Our stable has yet to welcome the gen seven Ford Mustang - but already the performance edition has all but bolted.

CORRALLING the next generation Mustang for New Zealand is taking longer than expected - but those wanting the herd’s alpha will have to saddle up fast; it’s already largely bolted the stable.

Arrival now for the seventh generation car will be post-June - with no better estimate than “second half” at this stage, Ford New Zealand communications manager Tom Clancy says.

Potential that the flagship Dark Horse fastback coupe won’t even make the showroom without ownership already attached is growing.

A type represented as a regular factory choice when the order book opened last October is now designated a limited edition - and Clancy says fans are snapping it up.

New Zealand has so far been assigned just 41 examples of the six-speed manual, which represents as a $116,990 buy-in, and 97 examples of the $114,990 automatic.

That’s a much smaller allocation than Australia, where fans are griping about 1000 being incoming.

Though it’s still possible more Dark Horses might yet be mustered for Kiwis, at the moment just a handful of autos remain unspoken for, Clancy said.

Also in the national allocation is the entry GT fastback, which at $92,990 is $8000 more than its equivalent in old family.

The GT being the sole model that still sits under the $100,000 barrier not breached any edition of the old line-up - including the special edition Bullitt and Mach 1 - doesn’t seem to have been an attraction, with just 15 percent pick up to date.

Clancy’s thought that every Dark Horse has gone to an existing Mustang owner raises an irony.

Dearborn’s intent with the new nameplate was to pull in a fresh audience, who would have an eye for the car without reference to pedigree, history, or legacy.

No chance of that here, it seems.

“It’s a really special vehicle and that has been appreciated,” Clancy says.

“Anecdotally the people I know about who have ordered it are absolute Mustang fans - definitely not first-time Mustang drivers.”

He suggested the Dearborn strategy might have more resonance in other markets. 

“But we’re a little different. We have one of the biggest Mustang fan groups outside of the United States.” 

Those people had recognised the Dark Horse s being something special and were wasting no time in securing one.

As previously reported, classic Mustang from now on will only present as a V8 and with a solid roof.

The four-cylinder EcoBoost has been put out to pasture by Ford US and the convertible, though still in production, won’t be delivered here.

The engine is a rework of the old car’s, making 362kW in the GT  and 373kW in Dark Horse, with torque for all three holding at 567Nm.

The latter figure is 1Nm more than was claimed for the performance sign-off to the old line, the Mach 1. However that car had 435kW … and it also cost $97,990.

The Dark Horse’s performance credential partly rests on it having piston connecting rods, plucked from a GT500 sold Stateside.

However, it is overall a more focused model than the GT, with larger rear sway bars, heavy-duty front shock absorbers, fatter (at 482mm) Brembo front brake discs clamped by six-piston calipers, a Torsen rear differential, and staggered 19-inch wheels.

Whether NZ takes up opportunity for a new factory-fitted matte satin wrap just launched in the US has yet to be clarified, but chance seems slim, Clancy suggests. 

Announced last week for $US5995 ($NZ9871) the vinyl not only protects the paint but is said to alter the car’s appearance, making it seem leaner and meaner.

The Mustang’s revised timeframe means it’ll show here almost two years on from its global debut and a year after going on sale in North America, which is a slower rollout than occurred for the outgoing car, the first engineered for right-hand drive.

Like that line, the new type is built in Flat Rock, Michigan.