Ford was one of the roughly 30 million new users who signed up to the Threads social media app in the first 24 hours after Meta opened the gates. The automaker gave new followers and fans on the Twitter competitor first look at a second tease for the Ford Mustang Dark Horse R. That’s the track-only Mustang debuting later this month, Ford telling everyone in the caption, “Threads saw it first!” We’ve known about this variant for nearly a year, Ford Performance teasing the range of six track-specific Mustangs it had in development. The pony car gang includes entries for GT3, GT4, NASCAR, and NHRA Factory X. Two more are the Dark Horse S for the casual track-day enjoyer and the Dark Horse R for the track addict.
The Dark Horse S will have the most in common with the street car it’s based on. Targeted at the “weekend track day enthusiast,” it’s stripped of non-essential parts and trim, equipped with Multimatic DSSV shocks in place of the MagneRide suspension found on the standard Dark Horse. It also gets a front splitter, upgraded brakes, adjustable ride height and camber settings, tow hooks and an adjustable rear wing. Inside, pilots will find an FIA-compliant safety cage, window nets, a racing seat with a harness, electrical disconnect switch, fire suppression system, telemetry display and the barest of control interfaces for items like lights, wipers and pit lane speed limiter.
The R model carries over almost entirely from the S, but it “developed for racing.” It features a seam-welded chassis for improved rigidity and a fuel cell for extended range. It also comes with a set of lighter, race-spec Ford Performance wheels rather than the street equivalents found on the S.
Power from the 5.0-liter Coyote V8 is thought to be around the standard car’s 500 horsepower and 418 pound-feet of torque. Ford indicated the Dark Horse R is homologated for racing, but hasn’t said which series. Stay tuned on July 27 to find out.
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