Ford Mustang Sutton CS800DH review: Taming a wild horse
If you have watched the new BBC comedy Small Prophets – and you absolutely should – you will have spotted the Ford Capri. Like its owner, protagonist Michael Sleep, the faded blue coupe looks unkempt and world-weary. But its rumbling soundtrack and subtle ‘2.9 S’ badge soon reveal this to be no common-or-garden Capri.
In fact, Ford never sold a 2.9-litre Capri, which means (geek alert!) the car is likely fitted with the 24-valve Cosworth V6 from a late Granada Scorpio. This relatively common swap gives the Capri a healthy dollop of extra performance, along with the brawny character of an American muscle car. Given the Capri was Europe’s equivalent to the Ford Mustang, a heart-transplanted 2.9 S is arguably the car it should have been from the start.
The USA has always enjoyed the real thing, of course. Introduced in 1964, the Mustang is still the fastest selling car of all time, with 22,000 orders taken on the first day and 418,812 units shifted in the next 12 months. Ford’s V8-engined ‘pony car’ soon evolved into a fully fledged muscle car, with tuners such as Shelby, Roush and Steeda pushing it to new heights of performance.
Brits had to be content with a Capri (or, God forbid, its Ford Probe successor) until imports of right-hand-drive Mustangs finally got underway in 2015. Inevitably, this has led to homegrown modified Mustangs – and no UK company has more experience in this niche than Clive Sutton. Indeed, with 799 wild horses, its new Sutton CS800DH has enough firepower to rival any Stateside ’Stang.
Dark Horse with more horses
Established 30 years ago, Clive Sutton specialises in bringing American-market cars to the UK. Indeed, it has just become the official franchise for GM Specialty Vehicles, managing UK imports of the Cadillac Escalade, Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Yukon.
The business is currently based in St John’s Wood, but is moving to a larger premises by Staples Corner in May. Its first tuned ‘Sutton Mustang’ was sold in 2015 and Luke Sutton, son of company founder Clive, estimates that around 100 have been built since. “You just buy parts such as alloy wheels or a performance exhaust,” explains Luke, “or we can supply a complete car, including a brand new Mustang sourced directly from Ford”.
The car I’m here to drive is the new CS800DH, based on the latest Mustang Dark Horse. As Clive Sutton’s demonstrator, it’s fitted with every option imaginable, from carbon fibre headlight surrounds to racing-style Recaro seats. Prices start from £135,000, compared to the £70,740 Ford asks for a factory-fresh Dark Horse. Can the gains possibly be worth it?
This Ford is a Coyote with claws
The pounding heart of the CS800DH is Ford’s venerable 5.0-litre ‘Coyote’ V8, which can trace its origins back to 1980. It develops 453hp and 398lb ft of torque in the original, unmodified car: good for 0-62mph in 5.2 seconds and a 164mph maximum.
That isn’t sufficient for Luke Sutton, though. “The standard Mustang feels slightly lacklustre to me,” he says. “It’s not powerful enough, not dynamic enough and not exciting enough. The CS changes all that.”
Sutton’s secret weapon is a 3.0-litre Whipple Supercharger, which provides a 76 percent increase in output to 799 metric horsepower (or 788bhp) at 6,700rpm. Torque also swells by 61 percent to 642lb ft at 4,750 rpm. No performance figures have been recorded yet, but Luke estimates a (traction-limited) 0-62mph time of 3.5 seconds.
If all this sounds like a recipe for a big bang, followed by a big bill, it’s worth noting that modifications are made in line with Ford Performance guidelines. As such the Mustang maintains its three-year, 36,000-mile Ford warranty. All tuning parts covered by Clive Sutton’s own warranty – also valid for three years and 36,000 miles.
Crafted from carbon fibre
Lurking in the concrete car park behind Clive Sutton’s offices, the black-on-black CS800DH looks downright malevolent. It’s the kind of car that drinks raw eggs for breakfast. The stance is lowered using Steeda springs and subframes, combined with Ford Magneride adaptive dampers (standard equipment on the Dark Horse). Bespoke 20-inch Vossen alloy wheels sit snugly within its flared arches, wrapped in Michelin Pilot Sport 4S tyres.
The Mustang also contains enough carbon fibre to supply a Formula 1 team for a season. Made by a US company called Anderson Composites, the lightweight parts include the bonnet, front wings, side skirts, diffuser and fixed rear spoiler. Some elements are painted, while others – such as the slash-cut vents above the front wheels – reveal the naked carbon weave. It ain’t subtle, nor is it meant to be.
The four forearm-sized exhaust tailpipes clearly mean business as well. They’re part of a custom-made Borla ATAK stainless steel system with a custom H-pipe. And the soundtrack? We’ll come to that shortly.
Inside the Sutton Mustang CS800DH
If you thought the CS800DH’s exterior was a tad OTT, wait until you see inside. In keeping with this Mustang’s show-car status, every available inch of its cabin has been upholstered in blue Alcantara (a type of synthetic suede). It even covers the sun visors.
The colour is too bright for my taste – Luke Sutton describes it as “deliberately garish” – but the fabric is very tactile and beautifully trimmed. The new Recaro seats with built-in heating and ventilation hold you in all the right places, too.
Elsewhere, the interior will look familiar to any existing Mustang owner. There are twin 12.4- and 13.2-inch screens with gaming-style graphics, a low-slung driving position and an odd electric handbrake that is styled to resemble a manual lever.
The quality of the plastics doesn’t befit an elevated price tag, but all the tech is straightforward to use, helped by the quick-access buttons on the steering wheel. The Mustang is relatively practical for a sports car, too. Its rear seats can accommodate younger children, while its 408-litre boot will swallow two golf bags or full-size suitcases.
Escape to the country
Still, you haven’t read this far to learn about how the Sutton CS800DH tackles the school run or weekly shop. This aim here is to “blow ’em out of their seats,” to borrow a line from Bruce Springsteen’s Racing In The Street – and the Mustang delivers like only an over-endowed muscle car can.
We need to escape central London first, though. And that means a stop-start slog from Clive Sutton HQ in St John’s Wood, heading up the Finchley Road and eventually onto the M1. In such conditions, the Mustang feels surprisingly docile, rather than the caged animal you might expect. Its engine has so much torque you can pull away in second gear, while the Steeda suspension is firm but rarely jarring.
The only real issue is the very vulnerable carbon fibre front splitter, which is prone to scraping on speed humps. If this car were mine, the first thing I’d do is fit an axle-lift kit.
Power to the people
As we finally pass a national speed limit sign, I drop down from fifth to third – helped by an automatic, rev-matching throttle blip – and bury the right pedal. The Mustang goes from calm to combative in an instant, its engine note hardening from a deep-chested gargle to a full-blooded roar.
On a damp surface, such antics could lead to slip defeating grip, followed by eternal YouTube infamy, but on a dry road with the car in middling Sport mode, things never get too unruly. In fact, rather than the brutal punch of a Porsche 911 Turbo – or indeed many high-end EVs – the supercharged V8’s power delivery is very linear and progressive. Only when you really dig your spurs in does this pony give its all.
Some people may miss the wallop of a turbocharger or hybrid system, and find the ’Stang initially a bit underwhelming. There is only so much performance you can use on the road, however, and the CS never left me wanting. Far from it.
Ford Mustang: Baby’s got the bends
Besides, there is much else to enjoy about the CS800DH, including its heavy and satisfying manual gear shift: something of a rarity in 2026. “We also offer Ford’s 10-speed automatic transmission,” explains Luke Sutton, “but most customers go for the six-speed manual. I think it suits the car better.”
The Mustang goes around corners, too; a concept that was quite alien to most classic muscle cars. The quicker steering of the Dark Horse helps, as do its clever adaptive dampers. Body control is iron-fisted, yet the car feels calm and competent, rather than jittery or unsettled, even on some fairly terrible British roads.
Granted, it doesn’t deliver the poise or tactility of a Porsche 911 GT3. What does? But nor does the Sutton CS800DH feel overtly like a ‘tuner car’ – i.e. an over-spiced soup of disparate performance parts. There’s some sophistication here, which you wouldn’t necessarily expect from a turned-up-to-11 Mustang.
Verdict: Ford Mustang Sutton CS800DH
The Sutton Mustang’s square-jawed styling and thunderous V8, combined with the physicality of its driving experience, are timeless attributes that will speak to anybody with a drop of gasoline (or UK-spec super unleaded) in their veins.
Even so, this isn’t a car for everyone. You can buy a regular Dark Horse for half the price, and you won’t only have half the fun. Many will understandably baulk at spending six figures on something with a Ford badge.
If money is no object, though, and you really want a Mustang, the DS800DH will make you smile every time you drive it. Even when you glance down at the trip computer and it reads 12.4mpg (my average on this test). We just said money was no object, right?
Ford Mustang Sutton CS800DH
PRICE: From £135,000
POWER: 800hp
TORQUE: 642lb ft
0-62MPH: 3.5sec (est.)
TOP SPEED: 185mph (est.)
FUEL ECONOMY: 20mpg
• Tim Pitt writes for Motoring Research