Mustang Dark Horse Loses to Corvette Stingray in Edmunds Drag Race

In a recent lineup of Edmunds U-Drags series, Ford's Mustang Dark Horse went head-to-head with Chevrolet's Corvette Stingray in a quarter-mile drag race under controlled track conditions.

Edmunds' Editor-in-Chief, Alistair Weaver, and Automotive Journalist, Reese Counts, each took turns behind the wheel of Edmunds' own Dark Horse against a Stingray on loan from General Motors. The purpose of the matchup is to establish a performance benchmark for the Dark Horse before Edmunds supercharges it using Ford's factory kit. According to Weaver, the team plans to re-run the car "after we've added the extra ponies," pushing the Dark Horse over 800 horsepower.

The 2024 Dark Horse starts at $59,780 and comes equipped with a 5.0-liter V8, 10-speed automatic transmission, weighing in at 4,016 pounds. It produces 500 horsepower straight from the factory. By comparison, the 2025 Stingray features a mid-engine layout with an 8-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission, weighing 354 pounds less at 3,662 pounds. It produces 495 horsepower on a stock engine. However, the Stingray comes in at a base price of $81,945, a difference of $22,165 compared to the Dark Horse.

While Edmunds performed this test out of their own curiosity, it offers practical insight for car buyers comparing price-to-performance ratios in the vehicle market. Is the $20,000-plus price gap worth it?

Well, what's $20,000 to the sweet smell of victory?]

Despite two rounds of racing, the Dark Horse consistently trailed behind the Stingray. Off the line, the Stingray hit 0-60 miles per hour (mph) in just 3.4 seconds (sec), with the Dark Horse in its rearview at 4.5 sec. The distance between the muscle cars increased at the quarter mile with the Corvette leading 11.7 sec at 120.4 mph and the Dark Horse trailing 12.7 sec at 115.4 mph.

At the finale, the Stringray placed 23rd in the Edmunds' U-Drags Leaderboard, just behind the BMW M4 Competition (33.4 sec at 135.4 mph) and ahead of the Mercedes-AMG EQE (33.5 sec at 128.7 mph).

Ford markets the Dark Horse as a track-ready evolution of the Mustang platform, highlighting improvements in cooling, chassis tuning, and aerodynamics. Chevrolet, in turn, positions the Stingray as a well-rounded performance vehicle with high-speed stability and everyday usability. While both cars are high-performers that would get any car aficionado's blood pumping, in terms of raw speed, the 2025 Stingray wins by far.

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