Ford debuted an all new-Mustang tonight at the Pebble Beach Concours in California, one unlike any before it.
Here’s the first paragraph of the press release for the 2025 Mustang GTD, heavy on the drama:
“Deep inside a metal storage garage hidden behind a wind tunnel building in Allen Park, Michigan, a handful of team members gathered in 2021 for a new, after-hours mission that on paper felt like an impossible dream: Design a Mustang to take on the best of European sports cars. The result is a limited-edition, ultra high-performance street-legal performance car with the soul of a Mustang. Debuting today is the all-new 2025 Ford Mustang GTD, a technological tour de force inspired by the Mustang GT3 slated to race in Le Mans next year.”
OK, here are the answers to the questions you have. The GTD name refers to the IMSA “GTD” racing class for cars that are built to FIA GT3 regulations. And, unlike rumours we’ve noted elsewhere, the Mustang GTD is not mid-engined. It will cost about $300,000 (£240,000), before options, and be available late in 2024 or early 2025.
The Mustang GTD is a full-fledged supercar, Ford insists.
“This is our company. We’re throwing down the gauntlet and saying, ‘Come and get it.’ We’re comfortable putting everybody else on notice. I’ll take track time in a Mustang GTD against any other auto boss in their best road car,” says part-time amateur racer and full-time Ford President and CEO, Jim Farley.
The wings, bonnet, the cover that replaces the boot lid, the door sills, front splitter, rear diffuser and roof are all made from carbon fibre with optional carbon fibre front and rear fascias. An available aero package that includes a comprehensive underbody aerodynamic tray is also done in carbon fibre and includes features pioneered in motorsports, as well as some technology that would be illegal in racing, such as hydraulically controlled front flaps to manage airflow for aerodynamic balance in coordination with the hydraulic active rear wing.
The car will begin life at the Flat Rock, Michigan, factory and be sent to Multimatic in Canada for finishing. Multimatic, of course, built the Ford GT and handles much of Ford’s sports car racing.
Where there once was a trunk is now the semi-active suspension, a hydraulic control system, and a transaxle cooling system. A cover replaces the boot lid and includes two air scoops to funnel air off the back glass into the area and through the heat exchangers.
Farley continues: “Mustang GTD shatters every preconceived notion of a supercar. 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.”
“We obsessed about the racing technology under its skin. What makes it go is even more compelling than what you can see when it passes you by. When you look at the engineering, the aerodynamics, how the powertrain works, the Mustang GTD is a rocket ship for the road,” says Mark Rushbrook, global director of Ford Performance Motorsports.
“The hardware has been carefully selected and developed to enable blistering lap time performance. The target for this project was clear – go much, much faster than we’ve ever gone before, with a targeted sub-7-minute Nürburgring time. This makes it the fastest road-going Mustang ever from Ford,” says Greg Goodall, Ford chief program engineer.
The Mustang GTD uses a purpose-built and supercharged 5.2-litre V8 with dual air inlets. With its 800+ bhp (Ford has yet to nail down an exact figure) it’s the highest-horsepower street-legal Mustang ever. It also features the first dry-sump engine oil system fitted to a road-going Mustang, helping keep the engine lubricated during sustained and demanding cornering. The engine’s more than 7500rpm redline “generates exceptional notes through the available titanium active valve exhaust system.”
Road grip and cornering stability for the Mustang GTD come from 325mm front tires – as wide as the rear tires of the Ford GT – while the rear are 345mm, and mounted on 20-inch forged aluminium wheels or available forged magnesium wheels. Brakes are Brembo carbon-ceramics.
Power is sent from the engine to the rear wheels through a carbon-fibre driveshaft connected to an eight-speed rear transaxle for near 50:50 weight distribution between the front and rear. Lap time drive simulations and powertrain dyno testing led to the selection of the powertrain and transaxle architecture to put power to the ground.
The cockpit features premium materials including Miko suede paired with leather and carbon fiber, while digital displays aim to keep drivers engaged and in full command. Recaro seats optimized for track work are complemented by available 3D-printed titanium paddle shifters, rotary dial shifter, and serial plate, all made from retired Lockheed Martin F-22 titanium parts. The rear seating area has been removed to reduce weight and provide cargo space.
The 2025 Ford Mustang GTD can also be ordered in any color, or even color-matched to a customer-provided sample. These customizable options allow buyers to personalize their example should they choose to make it entirely unique.
Farley gets the last word: “Mustang GTD represents the very best of Ford Motor Company and what our team needs to do every day. This is what happens when we take what we’re good at and push the boundaries to see where the bubble stops. It represents the essence of the transformation we’re going through at Ford, from software to special edition cars.”
Wow 😮 . I cannot wait to see this destroy the competition l
Beautiful car, can’t believe it’s s mustang but have to say every part it perfect apart from the alloys. They just don’t work, they don’t look right!