The Z4, or the Boxster? Split 50/50. The purists must be rolling over. Actually, I love purists – they offer guaranteed emotional investment, which is what you want as a writer. You know them when you see them. The death of the air-cooled 911. The blasphemy of the mid-engine Vette. The turbocharging of BMW’s inline-six. And one way to really get them going is to compare BMW’s M3 (M4) to a lowly, cheap, slovenly Mustang. This fight has been going on for ages, and one of my favorite automotive content creators just struck a match with the new Mustang Dark Horse.
I might own an M3, but I’m no purist.
However…
First, watch the Mustang Dark Horse review by Jason Cammisa
As usual, it’s excellent – informative, insightful and beautifully shot. But Jason doesn’t exactly tell the whole story.
1 – It’s a lot easier to add more to the Mustang than to keep the price of the M4 down
The starting price of a 2024 BMW M4 Competition (no xDrive) is $82,200. The Mustang Dark Horse starts at $59,485. Add $1,600 for the automatic, $5,000 for the handling package, $1,650 for Recaro seats because the base ones look like they belong in a Focus, and suddenly you’re at $70,000. They would now be comparably equipped.
Hold that thought.
In 1988, a BMW E30 M3 cost $34,475, a 61% increase. A Fox body Mustang GT of the same vintage rang in at $12,745, an 88% jump.
Of course the Mustang has gotten better comparative to an M3/M4 – it’s grown in cost more.
Something else to consider is that in 2022, Ford sold 44,443 Mustangs in total. That includes all variations. BMW sold over 32,000 M4 Coupes and Convertibles combined in that time, despite the car costing more. And Ford sold 4.2 million cars worldwide in 2022, to BMW’s 2.4 million.
That means that BMW is half the size of Ford, yet sold almost as many M4s (include the M3 and it’s more) as Ford did Mustangs. You could therefore make the case that of the two, the M4 is more successful.
2 – Platforms and performance
In the video, Jason makes a big deal about the Mustang being on its own platform as oppose to sharing it with endless amounts of crossovers and sedans. And I agree – it could be a huge advantage. The M4 shares its chassis with pretty much everything else in the BMW lineup. It pays the price too, with a curb weight of 3,880 pounds.
But you know what? The Mustang Dark Horse weighs 3,879 pounds. That’s right, a single pound less than the M4. Instead of an advantage, I’d consider it an opportunity lost.
This isn’t to berate the Mustang – I have not driven a Dark Horse yet, but I’ve no doubt it’s probably a more enjoyable car to drive, especially at the limit. These M cars are a little numb.
The point is, the difference comes down to software decisions about steering feedback and damper ratings, not the fact that the Mustang doesn’t share hand-me-downs with an Explorer.
3 – Uh…tires, anyone?
A single tenth of a second separates the lap times of these cars around Willow Springs, in favor of the Mustang Dark Horse. That’s really indistinguishable from the driver’s seat.
But the Mustang is on Pirelli P Zero Trofeo RS tires – also known as R, or Racing Compound tires. As Mr. Cammisa says, you can find these on a Pagani. Intense. They cost $626 a pop, by the way.
The M4 is on Michelin Pilot Sports – a great tire, but not an R compound one. This is a huge detail to miss – tires could be worth entire seconds on the track. And while you can drive around on R tires, you’d need to replace them every 5,000 miles or so.
Case in point, the Mustang Dark Horse does a lap in 1:59:81. I can’t find a comparable time for an M4 on Michelin Cup 2 R tires, but a CSL ran a 1:28 on Pilot Sports. It’s safe to say the regular M4 on R tires would be much faster than the Mustang.
To sum it up:
- The M4 is faster when you put it on equal tires
- The M4 and Mustang Dark Horse weigh the same, have the same fuel mileage, and are within a few horses of each other, despite the Mustang’s platform being bespoke.
- You pay more for the M4, but the Mustang’s price has increased more over time.
So talk me out of a Mustang Dark Horse
First, good luck finding one. Then, good luck finding one without a markup. Here’s the best I can do, at $10k over, for $74, 860.
Then, how about an M4 Competition – tons available, but let’s not be picky with an Alpine White example for $87,395.
I hope to drive a Dark Horse this year, but I think we can look to the Z06 as an example of a cheaper car that’s simply better. Can you get past the badge? Especially if you can afford a GT3?
The Dark Horse is probably a better driving car than the M4, but people will still opt for the BMW. I probably would too.
What about you?
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