Ford Mustang 2024: new $214,000 Dark Horse R track-only racecar revealed

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Ford has announced it will build a track-only version of its new Mustang Dark Horse: the Dark Horse R.

Designed only for track and race use, the 5.0-litre Coyote V8 Dark Horse R with manual gearbox will join the Mustang GT3 and Mustang GT4 in the racing Mustang line-up.

Ford wants to encourage Dark Horse R owners to compete in its new one-make Mustang Challenge series, which is set to kick off in 2024 with a 10 to 12 event race calendar.

Some of these events will be in conjunction with five or six IMSA North American sports car race weekends.

Dark Horse R deliveries are set to begin early in 2024 in preparation for the Mustang Challenge season.

Ford of America confirmed to Chasing Cars that the Mustang Dark Horse R will not be sold outside the USA, but if a buyer was keen enough, a car could be shipped back to Aussie soil. 

The road-honed Dark Horse variant, however, has been confirmed for sale in the Australian market.

The new S650-generation Mustang is scheduled to arrive here in the first quarter of 2024, after being delayed by six months.

What exactly is a Dark Horse R? What do you get for USD$145,000?

The roll caged and slick tyre-shod Dark Horse R isn’t a road-legal track car, like a Porsche 911 GT3 RS for example. Instead, owners will be restricted to using their mega Mustangs only on track.

Costing USD$145,000 (AUD$214,500), the Dark Horse R is fully equipped to race straight from the factory and includes the following features as standard:

Interior

• Recaro racing seat
• Sparco quick release steering wheel
• FIA racing harness
• Fire suppression system
• MOTEC data display and logging system
• Full roll cage

Chassis, wheels and braking system

• DSSV dampers
• Adjustable anti-roll bars
• Adjustable front camber plates
• Brembo race rotors, callipers and pads
• Ford Performance 19-inch wheels
• Bespoke Michelin 19-inch slick race tyres

Drivetrain enhancements

• Upgraded oil system
• Upgraded differential cooling
• Upgraded transmission cooling
• Borla racing exhaust system
• Ford Performance oil pan

The Dark Horse R features a 5.0-litre Coyote V8 engine with “500+ horsepower” (372kW+), a Tremec 3160 manual transmission and Torsen limited-slip differential.

The road-going Mustang Dark Horse offers 372kW from its Coyote V8. It’s expected the R variant will use a dual-throttle body intake setup and the same connecting rods found in the full-blown supercharged Mustang GT500.