More details released on Mustang Dark Horse
Ford have announced more details for the 2024 Mustang Dark Horse, with the premium variant of the upcoming seventh-generation Mustang to be available with a special paint finish and interior detail options.
According to Ford, these “dark aura and digital-age style” touches amplify the track-handling precision of the 2024 Mustang Dark Horse.
“The sinister and track hungry attitude of the Mustang Dark Horse inspired us to curate colours and materials in a way that underscores the vehicle’s athleticism,” said Carrie Kennerly, Ford senior colour and materials designer.
“We spent extra time on the cockpit, ensuring the look, feel and function of everything a performance driver could want conveys the performance Mustang Dark Horse is capable of.”
Blue Ember paint
With the goal of giving the upcoming Mustang Dark Horse an exterior colour reflective of its name, the result was ‘Blue Ember’ metallic.
Described as shadowy and sinister, but complex enough to force a double take on the street, the smoky dark blue shade features special effect pigments – deep blue infused with warm amber – to give the finish a colour shift effect when viewed from certain angles and under different lighting.
“If colour is a reflection of a vehicle’s personality, Blue Ember transforms the Mustang Dark Horse and highlights a natural saddle-colour horse hidden inside the strong, chiselled fastback’s exterior form,” Kennerly explained.
“Multiple elements are combined to give Blue Ember its intriguing and stealthy appearance that really drives home how unique Mustang Dark Horse is.”
Developed by the ‘Ford Color Mastering’ team, Blue Ember mixes complementary colours that are opposite each other on the colour wheel. The aforementioned special effect pigments are used in a higher volume than other paints to enhance the colour by reflecting light to create a “striking amber highlight” that’s looks different throughout the day’s varying light.
Available separately or in conjunction with the Blue Ember paint, striping options will also be offered when the Mustang Dark Horse is released.
A vinyl graphic decal for the Dark Horse bonnet will be available in Tarnished Dark satin or gloss black, to match other Dark Horse-specific exterior trim parts in black.
As part of the Appearance Package, an additional specialised bonnet graphic ties in with the central decal and the Dark Horse’s black roof. A third decal in low gloss black will also be available.
There’s also a hand-painted stripe option that’s applied using a specialised process different from any other Mustang trim level, according to Ford.
Inspired by the forms of airflow over the car, this stripe is in gloss black, starting aft of the air extractor on the bonnet and running back to the bonnet’s trailing edge, then over the roof and on to the rear spoiler. On the flanks of this gloss black central stripe, Tarnished Dark elements are added.
“Athletic” Interior
Standard interior features on the Dark Horse include a flat-bottom steering wheel, wrapped in suede for improved grip and finished with contrasting Bright Indigo Blue stitching that’s also applied to the leather-trimmed doorcards, dash and centre console, as well as the shifter boot for manuals.
The steering wheel carries controls for the Dark Horse’s drive modes and buttons to adjust the 12.3-inch instrument screen and 13.2-inch SYNC 4 centre console infotainment screen that sits high on the dash and is angled toward the driver.
New surface treatments in the cabin cut down on high gloss finishes and include a ‘Black Alley’ dark metallic gloss in place of the bright silver shade applied to other Mustang trim levels. On items like the vent surrounds and selected parts of the dash, centre console and doorcards, a carbon fibre pattern replaces previous grained treatments and ‘animal skin’ designs.
Furthermore, lasers have been used to create a grain on top of the instrument panel as part of the “de-glossing” of the cabin, with textures on the leather, suede and vinyl surfaces that amplify the Mustang Dark Horse’s performance feel, according to Ford.
Other cabin items introduced with the Mustang Dark Horse include a titanium shifter knob with the six-speed manual that’s hollow (reportedly to reduce heat build-up) and has a blue anodised finish to match the cabin stitching. On versions of the Dark Horse with the ten-speed auto, the paddle shifters have an anodised silver finish.
When the optional drift brake is fitted, that comes with an anodised lever, too, and a leather boot with the same Bright Indigo Blue stitching as the rest of the cabin.
Also optional are Recaro performance seats. Offered as part of the Mustang Dark Horse Appearance Package, these sports seats are trimmed in black Dinamica suede in the centre, with Deep Indigo Blue leather on the bolsters. The seats also come with Bright Indigo Blue stitching, while the seatbelts are in Deep Indigo Blue.
Finally, while it’s not a limited edition in the 2024 Mustang lineup, every Dark Horse will carry a dash plaque with the vehicle’s chassis number.
Coming for 2024
As previously reported, the Mustang Dark Horse will produce maximums of 373kW and 566Nm from its naturally aspirated 5.0-litre Coyote V8, making it not only the most powerful model in the 2024 range, but also the most powerful non-Shelby production Mustang ever.
While the 2024 Mustang Dark Horse is due to go on sale in the US in the second half of this year, an Australian release date, along with local pricing, remains unconfirmed.
