Ford Mustang Dark Horse by Hennessey Gets 850 Horsepower, Can't Be Tamed

1 year, 3 months ago - 19 July 2023, autoevolution

It was only a matter of time until the Ford Mustang Dark Horse would become the tuners’ darling. It is now Hennessey’s turn to work its magic on it. But they are not exactly generous on photos for the moment.

The new Mustang will be built on an encrypted electronic architecture that will keep tuners at bay, Ford reps were saying in 2022. Well, guess again! This is 2023, and we have already seen a few ponies gone wild. It didn’t take them long before the first Mustang Dark Horse got extra some power and enhanced looks either.

The 2024 Ford S650 Mustang Dark Horse is a an untamed beast as it is when it drives through the factory gate. It rolls out with 500 horsepower (507 PS) and 418 lb-ft (567 Nm) of torque, churned out by that naturally-aspirated Coyote 5.0-liter V8, mated to either a six-speed manual or the company’s ten-speed auto box.

These are figures that make it flash from zero to hero (0-60 mph or 0-97 kph) in 3.8 seconds, which is almost hypercar level. For all the benefits in the Premium form, customers have to pay $64,460. The prices goes through the roof when ticking the option boxes, hitting the $80,000 mark.

But those figures are not something that Texas-based Hennessey Performance would be satisfied with. Otherwise, they would not have started the project in the first place.

A high-performance supercharger and a high-flow air induction system, upgraded fuel injectors, a new fuel pump, a software upgrade, and here it is. That 5.0-liter V8 goes all the way to 850 horsepower and 650 lb-ft (884 Nm) of torque, which is a 70 percent increase compared to the stock version. All these go straight to the rear axle. No word on the transmission this Mustang is running on, but we hope it’s the manual.

The seventh generation Mustang also went through a plastic surgery so that the looks match the extra oomph. It now sports a carbon fiber front splitter, plus side skirts and rear spoiler made of carbon fiber as well. The car runs on forged aluminum alloys, while body graphics and special Hennessey badging are part of the plan.

After all the changes it went through, the S650 Mustang Dark Horse is now the H850. The upgrades are backed by Hennessey’s comprehensive three-year or 36,000-mile limited warrant.

The tuning company will start producing the 850-horsepower Mustang Dark Horse coupe starting Q4 of 2023. No word on the pricing just yet. But it sure is the best thing you can get your hands on. Even better than the Mustang Dark Horse S and R, GT3, GT4, NASCAR and NHRA Factory X, which are track ony version.