Dark Horse is a leap for lineage

'ULTIMATE MUSTANG': UPS THE COOLNESS ANTE

- Charl Bosch

The Ford Mustang is an icon that needs no introduction. Key rivals from Dodge and Chevrolet have had on-and-off spells between iterations, but each Mustang has been a talking point throughout the pony car's storied six decades.

In breeding the Dark Horse, though, and without taking into consideration the various Shelby or Roush-tuned models, the Blue Oval has created what it bills as the ultimate Mustang.

This is not only from a driveability and performance perspective, but also dynamically, an area previous generations have not always fared the best in.

As with the lesser GT, South Africa's poor fuel left Dearborn with no choice but to drastically rein in the latest generation of its venerable normally aspirated 5.0-litre Coyote V8 engine.

The result? A drop in power and torque from 373kW/567Nm to 334kW/540Nm. The same torque figure but only six kilowatts more than the GT, whose amount of twist also had to be lowered by 28kW/27Nm. The dark picture facing the Dark Horse doesn't stop there.

At 1930kg, it is one of the heaviest Mustangs in recent memory and with the testing grounds of Gerotek waiting, the added 92kg over the GT didn't install runaway horse-level of performance.