2025 Ford Mustang Dark Horse CS800 | UK Review
Sensible hat on, nobody needs an 800hp Mustang - but who wants to be sensible all the time?
Good news for those dedicated individuals after an 800hp Mustang, as there’s never been a better time to get in one. Ford has just the thing (very exciting - the GTD sounds, too), Shelby has built one with a very evocative name attached, and now Clive Sutton has his own take on what a forced induction Ford with almost eight hundred horsepower (they say 788bhp, so 799hp metric) should be: the Mustang CS800DH. That’s DH for Dark Horse, too, also known as the best driving ‘Stang of the generation currently sold in the UK. A car that could combine the power of a thousand suns with some genuine driver reward really would be something special.
In a world of 900hp family EVs, we’ve become slightly inured to power outputs, but it really is worth spending a minute considering just how potent this Mustang is. Here’s a Dark Horse with peak power beyond any of the latest hybrid super-saloons, all with four-wheel drive and an automatic; the new 911 Turbo S isn’t even close, really; and even the McLaren 750S, on pure power terms, must give up a few hp. 799 is an incredible number for a purely combustion-engined car, particularly one that’s manual, rear-wheel drive, and with the steering wheel on the correct side. There aren’t many 400hp manual cars left, let alone those with twice the power.
And be in no doubt: this Mustang absolutely feels 800hp and 642lb ft strong. Whether that’s pulling away in third gear without fuss or accelerating in fifth like a regular Dark Horse does in second, the surfeit of shove is never in any doubt. The joy of supercharging, moreover, means this CS still feels like a Dark Horse (or two Dark Horses, really), without a huge dump of twin-turbo torque or any impact on throttle response. While obviously a whole lot stronger at low engine speeds than the regular 5.0, it certainly still wants revs to feel at its best, mercilessly piling on speed and sound from 4,500rpm or so with the fervour of a much smaller unit. In a normal Dark Horse, the six gears can feel quite long, even the run to the top of second gear never seeming quite as urgent as you’d hope (because it goes to nearly 80). No such qualms here; the Mustang gallops through gears like all-inclusive holiday lagers, the fourth going almost as fast as the first.
The Tremec six-speed, as in the standard Dark Horse, is tough to the point of almost feeling a bit awkward sometimes, and fits this installation perfectly. The throw is short, hefty, and deliberate, like you’re working a great piece of industrial machinery rather than something so tame as a homologated road car. A good downshift in a CS800DH makes you feel every inch the glorious Revival racer. Or Gone in 60 Seconds bandit, depending on your mood.
The sound will probably nudge you towards the latter, because the Coyote V8, pumped up with a 3.0-litre Whipple supercharger and warbling out of Borla exhausts, produces one of the great automotive backdrops. Spectators get more supercharger whine than the driver, but you’re compensated with what your ears will say is an entire grid of Australian Supercars all around. The 5.0-litre is formidably loud, unashamedly rude and completely captivating as it snarls along; you get the entire V8 medley, from low-rev burble to peak power thunder, all played out in impeccable quality. The engine is so raw and so authentic, doing its wubba-wubba idle and the occasional overrun kaboom, that it’s impossible not to be completely won over. Even with the 11mpg.
That the CS doesn’t simply use that power to make Catherine Wheels of the rear Michelins is impressive. On a greasy day, it’ll wheelspin at the top of third gear, and when the rain does come it’s keen to break traction in fifth - but then an Ariel Atom does that as well. Given the layout and the conditions, the Mustang does a really good job of deploying such bountiful reserves of power. A long throttle travel helps, allowing the driver to be really precise, as does the linear delivery; Ford’s integration of the limited-slip diff and assists always felt clever in the standard car, and they aren’t totally overwhelmed here either. Get it straight, don’t be greedy, and you’ll be surprised by how much of 799hp you can use. Then once more, just to be sure. And again, because it was fun. You get the idea.
Which isn’t to say the CS is totally vice-free, however. This is a lower, stiffer Mustang than a regular Dark Horse, which has brought the issues that lowering and stiffening tend to. The front 275-section tyres are keener to follow camber changes in the road, which can be intimidating given how fast you tend to be going. The front end scraped a couple of times on a B road (admittedly a very bumpy one), the Mustang seemingly getting through travel very quickly and feeling a touch underdamped. The extra weight of the supercharger installation up front must have an impact; your faith in the back axle is almost unshakeable, but you can’t be quite as sure about the other end. A situation not helped by Mustang steering, which has never been a strong suit.
That being said, between the ample grip, the monster brakes, the impressive traction and the other 799 things, extremely quick progress can be made in a supercharged Dark Horse. It just doesn’t feel like quite such a finely honed and richly rewarding process as it once did. Which, with 76 per cent more power than usual, is possibly to be expected. Imagine if your barbecue was 76 per cent more powerful; even with some modifications, your cooking’s going to be a tad more approximate as a result. Though it’s also going to mean one heck of a show…
Indeed, if you're one of those people who think the Mustang has headed too far in the sports car direction with its Nurburgring lap times and track packages, this supercharged Dark Horse is the perfect riposte. It’s a Mustang where a truly brilliant engine utterly dominates every exchange, yet just about stops short of overwhelming the car and spoiling the experience. It offers up hugely thrilling, endlessly exciting power, not just power for the sake of it. Of course, someone will crash an 800hp Mustang on camera soon, but on the basis of this experience it’s hard to see how.
And while we’re talking about cameras, have you seen this thing? The beast under the bonnet might be the Mustang’s USP, but the way it looks must be part of the appeal as well. Those sunny press pics didn’t really do the CS800 justice, and its Sutton-specific upgrades, brooding under a dark September sky, provide just the right amount of malevolence for a mega Mustang. The arch louvres like an LMGT3 car are perfect, the stance on those Vossen wheels spot on, and the aero add-ons sinister without being too silly. People look, but they don’t want to get too close. And let’s be frank: a Dark Horse is hardly unapologetic as standard, so it only seems reasonable that an 800hp one shouts about the fact a bit. If you like Mustangs generally, you’re going to love this.
All in all, then, Sutton’s package is a pretty persuasive one. The charm of a Mustang hasn’t been abandoned: it's almost as happy cruising around as it is flouting every law in the land. But every prod of the throttle, every pull through a gear that doesn’t take long at all, every eruption from the exhaust and every startled pedestrian will remind you that the CS800DH is a long way from standard. Perhaps this Dark Horse is no longer quite such a keen steer, but if ride and handling really are top priorities, then a Mustang wouldn’t have been on the cards anyway. What it lacks in outright dynamic polish, it more than makes up for in sheer outrageousness, which feels very much where an 800hp Mustang ought to be. Just resist the temptation, please, to meddle too much with the interior - there’s enough outrageousness in the rest of the car…
SPECIFICATION | 2025 FORD MUSTANG CS800DH
Engine: 5,038cc V8, supercharged
Transmission: 6-speed manual, rear-wheel drive
Power (hp): 799@6,700rpm
Torque (lb ft): 642@4,750rpm
0-62mph: c. 3.5secs
Top speed: c. 190mph
Weight: 1,836kg (Ford kerbweight, standard Dark Horse)
MPG: 22.8 (standard car)
CO2: 282g/km (standard car)
Price: £165,000 (this car; price varies on spec)
I think it’s fantastic, illegal front plate aside
I think it s fantastic, illegal front plate aside
Or if you can live with LHD just buy a Hellcat
A supercharger setup will cost you around £15k and a brand new DH can be had for £70k, that leaves £75k for all the other 'bits' of which most will be CS markup (that I doubt you'll get back come resale).
An RTR version however.....
As others have said the price is insane, £20k at somewhere like motorsport and performance would get you same power and some major suspension and brake mods.
Or if you can live with LHD just buy a Hellcat
As others have said the price is insane, £20k at somewhere like motorsport and performance would get you same power and some major suspension and brake mods.
As others have said the price is insane, £20k at somewhere like motorsport and performance would get you same power and some major suspension and brake mods.
But that interior is minging.
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