The Detroit Auto Show is kicking off this week, and Ford is trying to make the most of it. Last night, it showed off the Bronco RTR, and tomorrow, it’s preparing to release a new Mustang Dark Horse variant that it describes as the most “advanced, powerful, and track-capable” version yet.
The truth is, The Autopian has known about this new Mustang for about a day now, since we managed to get our hands on the embargoed material ahead of the car’s official announcement. The car isn’t supposed to be revealed until tomorrow morning, but Red Bull, with the help of four-time Formula 1 champion Max Verstappen, just revealed the whole car on its YouTube channel nearly 24 hours before the embargo time.
While I can’t tell you all the juicy details just yet, there’s a whole lot of info that can be gleaned from the video, which shows Verstappen piloting the bright orange Mustang around a race track. Let’s get into it.
The Name Seems To Give Things Away
The video, released this morning, has Verstappen and Red Bull’s newest F1 driver, Arvid Lindblad, driving a century’s worth of Ford racing cars on a small track through a series of challenges. About halfway through, Ford puts Max in an orange Mustang it labels as the “2026 Mustang Dark Horse SC.”
The video’s host, car YouTuber Jeremiah Burton, doesn’t spill any specs or performance details on the car, saying only that it’s “the most advanced, powerful, and track-capable Dark Horse ever.” In the world of cars, “SC,” can mean a few things. Sport Competition? Sport Coupe, maybe. Or, if you’re a Porsche person, Super Carrera may be the first phrase that comes to mind.
The most obvious answer, going by the whine coming from the engine in the video above, is that SC, in this case, stands for Super Charger. Red Bull doesn’t make it clear in the video whether this supercharged V8 under the hood is an enhancement of the 5.0-liter Coyote engine found in the normal Dark Horse, or something totally different. Either way, the Dark Horse SC is shaping up to be a Shelby GT500 replacement, and will likely sit between the standard Dark Horse and the top-level Mustang GTD.
What About The Rest Of The Car?
Aside from the bright orange paint, there are a few obvious changes to the Dark Horse body in the step to SC trim. There’s a big, fixed rear wing bolted to the decklid out back, along with a new integrated, body-color ducktail spoiler underneath. Note also the square-shaped quad exhaust tips. Up front, there’s a new fascia with more black plastic, and a raised hood with quick-latching hood pins, similar to those found on the last GT500.
The brakes look to be roughly the same size, though the multi-spoke, gunmetal-painted wheels are new. They’re wrapped in what appear to be Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 R tires, which are similar in grip level to the Pirelli P Zero Trofeo RS tires you get in the optional Handling Package in the normal Dark Horse.
While the cameras give us a good look at the interior, it’s mostly covered in black cloth, so there’s not much to see. The Dark Horse SC used by Verstappen has a roll cage and a proper racing bucket installed, though it’s unlikely the production car will get either of those features.
With the embargo set to drop tomorrow morning, Ford-heads won’t have to wait long to find out all of the details.
Top image: Red Bull/YouTube
Someone at Red Bull didn’t get the memo on release date…
It gives you wings, not reading comprehension.
Ford has literally become a one trick pony.
FFS fire that worthless CEO and get someone in there who has a clue.
Can we change up the game for once and put a turbo on the Coyote instead of a SC? Probably would make too much sense for Ford.
I’m assuming you mean two turbos, but…why? It’s not like GM and Stellantis haven’t been supercharger lovers either.
When Chevy unveiled the 2019 Camaro SS facelift with the blacked-out “big mouth” grille like this one, loud voices on the muscle car internet got so collectively incensed that the 2020 model ended up with an emergency facelift to color in the center bar.
Fast forward 7 years, and now everyone’s doing it. Audi with their RS models, Hyundai’s N models, and now the Mustang itself grows a full beard.
Do we owe the 2019 Camaro an apology? Or is there extra blame due for it being the first on this trend?
It is fucking terrible, and never apologize for making fun of the 2019 Camaro SS’s Silverado grille
Extra blame. This trend blows chunks and the 2019 Camaro is an abomination in the eyes of god. So is the pre refresh Elantra N.
It wasn’t the black grille that had people upset as much as it was the horrendous badge placement (which they also fixed with the 2020 facelift)
I have wondered how much longer they’d pay to license the Shelby name.
Yeah did I miss a memo? No more Shelby Fords?
There’s now a 100% tariff on licensed names which originated in Commiefornia. They tried Trumpstang, but that sounds like something you have to immediately dump into the washing machine.
Cool, a $100,000 rental car
Maybe they should have just called it the Mustang Hertz Donut.
We jest, but Ford does make Hertz edition mustangs and they’re quite sought after on the secondhand market. But regardless the Mustang just can’t shake that rental fleet vibe for me. The interior is ass and there are just so many of them.
I can get behind buying the sketchiest/lowest spec GT possible in the low 40s. For that price it’s a ridiculous amount of performance, V8 go brr, and if you want it to go around corners or make MO POWA there’s a strong aftermarket. Also available in stick, although people really hate the Getrag 6 speed and in typical Ford tradition it’s overstressed from the factory so they can charge you $5,000 for a replacement when it kerplodes 20 minutes after the warranty is up.
But the $60,000+ “special” ones? I really, genuinely do not see the point. I’d get an M2 over a Dark Horse 10/10 times and since this is probably going to be a 6 figure car I think you’d have to be out of your mind to choose it over a Corvette Z06/E Ray (whichever floats your boat), 718 GTS, and myriad others…but there are some people that truly love Mustangs and have piles of money (aka Boomers) so they’ll still sell.
When I went to Vegas I rented one of the Shelby GT500-H for a couple of days to bomb around the desert–it was surprisingly affordable and reasonably fun to drive for a car with stupid HP. That said I don’t ever need to go to Vegas or drive another tarted up Mustang again.
they keep making it more truck-like. First the interior, now the exterior.
It’s all Ford knows how to do anymore.
Well, that and stifle First Amendment speech…
I do like how the different-colored plastic/metal juxtaposition breaks things up visually though, makes the design sharper. Wish this were more common on regular offerings.