Not many new sports cars out there provide the same bang for the buck as the Ford Mustang Dark Horse. This super-American muscle car puts out 500 hp and 418 lb-ft of torque from its naturally aspirated 5.0-liter Coyote V8. This allows it to go from 0-60 in 4.1 seconds (with the 6-speed manual transmission) or 3.7 seconds (with the 10-speed automatic transmission) and onto a top speed of 166 mph – all that for an MSRP of around $61,980.
While the Ford Mustang Dark Horse is a great buy if you’re looking for a brand-new sports car, your options are a bit more limited if you’re in the market for sports sedans or luxury sedans. Thankfully, there are plenty of used cars out there in those markets that have better performance than the Mustang Dark Horse and will cost you less to buy! Most of these sedans are powered by V6s or V8s, giving you that similar muscle car snarl that the Mustang Dark Horse has. But, there are a couple here as well that are fully electric.
For this list, we’ve selected only those sports sedans that have quicker 0-60 mph times than the new manual-transmission 2025 Ford Mustang Dark Horse. All specs and performance figures quoted are taken from the manufacturer’s claims, unless otherwise stated. All used values are from classic.com and KBB, where we looked at the values of the recently auctioned examples for each model.
The Maserati Ghibli Trofeo gets a bit of a bad rap due to just how annoying the maintenance on these Italian super sedans can get. But, if you’re looking for a sports sedan that’s faster and cheaper than the Ford Mustang Dark Horse, it’s worth taking a look at this Maserati. While most Ghiblis are optioned with a 2.9-liter twin-turbocharged V6, the Ghibli Trofeo has a 3.8-liter twin-turbocharged V8. This is the same engine that was used in the Maserati Quattroporte GTS, and it produces 572 hp and 538 lb-ft of torque. That gives it a 0-60 time of 4 seconds, making it faster than the manual transmission version of the Ford Mustang Dark Horse.
A lot of used examples of the Maserati Ghibli Trofeo are more expensive than the Ford Mustang Dark Horse’s MSRP. But, you can pick one up for around $54,888–$64,999. While that makes it the most expensive car on this list by a decent amount, that’s still almost $10,000 less than a brand-new Mustang Dark Horse.
The Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio has a lot of similarities to the Maserati Ghibli Trofeo we mentioned earlier. They’re both super-powerful high-performance sedans, produced by a legendary Italian marque. But, it’s much more celebrated than the Ghibli. That’s likely because it doesn’t have a lot of the same issues that the Ghibli was bugged by.
The Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadifoglio is powered by the same 2.9-liter twin-turbocharged V6 that was used in the V6 petrol-powered Maseratis of the day. In this car, it produces 503 hp and 443 lb-ft of torque. This meant a 0-60 time of less than 3.9 seconds and a top speed of 191 mph. The only transmission on offer in America is an 8-speed automatic, while the six-speed manual option remained reserved for other markets.
As it’s a model that a lot of enthusiasts want, the used values for the Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio have stayed relatively high. You can typically expect to pay around $47,260 for one. But, some examples have sold for less than $30,000, so you could get lucky and get yourself a proper bargain!
The only Mercedes-Benz on this list is one of the most luxurious performance sedans the German automaker sells. It’s also easily one of the most opulent performance sedans around! The W222 generation Mercedes-Benz S 63 AMG 4MATIC+ is based on one of the most serene and luxurious sedans on the market. That shouldn’t fool you, though, as this is basically a muscle car wearing a nice suit. At the heart of this S63 is a 4-liter twin-turbocharged V8, producing 603 hp and 664 lb-ft of torque. Thanks to a combination of that immense power and a sophisticated all-wheel drive system, this car can go from 0-60 in just 3.5 seconds. It typically had the usual limited 155 mph top speed, but that could be bumped up to 186 mph by ticking the box for the AMG Driver’s Package on the options list. Both of those things mean that it beats both versions of the Ford Mustang Dark Horse on acceleration and top speed.
Older S63 AMGs can be real bargains on the used market, and the W222 generation is no exception. You can pick one up for an average of $46,775. While that still sounds fairly expensive, for the amount of performance and luxury you’re getting out of one of these, that’s serious value for money.
The Audi RS3 is quite a bit different from all the other cars on this list. It’s the smallest sedan here, being based on a car that’s typically sold as a 3-door or 5-door hatchback. The Typ 8V RS3 was produced from 2017-2020, and it was powered by a 2.5-liter inline-5 that produced 362 hp and 343 lb-ft of torque. This meant it was very fast for a small sporty sedan, being able to go from 0-60 in less than 4 seconds. That inline-5 engine also gave it a unique character, which a lot of enthusiasts really love (and also miss from newer Audis).
You can get one of these RS3s for around $45,374 these days. You can get quite a few examples for just over $33,000 now, too. While this doesn’t make it the best value for money car in its class, it’s still faster to 60 than the 2025 Ford Mustang Dark Horse and significantly cheaper.
The Tesla Model S P100D has to be one of the most controversial choices on this list. It’s a fully electric car, from an automaker that’s caught a lot of flak over its lifetime (and especially recently). But, that hasn’t stopped it from becoming an absolute performance bargain on the used market. A P100D can be yours for around $41,142, and for that, you get a dual-motor all-wheel-drive super sedan with around 680 hp and 791 lb-ft of torque. This propels it from 0-60 in around 2.5 seconds, easily making it the fastest-accelerating car on this list. It’s not one of the fastest in the top speed department, though, topping out at only 155 mph.
A lot of people will overlook the Tesla Model S P100D just because of the associations of the Tesla brand. A lot of people also really don’t like the idea of having an all-electric car period, let alone a fully-electric performance car. But, this car is incredibly good value for money, and on the drag strip, it’ll absolutely smoke a standard 2025 Ford Mustang Dark Horse!
The BMW 7 Series has been one of the prime options in the luxury sedan market for decades. It may not be as opulent as its rivals, but it’s often proven itself to be one of the best to drive. There has never been a full-on ‘M’ version of the 7 Series, but the 750i xDrive from the G11 generation is pretty close to being that in terms of performance. Produced between 2016-2022, it was powered by a 4.4-liter twin-turbocharged V8, which was the same N63 unit that appeared in several other BMW models. This produced 450 hp and 479 lb-ft of torque in earlier models, and 523 hp and 553 lb-ft of torque after the G11’s 2019 facelift. Facelifted models can accelerate from 0-60 in 3.9 seconds, easily putting it ahead of the manual version of the 2025 Ford Mustang Dark Horse. It does have that electronically limited 155 mph top speed that almost all German performance sedans seem to have, though.
If you want a used BMW 750i xDrive, you’ll pay an average of $38,850. That makes it another used luxury sedan that gives you serious performance and luxury for how much you pay for it. If you’re a proper BMW enthusiast, it’s definitely worth having a look at this one.
The third speedy luxury sedan on this list, the D4 Audi S8 is one that probably gets overlooked the most. It’s by far the most understated-looking option out of all of its rivals. The regular Audi A8 is known as a favourite among people who like to practice ‘stealth wealth’, so it’s no surprise that the S8 is no different. While there was one time that the S8 had a V10 engine that wasn’t much different from the one that was in the Lamborghini Huracán, the D4 S8 had a 4-liter twin-turbocharged V8. This produced 513 bhp and 479 lb-ft of torque in the regular S8, and 597 bhp and 516 lb-ft of torque in the S8 Plus. The regular S8 could go from 0-60 in 3.6 seconds and onto a top speed of 155 mph, while the S8 Plus had a 0-60 time of 3.3 seconds and could go up to 190 mph if the Dynamic Package was fitted.
What does all that power and speed in an understated luxury sedan cost you. Well, you can expect to pay around $35,997 for one on the used market. That makes both the regular S8 and the S8 Plus incredible bargains for the performance and luxury they give you! Plus, most importantly for this list, both versions are faster in the 0-60 sprint than both versions of the 2025 Ford Mustang Dark Horse.
The Cadillac ATS-V is a compact sports sedan that many people have likely forgotten about. After all, Cadillac is still a brand that’s often associated with older people. But, the ATS-V is every bit the opposite of that sedate and geriatric image. Produced from 2014-2018, this muscle sedan was powered by a 3.6-liter twin-turbocharged V6 that produced 488 hp and 443 lb-ft of torque. That was enough for a 0-60 time of 3.9 seconds (faster than the manual version of the Ford Mustang Dark Horse) and onto a top speed of 189 mph. You could get the ATS-V with either a 6-speed manual or an 8-speed automatic transmission.
The Cadillac ATS-V could very well be one of the best value muscle cars on the used market. They’ll set you back an average of $34,478 these days, according to Classic.com, with quite a few examples dipping under the $30,000 mark. Being able to get a muscle sedan that’s this quick for this amount of money makes it easily one of the biggest bargains in its class!
The ATS-V isn’t the only seriously fast Cadillac you can get for much cheaper than the hottest muscle car from its Detroit competitors. The 2nd generation Cadillac CTS-V can be had for pretty good money now too, and it’s a lot faster than people realise it is.
Typically going for around $33,482 on the used market, the 2nd-generation CTS-V sedan has a 6.2-liter V8 that produces 556 hp and 551 lb-ft of torque. It’s a very similar engine to the LS9 unit from the C6 Chevrolet Corvette ZR-1. That means you get all the raucous performance you could possibly want out of an all-American muscle sedan! Part of that is an incredibly impressive 0-60 time of 3.9 seconds, making it faster than the manual Ford Mustang Dark Horse but a tiny bit slower than the automatic one.
The 2nd-generation Cadillac CTS-V may have been a little overlooked in its time. But, people are starting to appreciate them more as time has gone on, and depreciation has made them serious performance bargains. If you’re more of a GM person than a Ford person and you’re in the market for a cheaper and more practical alternative that has the muscle car goodness of the Mustang Dark Horse, it’s well worth considering one of these. Thanks to that Corvette-based powertrain, they’re pretty tuneable too.
The cheapest car on this list is one that’s divided opinion ever since it came out. Like its Model S P100D sibling we mentioned earlier, the Tesla Model 3 Performance is a very controversial car thanks to being fully-electric and from an automaker with a bad reputation. But, like its bigger sibling, it’s become a real bargain on the used market. The original version of the Model 3 Performance had a dual-motor powertrain that produced 450 hp and 471 lb-ft of torque. This gave it an incredibly impressive 0-60 time of 3.1 seconds, and a top speed of 155 mph. That makes it a full second faster to 60 mph than the manual version of the 2025 Ford Mustang Dark Horse, and half a second faster than the automatic version.
The Tesla Model 3 Performance is the cheapest car on this list by quite a bit. You can typically get one for around $23,000–$25,250. That means you’ve got a serious high-performance bargain on your hands! That’s if you’re willing to look past Tesla’s bad reputation right now, anyway.
Sources: Alfa Romeo, Audi, Cadillac, Car & Driver, classic.com, Maserati, Mercedes-Benz, Tesla
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