Hennessey has given the Ford Mustang Dark Horse 850bhp and racing stripes

Proof, if yet more was required, documenting the magical, ethereal and incomprehensible power of racing stripes. Because how else does one account for a 70 per cent horsepower jump on a car already loaded with them?

Enter the Hennessey H850 Ford Mustang Dark Horse edition. As that name suggests, it produces 850bhp (and 650lb ft of torque) from the 5.0-litre Coyote V8, up from an already very punchy factory output of 500bhp.

And while Hennessey – a company not averse to pumping a muscle car with extra protein – claims these gains derive from a high performance supercharger, high-flow air induction system, better fuel injectors, a new fuel pump and an ECU tweak, we, as petrolheads, know better.

No, the jump in power is down to the pair of racing stripes running from nose to tail. They complement ‘Hennessey’ script and badging, forged aluminium wheels, and a new carbon fibre aero pack incorporating a new front splitter, side skirts and a new rear spoiler.

“Without question, our supercharged 850 horsepower Dark Horse model will be one of the most exciting and powerful muscle cars on the road,” says boss John Hennessey, “sure to turn heads with its distinctive supercharger wail and exhaust note.”

Yeah, that and a pair of massive racing stripes.