Ford Introduces Most Powerful Mustang Of Them All, The GTD

Ford introduces its most powerful street-legal Mustang, the GTD, based on its Le Mans racer.

There’s an old ballad that has the line “just one look” as part of the refrain. The ballad talks about how all it took was just one look on the part of the singer and he was smitten with the beauty he saw.

In a similar vein, all it took, apparently, was just a look and Jim Farley, chief executive officer of Ford, was smitten with the looks of the Ford Mustang GT3 race car. Farley, according to Car and Driver (CD) looked at the clay mockup of the racer and that was it. He decided “to turn it into a road car.” The reason he ordered it built was because of a “desire to win Le Mans with a Mustang. The GT3 racer is that car. It is set to race at Le Mans next year.

There’s More To This Story Than Meets The Eye

There was more to this story, though. You see Ford also decided to build a street-legal version of the GT3. Called the Ford Mustang GTD, the 800-horsepower street-legal version of the GT3 will debut next year as a (link1) 2025 version. The GT3 will debut at next year’s 24 House of Daytona and then will head overseas to Le Mans.

Not having to think about the homologation rules needed to make cars ready for the high-octane world of Le Mans racing, Ford made the decision to give the GTD more horsepower than it gave to the GT3 which was constrained by the rules of the series in which the GT3 will race, says CD.

A limited edition, the Mustang GTD will set a potential buyer back $300,000. As CD noted, the Blue Oval

Unhindered by racing rules, the GTD street car will have more power (approximately 800 horsepower) and active aerodynamic features that are illegal in the series Ford will race the Mustang GT3 in. Ford “intends for this super ’Stang to take on the best track cars in the world.”

Or, as Ford’s Farley “puts it, ‘It’s for AMG Black, Aston Martin, Porsche GT3 RS. We want to beat it [the GT3 RS] at Le Mans, but we [also] want to beat it as a street car.’”

Ford Performance + Multimatic = Mustang GTD

The GTD represents the combined work of Ford Performance and Multimatic. It “starts life as a body-in-white run-of-the-mill Mustang that leaves the model’s Flat Rock, Michigan plant and heads north toward Multimatic’s factory in Canada.”

Next, the transformation of the Mustang begins in earnest when the rear of the Mustang “shell undergoes surgery to fit the GTD’s transaxle, which contains a Tremec eight-speed dual-clutch transaxle. A transaxle cooler, mounted onto the trunk lid, chills the gearbox.” Ford told CD there’s still “some trunk space under the transaxle-cooler’s ducting and radiator” though they couldn’t see it.

When they fit the “transaxle that connects the front-mounted engine via a carbon-fiber shaft,” the balance of the GTD’s weight is shifted backward. Ford told CD that this gives the GTD a near-perfect Fitting a transaxle that connects to the front-mounted engine via a carbon-fiber prop shaft shifts the balance of weight rearward. Ford claims the GTD has a near-perfect 50-50 front-rear balance. This “compares quite favorably with the Mustang Shelby GT.

Though the GTD’s weight is right now under wraps, the GTD has lots of weight savings. For example, the GTD uses aluminum “door skins,” while the rest of the sports car is made of carbon fiber.

As CD noted, exposed carbon-fiber panels are under active consideration, similar to the GT supercar. “However, such an option may ultimately prove too complicated and expensive.”

The Secretariat of Ford Mustangs

As CD noted, there is little doubt that the GTD will really haul. “Motivation comes courtesy of a slightly modified version of the Shelby GT500’s supercharged 5.2-liter V-8. In GTD guise, the blown bent eight ought to make around 800 horsepower – up from the GT500’s 760 horsepower – and redline at 7,500 rpm.”

“A dry-sump oil system should allow the engine to keep all eight cylinders sufficiently lubricated on the track. Even with this addition, the engine maintains the same mounting position as the GT500. An available titanium exhaust made by Akrapovic blows hot air out of two large pipes that protrude from the rear fascia,” CD continued.

Further, the performance book assumed “the GTD includes a launch-control system so it can make the most of the traction provided by the mammoth 345/30ZR-20 Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 R rear tires.” Meanwhile, the front end is fitted with 325/30ZR-20 tires. These are among the widest “tires we can recall seeing fit to the front end of a production car.”

Multimatic's suspension “makes the most of the tires’ grip.” Meanwhile, the “spool-valve (ASV) dampers pair with a new unequal-length control arm front suspension, while the rear end incorporates a pushrod-style multilink setup that works with inboard-mounted ASV dampers and coil springs.”

“Forged aluminum wheels come standard, but even lighter forged magnesium wheels are optionally available to further reduce unsprung weight. Massive carbon-ceramic brake rotors hide behind the GTD's wheels. Dedicated cooling ducts help keep the front rotors from overheating,” CD continued.

GTD Brings the Wing

Meanwhile, with the push of a button, “the GTD's body drops approximately 1.6 inches to make the most of its aerodynamic package. The massive wing hanging off the C-pillar is an optional extra.” The wing comes with a ”hydraulically controlled active drag-reduction system (DRS) to increase downforce when necessary.”

The GTD uses pressure-reducing vents “in the front fenders and hood [that] look like pieces pulled from a dedicated Le Mans racer.” According to CD, for “those wanting the most extreme aero package, Ford will offer a carbon-fiber underbody that comes with hydraulically actuated, active front flaps.”

“In person, the GTD is shockingly wide, with aggressive fender sculpting. The four-inch wider track, aggressive stance, and improved proportions of the approximately $300,000 Mustang variant made the Shelby GT500 that Ford parked nearby the GTD, look like Danny DeVito to the GTD's Arnold Schwarzenegger,” CD said whimsically.

Here are some other impressions that CD had of the just-introduced GTD:

• The GTD sported the latest Mustang gauge cluster
• The GTD also carried the Mustang’s large infotainment screens
• The GTD also sports Recaro-style racing seats in the front. There are no rear seats
• The GTD also sports a 3-D-printed rotary shifter
• The GTD sports titanium shifter paddles made from parts of a Lockheed-Martin F-22

According to CD, Ford is planning to manufacture between 1,000 and 2,000 of the GTD.

I have been an automotive writer since 1971 when an otherwise normal news editor said \"You're our new car editor,\" and dumped about 27 pounds of auto stuff on my desk. I was in heaven as I have been a gearhead from my early days. As a teen, I spent the usual number of misspent hours hanging out at gas stations Shell and Texaco (a big thing in my youth) as well as working on cars. From there on it was a straight line to my first column for the paper, \"You Auto Know,\" an enterprise that I handled faithfully for 32 years. Not too many people know that while I was writing YAN, I also handled computer documentation for a good part of my living. My best writing, though, was always in cars. My work has appeared in venues including Popular Mechanics, Mechanix Illustrated, AutoWeek, SuperStock, Trailer Life, Old Cars Weekly, Special Interest Autos and others. You can follow me on: Twitter or Facebook.