> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://torquecafe.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Triple Eight Mustang road car ’the start’ of future race-bred Fords - URL: https://torquecafe.com/car-news-2026-ford-triple-eight-road-car-plans/ - Published: 2026-09-08T20:02:25.000Z - Updated: 2026-09-08T20:02:24.000Z - Description: Ford is only a handful of months away from starting deliveries of the Mustang Dark Horse T8-Spec Pack, something which Triple Eight boss Jamie Whincup wants to be the first of many collaborations. - Author: Jordan Mulach - Tags: News, Performance The Ford Mustang Dark Horse T8-Spec Pack (try saying that five times fast) is arriving in showrooms later this year as the most track-focused version of the pony car ever offered to Australian buyers. Built on the US-market handling package for the Dark Horse, the [T8-Spec Pack](https://torquecafe.com/ford-news-mustang-dark-horse-t8-spec-pack-triple-eight-australia/) will arrive at Ford’s Broadmeadows assembly plant where it’ll be converted to the more hardcore specifications. The first motorsport-linked Ford model since the Craig Lowndes edition BF Falcon from 2007, Ford is using its newly reformed tie-up with Supercars juggernaut Triple Eight to market the most track-focused Mustang seen locally, ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/a9/b3/a9b3e204-3117-4792-9a32-46184029df44/content/images/2026/09/Ford-Uncovered---Jamie-Whincup-T8-2-1.jpg) Jamie Whincup with the Ford Mustang Dark Horse T8-Spec Pack Speaking to Australian media, Triple Eight boss Jamie Whincup – who won a record seven V8 Supercars championships, four Bathurst 1000s and 125 races with the team as a driver – said he hopes the T8-Spec Pack is just the beginning for road-going products bearing his company’s name. “This is the start of the first project. We’d absolutely love take on the opportunity to do more,” said Whincup. When asked what’s next, Whincup said he’s “unsure”, adding Triple Eight needs to “get the first one over the line and get them out there”. “The big one for me is we've been competing in the highest level of, I think it's the world's toughest touring car championship in the world, and we've been there for 20 years, it feels like s a bit of a waste \[not helping to create a road car\]. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/a9/b3/a9b3e204-3117-4792-9a32-46184029df44/content/images/2026/09/Ford-Uncovered---Mustang-Dark-Horse-T8-Rear-1.jpg) Ford Mustang Dark Horse T8-Spec Pack “We've got so much IP, so much development, not just in just tyres and whatnot, but the car's so technical, what hat we do in these cars and develop them to make it faster, it spans to all sorts of things. We've got our own engine plant. “So for us to be able to bring that IP and allow the customer to share some of that, that's a feel good thing for us rather than wasting it on just a couple of race cars.” Upgrades to the T8-Spec Pack over the standard Mustang Dark Horse include wider wheels with fat Pirelli Trofeo RS tyres, a front splitter, rear spoiler Gurney flap, bespoke graphics and Triple Eight badging. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/a9/b3/a9b3e204-3117-4792-9a32-46184029df44/content/images/2026/09/ford-mustang-dark-horse-t8-spec-australia-road-driving-1.jpg) Ford Mustang Dark Horse T8-Spec Pack Though the US handling package upon which it’s based is already capable, Whincup’s Triple Eight team will work on a local calibration for the package, which will be dialled into the car before it leaves the Broadmeadows assembly line. “We’ve tuned in balance, basically,” Whincup said, referring to starting out with having to tweak the T8-Spec Pack around its unique front splitter and rear wing. “We just want to make it unique for the Australian customer. It’s important that you add something of value to the Australian customer,” added Ford Racing's Justin Capicchiano. “What we're trying to do with Jamie's guys, it’s not just like, “ok, give them a handling pack – there's an experience side of it. We want to talk about how our guys and how our teams are working together, and the fact that now we've got Jamie's team, part of the Ford family, we want to basically open that up to new customers as well. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/a9/b3/a9b3e204-3117-4792-9a32-46184029df44/content/images/2026/09/ford-mustang-dark-horse-t8-spec-australia-rear-detail-1.jpg) Ford Mustang Dark Horse T8-Spec Pack “Customers that may not necessarily have gone in and bought a Mustang before, or wanted to experience of what it's like to be on the inner sanctum of the inside of a race team. This is the experience that they're gonna get.” According to Whincup, the plan to create what will become the Dark Horse T8-Spec Pack was a part of the deal which enticed the Triple Eight squad from its long-standing home of General Motors (having raced with Holden from 2010 to 2022, and Chevrolet from 2023 to 2025) back to Ford (which was its home from 2003 to 2009). “It was part of the transition, for sure. I’ve been wanting to do something like this for many years,” said Whincup. “We couldn't do it with the previous manufacturer, so it’s good this relationship's been able to to open up opportunities, basically for us to share our IP, our development with everyday customers.” [Triple Eight, Ford alliance unlocks hotter Mustang for AustraliaAfter rejoining the Ford Supercars camp as its homologation team in 2026, Triple Eight has done something not seen in almost 20 years.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/a9/b3/a9b3e204-3117-4792-9a32-46184029df44/content/images/icon/cropped-favicon-a976bea6-610a-4431-8877-21fd1f0836d8.png)Torquecafe.comJordan Mulach![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/a9/b3/a9b3e204-3117-4792-9a32-46184029df44/content/images/thumbnail/2026-ford-mustang-dark-horse-t8-spec-pack-7-1-1d881218-1023-44e6-8913-fa4698493253.jpg)](https://torquecafe.com/ford-news-mustang-dark-horse-t8-spec-pack-triple-eight-australia/) Customers who purchase the Dark Horse T8-Spec Pack – of which only 250 will be made, priced from $138,888 plus on-roads – will get access to exclusive Triple Eight-run drive days at its home circuit, Queensland Raceway, with cars supplied by the team. “It’ll be a full experience – not just get in, do a ride or drive the car and then go home,” Whincup said. “We’ll have all of our engineers there, all of our drivers there, and we'll actually do a bit of a session where we can explain the car, then one of the drivers there will set the seat up in the correct position and give them a full experience and then you get a ride day with plenty of photos, videos, a whole lot.” Deliveries of the Ford Mustang Dark Horse with T8-Spec Pack, and a further 500 examples of the [standard Dark Horse](https://torquecafe.com/ford-news-mustang-dark-horse-australia-2026-price/) which was limited to just 1000 cars when it initially arrived in 2024, will begin later this year.