The £315,000 Ford Mustang GTD is a GT3 car for the road
A collaboration between Ford Performance and Multimatic, the GTD is the most extreme road-going Mustang ever produced
Building on expertise derived from the development of its Mustang GT3 racing car, Ford Performance collaborated with Multimatic to create the limited-run Mustang GTD. While heavily inspired by its track-only relative, the model is homologated for road use, and takes advantage of the lack of class-related restrictions imposed on the racer. Following its European debut at Le Mans, Ford announced that first European cars will enter production in mid-2025, costing each buyer from £315,000.
Named after the IMSA GTD racing class (the ‘D’ standing for ‘Daytona’), the new model is designed purely for outright track performance, with a sub-7 minute Nürburgring lap the ultimate goal. With backing from Multimatic, the firm responsible for everything from the recent Mustang GT3 to the Le Mans-winning Ford GT, there’s some fascinating cutting-edge technology under its carbonfibre skin.
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In place of a practical boot space is the GTD’s semi-active DSSV (Dynamic Suspensions Spool Valve) Multimatic suspension and transaxle cooling system, with the former first introduced on the Ford GT. Thanks to hydraulic control, the system can alter ride height by almost 40mm on the fly, with the driver also able to adjust spring rate to suit the conditions. There's even a neat window where the rear seats would usually be, putting its high-tech suspension proudly on display.
On the front axle, Multimatic opted for short-long arm suspension for an increase in lateral stiffness, with the multi-link rear suspension utilising an integral link pushrod and rocker arm architecture, arranging those trick inboard shock absorbers and springs in a horizontal cross pattern.
Under the bonnet, it features a unique 800bhp 5.2-litre dry sump supercharged V8, capable of a redline in excess of 7500rpm. Driving the rear wheels only via an 8-speed dual-clutch transmission, it incorporates a new Variable Traction Control system available in track mode, designed to make its high output as accessible as possible.
While its design is a clear evolution of the latest Mustang GT, the vast majority of its bodywork is new, constructed from carbonfibre for weight savings. Elements such as a carbonfibre driveshaft (also seen in the GT500) keep weight to a minimum, while reducing the centre of gravity and contributing to near-perfect 50:50 weight distribution. Dramatic aero aside, a track width almost four inches wider than that of the standard Mustang GT certainly gives it some visual purpose.
At each corner are 20-inch forged aluminium or magnesium wheels wrapped in mammoth 325 and 345-section tyres front and rear – for comparison, the Ford GT’s rear tyres are the same width as the GTD’s fronts. Behind those wheels are Brembo carbon ceramic brakes, equipped with cooling ducts at the rear below that trick new suspension.
Strict regulations prevent GT3 racers from utilising nifty active aerodynamic solutions, but the GTD doesn’t follow those rules. In addition to a new vented bonnet, louvred arches and an aggressive fixed front splitter, the rear wing is hydraulically controlled, with an optional aerodynamics package adding a carbonfibre undertray complete with hydraulically controlled flaps for optimum balance. Also beneath the rear wing is a unique boot lid featuring dual air scoops to direct air through the transaxle’s heat exchangers.
Inside, Ford has opted for track-oriented ‘Miko suede’ (an Alcantara alternative), with leather and carbonfibre also featured throughout. Rear seats are removed for weight savings and an increase in cargo space, with the front two swapped for supportive Recaro items. The paddle shifters are 3D-printed from titanium, with the rotary shifter and numbered plaque made from retired parts from none other than Lockheed Martin’s F-22 fighter jet.
At its initial launch last year, Jim Farley, Ford president and CEO, said: ‘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 fiber Mustang body and unleashes it for the street.’
The Ford Mustang GTD will be available to a limited number of customers in the US for $300,000, and will begin to hit the road towards the end of 2024. Order books for Europe and Asia have only just opened, with these cars costing from £315,000. All examples will begin life at Ford’s Flat Rock Assembly Plant in Michigan, before Multimatic applies its touches in Markham, Canada.
