Revived after a heck of a long time for the 2021 model year, the Mach 1 is best described as GT on steroids. The go-faster pony car was officially rated at 480 horsepower and 420 pound-feet (570 Nm) of torque at the crank of its third-gen Coyote V8.
The 2024 model year Mustang leveled up to Gen 4, which differs in a few notable ways from the previous generation. The easiest way of telling said engines apart is to look under the hood for dual air intakes feeding dual throttle bodies. Only the seventh-gen Mustang comes with the revised Coyote, and this mill further boasts a grand total of three output levels.
For the GT, you're getting a Mach 1-marching 480 horsepower and slightly less torque, namely 415 pound-feet (563 Nm) on full song. If you spend extra on the active exhaust, you'll see them figures improve to 486 horsepower (one better than Chrysler's 392 HEMI) and 418 pound-feet or 567 Nm if you prefer metric. What about the new Dark Horse, though?
Peak torque stays put, although power is rated at 500 ponies due to a uniquely balanced crankshaft, beefier cams for extended operation close to the 7,500-rpm redline (the manual has a 7,250-rpm soft limiter), and Shelby GT500-sourced piston connecting rods. Already proven to 444 horsepower at the rear wheels by Middleton Motorsports on a Dynojet dynamometer, the manual-equipped Mustang Dark Horse recently paid a visit to Palm Beach Dyno to lay down 420.08 horsepower and 378.58 pound-feet (513.28 Nm) in fifth gear (the tranny's 1:1 ratio).
The completely stock car in the video below had its carbon traps removed to see if there's more to squeeze out, and – no surprises here – it does make a little more power and torque without them. With PBD general manager Ken Bjonnes behind the wheel, the Dark Horse was recorded by Palm Beach Dyno's… uhm… Dynojet as making 423.34 horsepower and 381.88 pound-feet (517.75 Nm) at the wheels.
After so many numbers, now it's high time to calculate percentages: a 15.3% loss from the crank to the wheels in terms of power and 8.6% for torque. It's not bad at all for a rear-drive manual car, especially with 53.86% humidity at 92.34 degrees Fahrenheit (33.52 degrees Celsius) and some 1,100 miles (1,770 kilometers) showing on the clock.
The Ford Motor Company isn't stopping here, though, because the Dark Horse will be joined by a supercharged track monster in late 2024 for model year 2025. Inspired by the GT3 racecar, the GTD breathes in through dual air intakes to produce in the ballpark of 800 force-fed horsepower from a development of the Shelby GT500's Predator.
A 5.2-liter V8 with a cross-plane crankshaft rather than the flat-plane crank of the Shelby GT350, the Predator is also due a small bump in power (and potentially torque) in the 2024 model year F-150 Raptor R. With the GTD making around 800, there's no denying the next Shelby GT500 is also going to reach or cross the 800-horsepower threshold.
After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well. Full profile
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