Just a day after it leaked online, the limited-edition Ford Mustang GTD has been unveiled as the ultimate road-going version of the beloved pony car. Ford says it was born from the concept of the Mustang GT3 which will race at the 24 Hours of Le Mans next year and will sit at the very top of the Mustang family.
The Mustang GTD is a track-focused street car in the purest sense. It takes technology directly from the GT3 race car and Ford says it is targeting a sub-7 minute Nurburgring Nordschleife lap time with it. Given its performance focus, it comes as little surprise that prices are expected to start at approximately $300,000. It will start life at Ford’s Flat Rock Assembly plant before Multimatic in Canada will handcraft it into the beast it is.
Found at the heart of the Mustang GTD is a purpose-developed supercharged 5.2-liter V8 with dual air inlets and a dry-sump engine oil system. Ford says this engine will rev to over 7,500 rpm and that it is targeting 800 hp, making it the most powerful Mustang ever.
As with any good track-focused weapon like this, the Mustang GTD is about much more than a powerful engine. For example, it features advanced semi-active suspension with adaptive spool valve damper technology with hydraulically actuated dual spring rate and height adjustment. The short-long arm front suspension is said to create more lateral stiffness and improved kinematics while the integral link pushrod and rocker arm architecture found at the rear is mounted within a motorsport-inspired tubular subframe.
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Complementing the trick new suspension are 20-inch forged aluminum wheels (or forged magnesium wheels) wrapped in massive 325 mm front and 345 mm rear tires. Hiding behind this aggressive wheel and tire package are Brembo carbon ceramic brakes. There is even cooling ducts mounted below the rear suspension to help aid in cooling the rear brakes.
Ford’s engineers have also worked tirelessly on the car’s aerodynamics. An underbody tray made from carbon fiber comes standard and there are hydraulically controlled front flaps to help manage air flow. The fenders, hood, trunk lid, door sills, front splitter, rear diffuser, and roof have all been made from lightweight carbon fiber and the C-pillar mounted rear wing is hydraulically controlled to alter the levels of downforce. Ford has not said how much downforce the car produces.
Photos of the car’s interior have not been released just yet. Ford says the Mustang GTD comes equipped with Recaro seats as standard as well as 3D-printed paddle shifters, a rotary dial shifter, and a serial plate made from titanium parts off a Lockheed Martin F-22 fighter jet. We also know that the rear seats have been removed and that there will be various Miko suede, leather, and carbon fiber components. Buyers will also be able to order it in any color they wish and several interior color combinations will also be offered.
“Mustang GTD shatters every preconceived notion of a supercar,” Ford chief executive Jim Farley said. “This is a new approach for us. We didn’t engineer a road car for the track, we created a race car for the road. Mustang GTD takes racing technology from our Mustang GT3 race car, wraps it in a carbon fibre Mustang body and unleashes it for the street.”
