No, These Aren’t Mid-Engined Ford Mustang Mules

The Ford Mustang GTD is the quickest and ultimate track-focused version of the muscle car and despite recent posts you may have seen about it on social media, there is not a mid-engined version in the works.

While it’s been well over a year since the Mustang GTD was unveiled to the world, the Blue Oval continues to test lightly-disguised prototypes throughout the US. Vehicles wrapped in black and white camouflage always attract attention, and recently, several Reddit users jumped online to say they’ve seen prototypes with particularly intricate cooling systems at the rear. The sightings prompted speculation that these vehicles might be test mules for a special mid-engined model. However, that isn’t the case.

Read: Do These 5 Interiors Shame The $325K Mustang GTD’s $36K Cabin?

The Mustang GTD features large air scoops directly behind the rear window, but on the original show car, these vents were painted and didn’t stand out. However, on some prototypes, these vents are finished in black immediately catching the eye. The Porsche 911 also has air vents in a very similar position to help cool its rear-mounted engine. Cooling fans are also visible behind the rear vented fascia of the Mustang GTD.

While we’d love to see Ford create a mid-engined version of the Mustang, that’s certainly not what we’re looking at here. If there’s not an engine back there, then why does Ford need so much cooling? Well, the answer is quite simple. The GTD is equipped with a complex transaxle cooling system that uses these air scoops to funnel air through the heat exchangers.

So, while there’s no mid-engined GTD on the cards, there’s still plenty to be excited about. This includes a 5.2-liter supercharged V8 with a massive 815 hp and 664 lb-ft (900 Nm) of torque. In recent months, Ford has also tested the car extensively at the Nurburgring Nordschleife attempting to record a sub-7-minute lap time.  

Mustang GTD test car

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