mediocrity. In 2020 this would have been bonkers. A fantastic car. It's not 2020. It's not bonkers. It's OK. We hear from the Ford people on here that it has to bee crazy expensive to get a good performer these days. No it doesn't. and that's why were are glad to see sports cars, super cars, and hyper cars from America that throw that thinking in the trash. It's also why we are glad the Camaro competition is coming back. They somehow know how to bring Ford back to reality and get them motivated to make great performers at a decent price.

 

[robvas]

Personally I LOVED the "Dark Horse" name - back when it was the winner of a competition on here to brand an appearance package that has since been renamed "Nite Pony." It was the perfect name for the appearance package. No better name for this exact application.

Not a huge fan of Dark Horse (compared to Mach 1, Shelby, blah blah) but it's not that terrible other than the fact that they ripped off the Target wine and you can call it Dork Horse

But Nite Pony? Gaaaay

 

[Hack]

Ford should be looking very carefully at their marketing group. Calling a jellybean SUV Mustang Mach something and then taking away the traditional Mustang name badging on the halo cars.

If I were making calls there would be wholesale purges right now.

 

[Thomas]

I think the other thing that is killing them is that there are an awful lot of coyotes with FI and similar horsepower that spent a lot less money.

I know this has been said before many times, and in many ways but even being absurdly more expensive than a GT500, the SC is still a lot more than a coyote with FI. As Porsche has proven for years, its not all about power.

 

[Mikepol2]

I know this has been said before many times, and in many ways but even being absurdly more expensive than a GT500, the SC is still a lot more than a coyote with FI. As Porsche has proven for years, its not all about power.

Of course not. But for a lot of people, those subtle not-about-power differences aren’t worth paying 2-3 times as much to get similar performance from the factory.

 

[9secondko]

Not a huge fan of Dark Horse (compared to Mach 1, Shelby, blah blah) but it's not that terrible other than the fact that they ripped off the Target wine and you can call it Dork Horse

But Nite Pony? Gaaaay

I saw the wine logo. Ford totally ripped it off. Really sad actually.

 

[Thomas]

Of course not. But for a lot of people, those subtle not-about-power differences aren’t worth paying 2-3 times as much to get similar performance from the factory.

Not to be snide or anything but that's more or less my point. Its not similar performance nor are the differences subtle. If you qualify the whole thing as "drag performance only" then yes, we are closer in agreement.

 

[9secondko]

I know this has been said before many times, and in many ways but even being absurdly more expensive than a GT500, the SC is still a lot more than a coyote with FI. As Porsche has proven for years, its not all about power.

We know and agree. but it's basically a massaged GT500 and it's just not enough 6 years later. Let's not forget, the GT500 was a handler as well.

So easy for Ford to pump this thing up. But instead it gets less power than a warrantied RTR or Shalby American.

All this waiting for "OH! DANG!" and it's just "oh. dang."

 

[Mikepol2]

Not to be snide or anything but that's more or less my point. Its not similar performance nor are the differences subtle. If you qualify the whole thing as "drag performance only" then yes, we are closer in agreement.

I guess it all comes down to what you and I consider to be the magnitude of the differences. I’m considering the total package, not just straight line acceleration.

 

[Hack]

I guess it all comes down to what you and I consider to be the magnitude of the differences. I’m considering the total package, not just straight line acceleration.

I'm not a DHSC buyer, but I am a GT buyer. I think the criticisms of the DHSC apply to ALL S650 Mustangs - the complete line up. I don't like all the changes, the things that could be changed that would make me want to buy were not done, and the changes that are there that I like aren't enough to justify the price increase.

Sponsored