2027 Ford Mustang Dark Horse SC Convertible First Look: 795 HP With the Top Down

The supercharged Mustang keeps all the horses but trades some track focus for open-air grand touring.

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For those who have just about worn out their 2014 Ford Shelby GT500 convertibles, waiting for its successor, we bring some good news: Behold the 2027 Ford Mustang Dark Horse SC convertible. The formula is largely the same as the one used 13 years ago, albeit with all the dials cranked up to modern-day standards.

Full Engine Power

Just as with the GT500’s powerplant, the Dark Horse SC’s 5.2-liter supercharged Predator V-8 doesn’t lose a single one of the coupe’s 795 horses or 660 lb-ft of twist. Happily, you’ll note those figures are well up from the 662 hp and 631 lb-ft that GT500 derived from its 5.8-liter supercharged Trinity V-8. The seven-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission ports over unchanged as well, still with no manual option. The one performance boost the convertible brings is auditory. You’ll hear a lot more of the music this V-8 makes in each of the four variable-exhaust modes (Normal, Quiet, Sport, and Sport+).

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More Chassis Comfort

Because the laws of physics haven’t changed much in 13 years, the realities of a more flexible open-car architecture have once again led to a softening of the Dark Horse SC’s suspension and mission. While the coupe is aimed at maximizing track performance, the convertible strives to deliver high-output grand touring.

Toward that end, the springs and stabilizer bars are both softened (engineers remain tight-lipped on specifics), while the MagneRide adjustable suspension is reprogrammed to match this softer hardware. The wheels and tires are the same ones fitted to SC coupes without the Track Package. The carbon brake package will not be available on the convertible.

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As before, the Mustang GT convertible chassis provided the structural starting point, to which the Dark Horse SC only adds a magnesium brace tying the two front shock towers to the firewall for added rigidity. No curb weight specifics were shared at the SC convertible’s Woodward Dream Cruise launch but expect the ragtop to add the same 100-ish-pound difference we measured between the GT500 coupe and convertible.

Aerodynamic Revisions

Because the convertible uses a unique decklid, the rear wing requires unique mounts. The shape of the wing is shared, but no Gurney flap is offered. And because air flows off the convertible top differently than it does the coupe’s roof, maintaining front/rear aerodynamic balance required redesigning the front hood louvers. Their trailing edges are extended slightly to close up the gap a bit, so that when the rain tray is removed they don’t flow quite as much air as the ones on the coupe.

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Precision Purple

The pearlescent hue added for the new convertible was reportedly derived from the Blue Ember exterior color that launched on the Dark Horse coupe, featuring the same red highlight to it. It’s one of nine paint options for the SC convertible. The interior shown here is Space Gray, which is likely to stay a little cooler in the sun than the Black Onyx option.

When & How Much?

The order books open this fall for deliveries expected in the spring of 2027, and naturally Ford isn’t talking pricing yet. The coupe/convertible GT500 price difference
was exactly $5,000 ($7,150 in 2026 money), but perhaps the roughly 10 percent
bump is a better guide. In any case, the 2026 Dark Horse SC starts at $108,085,
so depending on which guesstimation approach you favor, you’d better budget
somewhere north of $115,000.

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2027 Ford Mustang Dark Horse SC convertible Specifications



BASE PRICE



$117,000
(est)



LAYOUT



Front-engine, RWD,
4-pass, 2-door convertible



ENGINE



5.2L/795-hp/660-lb-ft
supercharged port-injected DOHC 32-valve V-8



TRANSMISSION



7-speed twin-clutch
auto



CURB WEIGHT



4,300 lb (est)



WHEELBASE



107.0 in



L x W x H



189.7 x 75.5 x
55.0 in



0–60 MPH



3.0 sec (MT
est)



EPA
CITY/HWY/COMB FUEL ECON



Not yet tested



EPA RANGE,
COMB



Not yet tested



ON SALE



Spring 2027


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I started critiquing cars at age 5 by bumming rides home from church in other parishioners’ new cars. At 16 I started running parts for an Oldsmobile dealership and got hooked on the car biz. Engineering seemed the best way to make a living in it, so with two mechanical engineering degrees I joined Chrysler to work on the Neon, LH cars, and 2nd-gen minivans.  
 

Then a friend mentioned an opening for a technical editor at another car magazine, and I did the car-biz equivalent of running off to join the circus. I loved that job too until the phone rang again with what turned out to be an even better opportunity with Motor Trend. It’s nearly impossible to imagine an even better job, but I still answer the phone…

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