2026 Ford Mustang Dark Horse SC: 795 HP, Tested

Car and Driver has tested the 2026 Ford Mustang Dark Horse SC, and the headline numbers are hard to argue with: 795 horsepower, 60 mph in 3.0 seconds and a 10.8-second quarter-mile at 134 mph. The magazine says the new Dark Horse SC is effectively the next Shelby GT500, even though the GT500 name is gone.

Ford dropped the GT500 name because Ford Racing, the competition arm, now runs the company's high-performance street-car engineering. The Dark Horse SC is its first production result. Car and Driver notes that Ford Racing has not denied the SC is an evolution of the 2020-22 GT500.

The hardware

Under the hood is a supercharged 5.2-liter V-8 rated at 795 horsepower and 660 pound-feet of torque, routed through a seven-speed dual-clutch Tremec gearbox and a limited-slip differential. The engine is nearly identical to the 815-hp unit in the $327,960 Mustang GTD. Ford says the GTD's extra 20 horses come from an extra intake duct and reduced exhaust backpressure.

Car and Driver tested the Track Pack version with carbon-ceramic brakes, carbon-fiber wheels, Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2R tires and a larger adjustable rear wing. The test car also wore the Track Pack Special Edition appearance package, which brought the as-tested price to $175,565.

The test numbers

The Dark Horse SC hit 60 mph in 3.0 seconds and covered the quarter-mile in 10.8 seconds at 134 mph. It stopped from 70 mph in 131 feet and pulled 1.06 g on the skidpad. The SC trailed the GTD by 0.2 second to 60 and in the quarter-mile, but it beat the GTD to 150 mph and 170 mph, and stopped a foot shorter from 70. Car and Driver says the skidpad gap likely came from the test car's alignment not being set for track use.

The base Dark Horse SC starts at $108,085. The Track Pack, with the track-oriented hardware, is $144,585. The Track Pack Special Edition, with a painted stripe, carbon trim, red Recaros and 3D-printed titanium shift paddles, lists at $175,565.

Our take

The Dark Horse SC is the most hard-core Mustang you can buy right now, and the closest thing to a new GT500. It also asks supercar money for a body that looks like a regular Mustang on the outside. Mustang loyalists will get it. If you're not one of them, Car and Driver's own comparison list is the counterargument: a Corvette Z06, a Porsche 911 Carrera or a Mercedes-AMG GT55 can be had for the same money.

The magazine says the SC is civil around town and a joy on track, with no brake fade after repeated heavy stops. That makes it the rare track car you can live with daily. Whether that's worth $108,085, or $175,565 with everything, is a question only a Mustang enthusiast can answer.

• Car and Driver
• Ford Mustang Dark Horse SC
• Ford Racing
• Muscle cars
• Shelby GT500