First Drive: 2009 Saleen Dark Horse Mustang

Well, first drive may not be totally accurate. The folks over at Autoblog had more of a "first ride" in the 2009 Saleen Dark Horse Mustang, as they were relegated to the passenger seat.

You can't blame Saleen for wanting to be cautious with their new marque ride. The horse that they rode in was the very first one off the assembly line, and the only one built so far.

The "ride" occurred at Willow Springs Raceway outside of Los Angeles. The car was given an official introduction by CEO Chris Theodore, followed by a ride along with Derek Hartland, Saleen's chassis engineer.

The Dark Horse is a brutally fast version of the Mustang. The supercharged V8 pins you to your seat during acceleration while massive 15-inch cross-drilled rotors with 6-piston calipers pitch you forward just as hard.

The car handles as well as it accelerates, biting corners with ferocious grip thanks to Saleen shocks, springs, and their second generation watts-link system. The combination of supercharger whine and deep V8 rumble sounds great, backing up the Dark Horse's menacing appearance.

All of this performance and exclusivity comes at a price, of course. And the price of entry is steep, right around $90,000. Only 25 will be built, with production beginning in November.

The Saleen Dark Horse is obviously one of the best performing Mustangs you can buy, and the rarity of the car makes it a fabulous collectible. Unfortunately this will also mean that most, if not all of them will be locked up and not driven or enjoyed. Such is the way with ultra low production special edition vehicles.