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It's only been seven months since Ford revealed the 2024 Mustang, but it seems the Blue Oval is already working on an even higher-performance model.
Spy photographers caught this all-black 2024 Ford Mustang coupe testing in Michigan, giving us our very first look at what could be a trim to sit above the 500-hp Dark Horse. The front fascia and rear decklid are wearing camouflage, but the real point of interest sits at the lower portion of the bumper. Underneath the reverse light sits a center-mounted dual exhaust shrouded by a mesh box.
There's no telling what sort of powertrain could lie under the hood of this Mustang, though our spy photographers suggest it could be an early test mule for a Shelby variant. The first performance variant to appear above the GT in the last-generation Mustang was the Shelby GT350, so repeating the timeline with this latest generation makes sense.
Another guess floated by our spy shooters and the folks at FordAuthority is that this could be a mule of the road-legal version of the GT3 race car that Ford CEO Jim Farley teased in March.
It's unclear this time whether Ford will go with another flat-plane crank V-8 like the one found in the GT350, a supercharged V-8 like the engine in the GT500, or something entirely new. If this is indeed the street-legal GT3-based trim, the car could get some form of the race-ready 5.4-liter V-8. Additionally, there might not even be a Shelby model for the S650—we just don't have enough info yet. We'll have to wait and see.
Brian Silvestro is Hearst Autos' Lead Deputy Editor for rankings content. He spent over seven years as a staff writer for Road & Track Magazine, and still contributes regularly with car reviews, industry interviews, and more.
He also has a taste for high-mileage, rusted-out projects and amateur endurance racing.
