"Everything About This Car is Dialled Up to 11!"
Richard Hammond tested the Mustang Dark Horse for DriveTribe – and loved it so much he bought one.
Where do I even begin? I've had a fair bit of experience with the Mustang Dark Horse already, mainly because we filmed it for DriveTribe. We drove it, and frankly, I absolutely loved it.
But jumping back into it now, especially since it’s officially mine, two things immediately spring to mind. Firstly, you tend to be a touch more cautious when it's your own pride and joy, don't you? But secondly, and this is the really good bit, it's screamingly obvious just how sharp this thing feels. I mean, I talked about it during the review, but when you're filming and reviewing a car, you're a bit self-conscious, a bit analytical. You're thinking, "Right, I'm at work."
Whereas, just driving it home last night, having collected it yesterday, without the pressure of translating every thought into words for a camera, it was just pure experience. The work on the suspension, the sharpening of the steering, the MagneRide suspension... it genuinely feels like there are echoes of the track within it. It definitely feels more like a track car that's stepped onto a road, rather than a road car you could take onto a track.
I'm absolutely delighted, honestly. The 10-year-old me is currently doing backflips with excitement. I've always loved Mustangs, I was born in '69 so they’ve been around all my life. As a kid, it was the car. I get it. I mean, I appreciate the austere engineering excellence of a German sports car, I love the flamboyance, the fragility, the sheer exoticism of an Italian supercar.
But for me, what absolutely chimes is that slightly more blue-collar feel. Yes, the Dark Horse is an expensive car, but it's still accessible compared to other offerings for a broader audience. There’s nothing pretentious about a Mustang. It sticks to that classic recipe: a large-capacity V8 up front, driving the rear wheels, two seats with two small ones in the back. It’s a formula that just works.
“The 10-year-old me is currently doing backflips with excitement.”Richard Hammond, DriveTribe
Of course, it’s now drizzled with a lot more technology. The advancements in that Coyote engine over the years are astonishing. But at its heart, it’s still simple. It’s a car for being out in the real world. Most of the time, I can't go any faster than the diesel van in front of me, but I'm doing it while looking down the bonnet of a Mustang. I'm doing it in a feisty, bright, fizzy car that, when the opportunity presents itself, can genuinely excite. But when it doesn't, I can just burble along at low RPM, enjoying the sound of that V8. You can actually enjoy driving it slowly.
Naturally, the exhaust is going straight onto one of the loudest settings – that’s something that needs to be done immediately. Then even burbling along in traffic, I’m listening to that V8 ricocheting off the walls around me, and that just makes me smile. Or just starting it up outside the house.
My '69 390 GT, the one I've had for over twenty years, is not a tribute car. It left the factory in Highland Green. It's a 390 GT from the same year as the Bullitt car. So it just happens to be the same, right down to the grille. That car’s a keeper. I bought it back in the old Top Gear days. This chap had it for tours, slightly lowered, slightly modified but not heavily. I found out about it, sent a mate with a briefcase full of cash. It was like that scene in Jurassic Park with the velociraptors, everyone circling, but my guy got there first. "Thank you, I'll have it." And I've had it ever since. It was metallic blue for a bit, but I returned it to its original Highland Green a few years ago.
Designers always talk about styling cues and references, but it’s only when you see two Mustangs together, spanning many generations, that those cues truly come to life. You see the references – the wide angle on the grille, the lights tucking in, flaring out, the lines down the side. You start to see, "Oh, yeah. There are references in there." These people know what they're doing.
I imagine the Ford designers feel immense pressure. Imagine being the one charged with, "Right, Bob, here are your drawing boards". Millions of people adore these things. They will be fiercely defensive. If they don't like it, you'll be savaged. If they do like it, they still won't tell you, they'll say they prefer the one from twenty years ago. You’re absolutely doomed!
So, yes, I'm going to be very happy with these two. I keep a lot of cars and motorcycles, and I'm incredibly lucky, and very aware of that. Usually, it's obvious which car I'll use on a given day. With these two, I might have a little moment of indecision, but I’ll always end up drifting naturally towards one for the day. It’s a nice problem to have, isn’t it?
As I said in the film when I drove the Dark Horse, there was some controversy around the Mustang Mach-E bearing a Mustang badge. I said, like every other manufacturer, Ford has to sell a certain number of electric cars; it’s legislated across Europe for each non-electric one. So, I’m not going to be rude when I see somebody driving an electric one. I'm going to salute them and blow them a kiss, because thanks to them, I can drive this. And I'm not anti-electric car, never have been. They have their place, and in some applications, they’re perfect.
The GTD is next level, no doubt. That’s a race car that’s been turned more or less into a road car. This is a track day car, you can feel that, it is sharper, more pointy. But yeah, the GTD is a level beyond.
I’ve got plans for this car, but it’s going to be my daily. I’m going to drive the hell out of it. I’m just going to enjoy it. I’d probably rather drive to work and look at the world through the window of a Mustang. It’s just a nice place to be.
Richard Hammond is a Mustang Dark Horse owner
Mustang Dark Horse CO2 emissions 279-282 g/km and fuel efficiency 12.2-12.4 l/100 km WLTP. CO2 emission and fuel efficiency ranges may vary according to vehicle variants offered by individual markets. The declared WLTP fuel/energy consumptions, CO2 emissions and electric range are determined according to the technical requirements and specifications of the European Regulations (EC) 715/2007 and (EU) 2017/1151 as last amended. The applied standard test procedures enable comparison between different vehicle types and different manufacturers.
