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THE TRACK-PREPPED MUSTANG DARK HORSE R IS READY FOR ITS ONE-MAKE RACE SERIES.

Ford Performance has just revealed the all-new Mustang Dark Horse™ R, the race-ready counterpart to the Mustang Dark Horse, and it’s been created to compete in an all-new Mustang Challenge racing series that’s tipped to start in 2024 and should see between 10 and 12 races throughout the year sanctioned by the International Motor Sports Association (IMSA). "Mustang Dark Horse R bridges the gap between Dark Horse and Mustang GT3 and GT4," stated Mark Rushbrook, global director of Ford Performance Motorsports. “Production-based Mustang vehicles have raced from the very beginning, all the way back to winning the 1964 Tour de France, even. Dark Horse R offers our passionate customers not just an attainable, factory-built race car, but also a racing series to compete with other Mustang enthusiasts.” The Dark Horse R has been designed for track use, but it still shares a bunch of components with the road-legal version. The body also comes from the Flat Rock Assembly Plant-provided body, it shares the same 5.0-litre V8 powerplant, a Tremec 3160 manual transmission, a Torsen limited-slip diff, some of the aero as well as the Brembo rear brake discs and calipers. From there we see a load of changes and upgrades in the necessary places to give the car more focus for the track.

“Mustang Dark Horse R has been developed with Mustang racing enthusiasts top of mind,” said Jim Owens, Ford Mustang Marketing manager. “Ford Performance leaned into countless areas of expertise developed through years of racing the Mustang and honed in on an aggressive yet approachable package for customers to pick up and play with.” The Mustang Challenge series starts in 2024 with a 10 to 12-race calendar in conjunction with a mix of five to six yet-to-be-announced North American sports car race weekends. All the cars will compete on specially-developed racing slicks by Michelin.  “The new Mustang Challenge series is a perfect addition to our IMSA family and we are grateful to our longtime partners at Ford for trusting us to be the sanctioning body for this spectacular new platform,” said IMSA President John Doonan. “When I was a little boy going to the race track, I vividly remember the rumble of the Mustang race cars and their V8 power, so imagining a full field of Dark Horse Rs charging into Turn 1 for the first time on an IMSA race weekend will bring back a flood of memories and be awe-inspiring.”  Pricing for Mustang Dark Horse R starts at $145 000 (a decent R2 560 000 when directly converted), and deliveries will begin in preparation for the start of the Mustang Challenge season in 2024.

MUSTANG DARK HORSE R SPECS

Exterior:

Front and rear tow hooks

Reinforced jacking points

Underbody tie-down hoops

Interior:

Recaro FIA racing seat

Sparco quick-release steering wheel

Sparco FIA racing harness

Sparco FIA fire suppression system

Safecraft FIA safety nets

Driver keypad and button controls

MoTeC data display and logging system

Fuel cell

Powertrain:

Upgraded oil system

Upgraded transmission cooling

Upgraded differential cooling

Borla racing exhaust system

Ford Performance oil pan

Chassis:

Roll cage

Multimatic DSSV dampers

Adjustable front camber plates

Adjustable anti-roll bars

Select seam welding

Brakes/Wheels/Tyres:

Performance ABS

Brembo race calipers – Front

Brembo race rotors - Front

Brembo race pads

Race brake cooling ducts

Ford Performance Parts R1 Flow-Formed Wheels

Bespoke Michelin 19” slick race tire for Mustang Challenge (sold separately)

MSI wheel studs and open lug nuts

Take a look at the YouTube video featuring the rack-prepped counterpart to the new Ford Mustang Dark Horse in the form of the race-ready Mustang Dark Horse R. This car will do duty in a new planned single-make race series that will see 10-12 races take place throughout next year at tracks all around the States: Mustang Dark Horse R | Mustang Challenge Series | Ford Performance


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