“With this much power, there’s nowhere to gallop!” In the 2003 movie Bruce Almighty, Jim Carrey yells as his Saleem S7 hits other cars. That’s how we felt when we drove the brand-new 2024 Ford Mustang Dark Horse slowly along New York City’s West Side Highway. The 5.0-liter V-8 engine in the Stung hummed and begged to be let go. We had to wait patiently for a break in the traffic, but Carrey’s character uses his God-given powers to part the traffic like Moses did with the Red Sea and takes off with a cacophony of engine noise. We could see how energetic the Dark Horse was when there wasn’t as much traffic. When the light turned green, the 500-horsepower Coyote V-8 in the Dark Horse sped up quickly and roared as we drove onto the elevated highway, fast going over the speed limit. The Dark Horse barely broke a sweat and easily beat the limits of our surroundings. The 418 pound-feet of torque from the 5.0-liter engine is sent to the back wheels by either the standard Termed six-speed manual transmission or the optional 10-speed automatic transmission. We saw the rev-match feature work when the driver of our manual transmission car turned the round blue titanium shift knob. Even though it was fun to sit in the back seat, we couldn’t wait to drive. The ride was as firm as expected from a model focusing on performance and bridging the gap between Shelby and earlier Mach 1 models. The adaptive Magner ide dampers did a great job smoothing out the bumps while letting you feel everyone inside the cabin. Even though most Dark Horse models are probably weekend cars or track toys, it’s best to leave the Mustang in “normal” mode for daily driving because the damper settings are tied to the drive modes and can’t be changed separately. We had plenty of opportunity to examine the 2024 Mustang’s 12.4-inch digital gauge cluster and 13.2-inch touchscreen before returning to traffic. Different ways exist to set up the gauge cluster, including one resembling the instruments on the Fox-body Mustang from 1987 to 1993. When a button with a Mustang logo is pressed, what our driver called the “fun” screen comes up. From this screen, drivers can choose drive modes and other performance options. The current version of Epic Games’ Unreal Engine powers the infotainment system’s graphics, obviously based on video games. Different car parts are shown in different coolers depending on what is being changed. There are different ways to make the exhaust. The quiet mode isn’t too silent, so you can leave the area early in the morning without being seen. Still, when the Coyote V-8 is in Sport mode, it screams and howls. A setting for a particular track makes the exhaust sound louder. Even though the Dark Horse we rode in was a pre-production model, the interior felt high-end because suede was used often. The only cheap-looking plastics were on the door. The heavily padded Ricardo seats were very comfortable. The titanium shift knob is 3D-printed and has a lattice core. Because it is smaller than most metal shifters, it will warm up much more quickly in the car’s cabin instead of cold or burning hot. The Dark Horse starts at $59,565, so customers must be persuaded to spend that much on it. But the Mustang’s performance will be the main draw, and if this short preview indicates, the Dark Horse may live up to expectations. We hope to find out the truth in person.
