Ford Motor Co, released further details about the 2024 Mustang Dark Horse on Wednesday ahead of the media preview for the Chicago Auto Show.
“The sinister and track-hungry attitude of Mustang Dark Horse inspired us to curate colors and materials in a way that underscores the vehicle’s athleticism,” said Carrie Kennerly, Ford senior color and materials designer.
“We spent extra time on the cockpit, ensuring the look, feel and function of everything a performance driver could want conveys the performance Mustang Dark Horse is capable of.”
To start, the car is finished in Blue Ember metallic paint, mixing deep blue with hints of a warmer amber hue that allows the paint to shift color depending on the light. Vinyl and hand-painted graphics are optional.
“Blue Ember transforms the Mustang Dark Horse and highlights a natural saddle-color horse hidden inside the strong chiseled fastback’s exterior form,” said Kennerly. “Multiple elements are combined to give Blue Ember its intriguing and stealthy appearance that really drives home how unique Mustang Dark Horse is.”
Take a peek inside
At the heart of the 2024 Ford Mustang Dark Horse’s cabin is an anodized blue, lightweight titanium manual shift knob. Ford says that the hollow knob does not get as warm as comparable aluminum knobs in warmer weather. If you order the slushbox, you won’t get the knob, but you will get anodized silver paddle shifters for manual shifting. They’re mounted behind the flat-bottomed steering wheel, one that’s wrapped in suede.
Contrasting bright blue stitching accents the instrument and door panels, seats, gear shift boot, center console trim and lid. As you might expect, the steering wheel comes with controls for drive mode, as well as the instrument cluster and 13.4-inch multimedia screen. The optional electronic drift brake is also leather wrapped, and allows the driver to modulate the rear wheels to a full lock while in track mode for sideways movement.
If you want to gild the lily, an optional Mustang Dark Horse Appearance Package adds specially bolstered Recaro performance seats with suede inserts, deep blue seatbelts, and other trim upgrades.
The package accentuates an interior with new trim surfaces, such as the dark metallic gloss air-conditioning vents and bezels, rather than the silver color typically used. The instrument panel is grained to reduce glare, while a carbon fiber grain wraps the front of the instrument and door panel trim.
And, as a finishing touch, the Mustang Dark Horse’s instrument panel includes a badge with the vehicle’s chassis number.
What powers this pony
The automaker first revealed details about its latest high-performance steed in September, saying that the all-new seventh-generation Mustang Dark Horse is the zenith of Ford 5.0-liter V-8 performance.
A naturally aspirated 5.0-liter Coyote engine powers the Mustang Dark Horse, producing 500 horsepower through a Tremec 6-speed manual transmission or optional 10-speed automatic transmission. Ford’s MagneRide active damping system is standard, but a handling package is optional.
Look for the 2024 Mustang Dark Horse to reach showrooms in the summer of 2023 once assembly begins at Ford’s Flat Rock Assembly Plant in Flat Rock, Mich.
500HP and some other stuff.