Click to enlarge.
Ford Racing today introduced the new Mustang® Dark Horse® SC convertible, the first new high-performance Mustang convertible since 2013. It’s also the most powerful open-air Mustang ever. Orders open this fall, with cars arriving in dealer showrooms in spring 2027. [Just bring money – a lot of it: A Dark Horse SC sticker starts at ~$108,485. Track Pack adds ~$36,500 for a total of $144,985, There were also Track Pack Special Editions at ~$175,965. – AutoCrat]. The drop-top counterpart to the Dark Horse SC coupe brings Ford Racing engineering to the newest member of the Mustang Dark Horse family. The coupe is built for lap times. The ragtop, err convertible is set up for for open-air street driving with unlimited headroom, zero visual barriers, and the sound of a supercharged V8.*
“If the coupe is the race-bred side of our DNA, this convertible is the pure street cred part of the formula,” said Mark Rushbrook, global director, Ford Racing. “It’s just pure fun, fast, freedom.” [The preview on the day before the annual Woodward Dream Cruise also brings some street cred to Ford marketing – AutoCrat.]
The standard supercharged 5.2-liter V8 is rated by Ford at 795 horsepower and 660 lb.-ft. of torque. It’s paired with a seven-speed dual-clutch transmission. It’s the highest-performance Mustang convertible Ford has ever assembled. Ford Racing engineers started with the Dark Horse SC’s rigid chassis and retuned its next-generation MagneRide® suspension for street driving rather than lap times.
“Both the Dark Horse SC coupe and convertible have been developed by our Ford Racing engineers,” said Arie Groeneveld, Mustang Dark Horse SC chief engineer. “But instead of prioritizing the convertible for setting lap times, we’ve engineered it to be the ultimate top-down grand touring machine.”
More on Street Seats
Click for more.
“I’m especially proud to be part of the team that brought the new Mustang Dark Horse SC to life. It’s the first project I’ve been part of from the onset — from helping create the initial seating concepts to seeing the seats come out of production and into the vehicle. Like most people, I hadn’t thought much about seating before joining Ford, even though it’s the part of the car used perhaps more than any other,” said Diya Nuxoll.
“Early in my career, I spent time at manufacturing facilities, watching seats being assembled and inspected. I learned how decisions made early in the design process play out in the final product. Now, I work to anticipate potential manufacturing or quality concerns before they become issues in production. Seats are surprisingly complex. It’s one of the only parts of the vehicle where engineers are thinking about critical safety features, comfort, and appearance. Color and materials matter just as much as the engineering because it all has to work together while looking good.
“How a fabric moves or stretches has a big impact on the mechanics of a seat. How a customer feels opening the door, sitting down, and hitting the start button are all influenced by the seat, even if they don’t know it. From comfort to color, all the details matter. For the convertible, we have two interior colors, Space Grey and Black Onyx. Before seeing it in person, I preferred the Black Onyx seats, but I’ve been converted to a Space Grey fan: I think that the light seats pop nicely against a darker exterior, especially with the top down. Depending on whether a customer wants features like heating, cooling, memory, or massage, a seat can have hundreds of parts.
“Long before any of that work begins, though, our team spends time thinking about the person who ultimately sits in the driver’s seat. We have a conversation to determine: What does the customer care about? Is that driver interested in optimal features? Do they want comfort for long trips? Or do they need the grip of a seat designed for track racing?
“With the Dark Horse SC, they’re very possibly planning to go out to the track on weekends. That means they’ll want a lightweight, bare-bones seat that also offers them the kind of lateral support they need when they’re taking a curve at high speed. The seats in the Dark Horse SC are designed with performance in mind. The bolstering is firmer to provide that lateral support when the car is pushing through corners, and we’ve provided extra headroom space for drivers wearing helmets on the track. The challenge for the engineers is to make a performance seat that can keep a driver firmly planted during a turn on the track but comfortable enough for an hours-long road trip. It’s a constant balancing act,” said Diya Nuxoll.
The 1997 Dark Horse SC Convertible Has New Colors
- Precision Purple Metallic exterior paint,
- Unique brake caliper color
- Premium interior details in Black Onyx and Space Gray,
*AutoInformed on
About Ken Zino
Ken Zino, editor and publisher of AutoInformed, is a versatile auto industry participant with global experience spanning decades in print and broadcast journalism, as well as social media. He has automobile testing, marketing, public relations and communications experience. He is past president of The International Motor Press Assn, the Detroit Press Club, founding member and first President of the Automotive Press Assn. He is a member of APA, IMPA and the Midwest Automotive Press Assn.
He also brings an historical perspective while citing their contemporary relevance of the work of legendary auto writers such as Ken Purdy, Jim Dunne or Jerry Flint, or writers such as Red Smith, Mark Twain, Thomas Jefferson – all to bring perspective to a chaotic automotive universe.
Above all, decades after he first drove a car, Zino still revels in the sound of the exhaust as the throttle is blipped during a downshift and the driver’s rush that occurs when the entry, apex and exit points of a turn are smoothly and swiftly crossed. It’s the beginning of a perfect lap.
AutoInformed has an editorial philosophy that loves transportation machines of all kinds while promoting critical thinking about the future use of cars and trucks.
Zino builds AutoInformed from his background in automotive journalism starting at Hearst Publishing in New York City on Motor and MotorTech Magazines and car testing where he reviewed hundreds of vehicles in his decade-long stint as the Detroit Bureau Chief of Road & Track magazine. Zino has also worked in Europe, and Asia – now the largest automotive market in the world with China at its center.
Mustang Dark Horse SC Convertible Debuts
Click to enlarge.
Ford Racing today introduced the new Mustang® Dark Horse® SC convertible, the first new high-performance Mustang convertible since 2013. It’s also the most powerful open-air Mustang ever. Orders open this fall, with cars arriving in dealer showrooms in spring 2027. [Just bring money – a lot of it: A Dark Horse SC sticker starts at ~$108,485. Track Pack adds ~$36,500 for a total of $144,985, There were also Track Pack Special Editions at ~$175,965. – AutoCrat]. The drop-top counterpart to the Dark Horse SC coupe brings Ford Racing engineering to the newest member of the Mustang Dark Horse family. The coupe is built for lap times. The ragtop, err convertible is set up for for open-air street driving with unlimited headroom, zero visual barriers, and the sound of a supercharged V8.*
“If the coupe is the race-bred side of our DNA, this convertible is the pure street cred part of the formula,” said Mark Rushbrook, global director, Ford Racing. “It’s just pure fun, fast, freedom.” [The preview on the day before the annual Woodward Dream Cruise also brings some street cred to Ford marketing – AutoCrat.]
The standard supercharged 5.2-liter V8 is rated by Ford at 795 horsepower and 660 lb.-ft. of torque. It’s paired with a seven-speed dual-clutch transmission. It’s the highest-performance Mustang convertible Ford has ever assembled. Ford Racing engineers started with the Dark Horse SC’s rigid chassis and retuned its next-generation MagneRide® suspension for street driving rather than lap times.
“Both the Dark Horse SC coupe and convertible have been developed by our Ford Racing engineers,” said Arie Groeneveld, Mustang Dark Horse SC chief engineer. “But instead of prioritizing the convertible for setting lap times, we’ve engineered it to be the ultimate top-down grand touring machine.”
More on Street Seats
Click for more.
“I’m especially proud to be part of the team that brought the new Mustang Dark Horse SC to life. It’s the first project I’ve been part of from the onset — from helping create the initial seating concepts to seeing the seats come out of production and into the vehicle. Like most people, I hadn’t thought much about seating before joining Ford, even though it’s the part of the car used perhaps more than any other,” said Diya Nuxoll.
“Early in my career, I spent time at manufacturing facilities, watching seats being assembled and inspected. I learned how decisions made early in the design process play out in the final product. Now, I work to anticipate potential manufacturing or quality concerns before they become issues in production. Seats are surprisingly complex. It’s one of the only parts of the vehicle where engineers are thinking about critical safety features, comfort, and appearance. Color and materials matter just as much as the engineering because it all has to work together while looking good.
“How a fabric moves or stretches has a big impact on the mechanics of a seat. How a customer feels opening the door, sitting down, and hitting the start button are all influenced by the seat, even if they don’t know it. From comfort to color, all the details matter. For the convertible, we have two interior colors, Space Grey and Black Onyx. Before seeing it in person, I preferred the Black Onyx seats, but I’ve been converted to a Space Grey fan: I think that the light seats pop nicely against a darker exterior, especially with the top down. Depending on whether a customer wants features like heating, cooling, memory, or massage, a seat can have hundreds of parts.
“Long before any of that work begins, though, our team spends time thinking about the person who ultimately sits in the driver’s seat. We have a conversation to determine: What does the customer care about? Is that driver interested in optimal features? Do they want comfort for long trips? Or do they need the grip of a seat designed for track racing?
“With the Dark Horse SC, they’re very possibly planning to go out to the track on weekends. That means they’ll want a lightweight, bare-bones seat that also offers them the kind of lateral support they need when they’re taking a curve at high speed. The seats in the Dark Horse SC are designed with performance in mind. The bolstering is firmer to provide that lateral support when the car is pushing through corners, and we’ve provided extra headroom space for drivers wearing helmets on the track. The challenge for the engineers is to make a performance seat that can keep a driver firmly planted during a turn on the track but comfortable enough for an hours-long road trip. It’s a constant balancing act,” said Diya Nuxoll.
The 1997 Dark Horse SC Convertible Has New Colors
*AutoInformed on
About Ken Zino
Ken Zino, editor and publisher of AutoInformed, is a versatile auto industry participant with global experience spanning decades in print and broadcast journalism, as well as social media. He has automobile testing, marketing, public relations and communications experience. He is past president of The International Motor Press Assn, the Detroit Press Club, founding member and first President of the Automotive Press Assn. He is a member of APA, IMPA and the Midwest Automotive Press Assn. He also brings an historical perspective while citing their contemporary relevance of the work of legendary auto writers such as Ken Purdy, Jim Dunne or Jerry Flint, or writers such as Red Smith, Mark Twain, Thomas Jefferson – all to bring perspective to a chaotic automotive universe. Above all, decades after he first drove a car, Zino still revels in the sound of the exhaust as the throttle is blipped during a downshift and the driver’s rush that occurs when the entry, apex and exit points of a turn are smoothly and swiftly crossed. It’s the beginning of a perfect lap. AutoInformed has an editorial philosophy that loves transportation machines of all kinds while promoting critical thinking about the future use of cars and trucks. Zino builds AutoInformed from his background in automotive journalism starting at Hearst Publishing in New York City on Motor and MotorTech Magazines and car testing where he reviewed hundreds of vehicles in his decade-long stint as the Detroit Bureau Chief of Road & Track magazine. Zino has also worked in Europe, and Asia – now the largest automotive market in the world with China at its center.