Ford Mustang GTD officially unveiled with 800 hp, $300,000 price tag and sub-7-minute Nürburgring time target

The limited-edition Ford Mustang GTD, the ultimate road-going version of the beloved pony car, was unveiled just a day after it leaked online. According to Ford, the Mustang GTD 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 top of the Mustang family.

The Mustang GTD is a track-focused street car in the purest sense of the word. It borrows technology directly from the GT3 race car, and Ford says it is targeting a sub-7-minute Nurburgring Nordschleife lap time. Given its performance focus, it comes as little surprise that prices are expected to start at around $300,000. It will begin life at Ford's Flat Rock Assembly Plant before being handcrafted into the beast it is by Multimatic in Canada.

Ford engineers have worked tirelessly on the car's aerodynamics. A carbon fiber underbody tray is standard, and there are hydraulically controlled front flaps to help manage airflow. The fenders, hood, trunk lid, door sills, front splitter, rear diffuser and roof are all made of lightweight carbon fiber, and the C-pillar-mounted rear wing is hydraulically controlled to vary the amount of downforce. Ford did not say how much downforce the car produces.

“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.” Ford chief executive Jim Farley said.     

At the heart of the Mustang GTD is a purpose-built, supercharged 5.2-liter V8 with dual air intakes and a dry-sump engine oil system. Ford says this engine will rev to over 7,500 rpm and is rated at 800 horsepower, making it the most powerful Mustang ever.

Like any good track-focused weapon, the Mustang GTD is about more than just a powerful engine. For example, it features advanced semi-active suspension with adaptive spool valve damper technology with hydraulically operated dual spring rate and height adjustment. The short-long arm front suspension is said to provide greater lateral stiffness and improved kinematics, while the integral link pushrod and rocker arm architecture found at the rear is mounted in a motorsport-inspired tubular subframe.

Complementing the sophisticated new suspension are 20-inch forged aluminum wheels (or forged magnesium wheels) wrapped in massive 325 mm tires front and 345 mm tires rear. Behind this aggressive wheel and tire package are Brembo carbon-ceramic brakes. There are even cooling ducts under the rear suspension to help cool the rear brakes.

No interior photos have been released yet. According to Ford, the Mustang GTD has Recaro seats, 3D-printed paddle shifters, a rotary dial shifter, and a serial plate crafted from titanium parts taken from a Lockheed Martin F-22 fighter jet. It is also known that the rear seats have been taken out and that there will be various Miko suede, leather, and carbon fiber components. Customers can order it in any color they want, and multiple interior color combinations will also be offered.

Source: Ford