When Richard Hammond brought his brand-new 2025 Ford Mustang Dark Horse to Motorsport and Performance, the goal was clear: take Ford’s most track-capable road car and make it genuinely dangerous.

The result? 867.2 brake horsepower, 769 lb-ft of torque, and a drag race victory on the famous Top Gear test track against a completely stock Dark Horse. As featured on Ford’s ‘From the Road’, Richard’s car is now a daily-driven monster that out-muscles Ford’s own factory supercharged flagship — and does it with a manual gearbox.

The Powerhouse: Whipple Twin-Screw Supercharger & Kooks Headers

The heart of the build is a Whipple twin-screw supercharger — one of the most efficient forced induction systems available for the Coyote 5.0-litre V8. When Richard first read the dyno sheet, his reaction said everything:

“Peak power is 867.2 horsepower. That’s enormous.”

To handle the massive increase in airflow the Whipple demands while keeping the car road-legal and retaining that signature V8 burble, we paired it with Kooks Custom Headers’ S650-specific Green Catted long-tube headers. The result is 867 bhp and 769 lb-ft of torque delivered cleanly, consistently, and without drama — unless you want drama, in which case there’s plenty.

Watch the full build: Can Richard Hammond Build an 800 bhp Mustang in 48 Hours?

“The 10-year-old me is currently doing backflips with excitement.” — Richard Hammond

Handling the Power: Full Suspension Overhaul

Adding nearly 370 bhp over stock means nothing if it can’t be put down cleanly. To make sure every one of those 867 horses reaches the tarmac, we carried out a comprehensive suspension overhaul using a best-of-breed approach:

• BMR Suspension: Heavy-duty components to eliminate wheel hop and cradle movement under hard acceleration.
• Ford Performance & Roush Performance: Uprated springs and sway bars to sharpen steering response and keep the car flat through the corners.

With the MagneRide damper system recalibrated to work in harmony with these hardware upgrades, the Dark Horse remains a genuinely comfortable daily driver — right up until you bury the throttle. Richard summed it up after his first run at the Top Gear test track:

“It doesn’t feel like we’ve squeezed more power out of a car than it really should give. Right now, it’s tight. It’s together. It works.”

Proven on Track: The Drag Race

To put the numbers in real-world context, we lined Richard’s car up against a completely stock Mustang Dark Horse in a straight drag race. After a very Hammond moment — stalling the manual gearbox clean off the line — he gathered himself, launched properly, and the supercharged Coyote left the factory car for dead, the speedometer surging past 140 mph.

That’s the difference 867 bhp makes.

Beating the Dark Horse SC — and the GTD

Ford’s newly announced Mustang Dark Horse SC produces 795 bhp from a factory-fitted supercharged 5.2-litre V8, paired with a Tremec seven-speed dual-clutch gearbox. Impressive — but Richard’s MAP-built Dark Horse beats it by over 70 bhp, and does so through a manual gearbox with the full raw Mustang experience intact.

Then there’s the Mustang GTD — Ford’s £300,000 road-legal race car producing over 800 hp. Richard’s Dark Horse tops that figure too, while retaining the classic front-engined, V8-up-front Mustang soul that makes these cars special in the first place.

This isn’t just a tuned Mustang. It’s a statement.

The Ultimate Daily Driver

Richard wanted a car he could drive hard every single day. Thanks to the quality of components and the precision of the build here at Motorsport and Performance, that’s exactly what he has — an 867 bhp supercharged Mustang Dark Horse that can sit in traffic on a Tuesday morning and embarrass supercars on a Saturday afternoon.

Got an S650 sitting on your driveway with untapped potential? Whether you’re aiming for 500 or 800+ bhp, the team at Motorsport and Performance is ready to build your dream. Get in touch today.