The new Ford Mustang Dark Horse has landed on the tip of Africa and is ready to deafen passersby with its incredible engine notes.
The Blue Oval recently hosted a launch event for the exclusive muscle car in Lesotho, where we had the opportunity to tear about on a series of isolated roads running through the stunning backdrop of the Mountain Kingdom.
The hills are alive with the sound of V8s
The Dark Horse is the second of the two seventh-generation Mustangs going on sale in South Africa this year – the other being the GT.
The GT is the more mass market of the two badges (relatively speaking) as it goes for R1.3 million while the Dark Horse commands a R200,000 premium – making the most expensive Ford in the country.
What makes the Dark Horse special is that it is the first new Mustang performance series in 21 years, featuring several enhancements that take it one step beyond the GT.
First and foremost is the engine, which takes the form of Ford’s celebrated 5.0-litre naturally-aspirated V8 petrol engine.
The new model’s powertrain has been uprated with piston connecting rods and a dual throttle-body intake design to generate 334kW and 540Nm – 6kW more than its sibling.
The difference is actually much higher in other markets, where the range-topping muscle car can produce up to 373kW, but South Africa’s poor fuel quality meant that the company had to detune the local units to avoid issues.
Even with this unfortunate downgrade, the Dark Horse still claims the bold title as the most powerful naturally-aspirated Mustang to date, and you can certainly feel it when out on the road.
Before we had even set foot in the sports car, a Ford rep showed us a neat trick where you can remotely start the engine using a series of button presses on the key fob, and the audio feedback was impressive to say the least.
The Mustang growls to a start with visible force, and we were eager to hop behind the wheel to get a taste of what was waiting for us under the hood.
On that note, the low-slung, two-door car is obviously not going to win any awards for being spacious or easy to enter, but I nonetheless found the Dark Horse to be relatively accommodating.
The seat bottom has electronic length and height adjustability, but you still need to manually tilt the backrest to find your ideal position.
The boot is actually a decent size at 381 litres, and you do have two rear seats in the rare event that you may need to transport more than one person.
There are also two large cupholders, door bins big enough to take multiple bottles, a sunglasses holder in the roof, and a large wireless charging pad for your phone, which meant I didn’t feel short on storage space despite spending two days with the galloping pony.
Likewise, the black-and-blue seats were comfortable, and they feature both heating and ventilation functions which was much appreciated.
The dashboard is dominated by a massive dual cockpit comprising a 13.2-inch digital driver display and a 12.4-inch infotainment monitor running the brand’s Sync 4 operating software.
The odd petrolhead purist may be unhappy with the loss of the classic analogue dials, but Ford has made up for this with several customizable displays that can replicate the look of a golden age American muscle car.
The media screen, meanwhile, has a clean and responsive user interface, but its worth pointing out that most functions, including the climate control, are now accessed through the screen, which is always a bit more cumbersome.
That being said, there’s a small shortcut bar with a horse-branded button that instantly pulls up the screen for customizing the sport’s cars attributes like the exhaust, and the multifunction steering wheel lets you quickly switch between driving modes and alter the steering response.
One other thing to mention about the interior layout is an electronic handbrake in the style of a classic physical lever, which adds a lot to the car’s cool factor.
Of course, the main draw of the Mustang is the driving experience, and the Dark Horse lives up to expectations and then some thanks to its V8 powertrain.
You can feel the engine rearing to go at all times, but the cabin is still fairly quiet when cruising at low speeds. That is, until you put your foot down.
The Ford can race to 100km/h in just 4.4 seconds, which naturally means you can expect responsive acceleration at a moment’s notice, all while the exhaust produces a thunderous soundtrack.
The drivetrain is not the only star of the show, however, as attention must also be given to the excellent 10-speed automatic gearbox.
The transmission is highly responsive and understands exactly when to hold the power and when to shift down, to the point that you’re better off letting it do its own thing instead of using the paddle shifters.
You can also select a manual mode for a more involved experience, but the paddles require that you shift sequentially, whereas the auto mode can jump between any gear as needed and is particularly good at downshifting as you slow down for a corner.
The mountainous terrain of Lesotho was an epic playground for this endeavor, as the roads (while not well-maintained) are largely devoid of traffic and snake up and down the many hills, resulting in longer straights, twisting corners, and tight sloping hairpins.
The idea that muscle cars are only good for quarter-mile sprints is one that simply doesn’t apply to the new Mustang, as it held its grip and leaned into the corners with admirable results.
Needless to say, we were impressed by our time with the new Ford Mustang and only wish the experience could have been longer.
It’s not the most practical car by any means, especially with its low ground clearance, but it still managed quite well on Lesotho’s run down tarmac, and its comfortable enough to live with on an everyday basis as well.
If you have the money to afford such a car, you’d be well served to pick up the new Mustang so that you can ride into town on a Dark Horse.
Ford Mustang Dark Horse
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