Image via Drivetribe/YouTube
For Richard Hammond, former host of Top Gear and The Grand Tour, the Ford Mustang Dark Horse provides a much-needed escape from the stress of today’s world. We have to agree that the thrill of driving a true performance car on empty backroads away from everything is a transformative, magical experience.
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But for Hammond, the Mustang Dark Horse is a truly special car. He talks about how the American muscle car is “basic” in all the right ways. After all, the model is a track-focused version of the popular Ford, so it puts driving front and center instead of other priorities.
While Hammond has plenty of praise for the Mustang Dark Horse and its potent Coyote V8, he laments one thing. The European version of the 5.0-liter is rated at 50-bhp less than the American version of the car.
He jokes that issue could be corrected by an engine tune done by a mechanic “accidentally” while they’re diagnosing the car for some other reason. He’s not wrong, but you can see the issue of forbidden fruit doesn’t just exist here in the US but elsewhere. Other parts of the world are hungry for American muscle.
Another favorite performance feature Hammond highlights in his brief review is the manual transmission. He mentions how it gives him greater control, the precise reason we prefer manuals.
Hammond mentions as he’s behind the wheel of the Dark Horse that in the UK for the money, one could buy a more “serious” performance car for the same amount of money. But he says those cars don’t speak to his heart like the Ford does, and that matters more to the man.
We understand completely. Even though some vehicles we’ve driven are legitimately quick, fast, and handle well, they feel a little soulless or at least they don’t have as much of a visceral appeal as others. That matters because we’re not racing when driving on open back roads, we’re enjoying the experience.
As Hammond says, the analog Dark Horse version of the Mustang is real, unlike the Mach-E electric crossover Ford keeps trying to say is a pony car.
Image via Drivetribe/YouTube
