Meet the Mustang Dark Horse R: Bred for the Track

There’s a new addition to the herd: the Mustang Dark Horse R is making its debut. A natural extension of the Dark Horse’s capabilities, the Dark Horse R is the most track-capable 5.0-liter V8 street-legal Mustang ever.

“Mustang Dark Horse R has been developed with Mustang racing enthusiasts top of mind,” said Jim Owens, Ford Mustang Marketing manager. “Ford Performance leaned into countless areas of expertise developed through years of racing the Mustang and honed in on an aggressive yet approachable package for customers to pick up and play with.”

Designed solely for track use, largely to compete in the new, single-make Mustang Challenge series, the Dark Horse R still shares some DNA with its road-going siblings, including a Flat Rock Assembly Plant-provided body, 500+ horsepower 5.0-liter V8 engine, Tremec 3160 manual transmission, Torsen limited slip differential with 3.73 final drive ratio, aero and Brembo rear brake calipers/rotors.

The Mustang Challenge series is scheduled to start in 2024, with a 10 to 12-race calendar as well as a mix of five or six yet-to-be-announced North American sports car race weekends. Every vehicle competing on racing slicks will have been developed specifically for the Mustang Challenge by Ford’s series partners at Michelin.

“Mustang Dark Horse R owners will have the opportunity to race and test their driving skills with other Mustang enthusiasts at some of the world’s most incredible tracks,” said Mark Rushbrook, global director, Ford Performance Motorsports.

The IMSA-sanctioned series will be managed by the Ford Performance Racing School. Each round consists of two practice sessions, one qualifying session and two sprint races. Contingency payouts will go to the top finishers in each race, and an overall series champion will be crowned at the end of the season.

“The new Mustang Challenge series is a perfect addition to our IMSA family and we are grateful to our longtime partners at Ford for trusting us to be the sanctioning body for this spectacular new platform,” said IMSA President John Doonan. “When I was a little boy going to the race track, I vividly remember the rumble of the Mustang race cars and their V8 power, so imagining a full field of Dark Horse Rs charging into Turn 1 for the first time on an IMSA race weekend will bring back a flood of memories and be awe inspiring.”

If you’re interested in following the Mustang Challenge and other exciting Ford news, make sure you continue reading our blog here!