Summary
- The Mustang GTD is a street-legal race car developed by the same team behind Ford’s Mustang race cars and the Le Mans-winning GT.
- The car features an 800-horsepower V-8 engine, a titanium active valve exhaust system, a dry sump oil system, and a racing-inspired suspension system.
- With a rear-mounted 8-speed dual-clutch transaxle and lightweight carbon-fiber construction, the GTD offers a near-perfect 50/50 weight distribution and exceptional aerodynamics, aiming for a sub-seven minute Nürburgring lap time.
As the design ethos goes, “Form follows Function”, Ford did the impossible and made form and function follow the soul of the Mustang. The Mustang GTD was born from the concept of the Mustang GT3 race car returning to Le Mans next year and will be the pinnacle of the Mustang family. It’s destined to become an iconic part of Mustang and Ford history, with the engine in the front, as it always has been.
Mustang GTD was developed by many of the same people behind Ford Mustang race cars and the Le Mans-winning GT, called Multimatic Motorsports. The team secretly assembled as a skunkworks type of set up since 2021, where it was dubbed “Project Gold”. Gathering from their years of racing legacy and experience at Le Mans, they’ve decided to unleash all their GT3 race-ready technologies onto the street.
This exclusive street-legal Race car would set you back about $300,000; availability is projected to be late 2024 till early 2025. Ford execs say that they want to meet the European supercar manufacturers, the likes of Aston Martin, Ferrari and Porsche, “punch-for-punch”, putting their best foot forward with the Mustang, as it is Ford’s most raced and most successful nameplate.
We’ve looked up data from Ford and several trustworthy websites including Road and Track and MotorTrend to put together this list of Mustang GTD features
10 The 800 Horsepower Supercharged 5.2 Liter V-8
Yep, you’ve read this correctly! The car in which Ford decided to put in an 800 horsepower V-8 engine is not the limited edition $1.7m track-only Ford GT Mk IV, as it was a send-off for the iconic halo car, it is their beloved street-ready racing Mustang. This shows how much respect the nameplate commands within the company.
The Multimatic and Ford Performance teams take a regular 2024 S650 Mustang from the Ford plant in Flat Rock, Michigan, and do their magic. The Mustang GTD utilizes a purpose-developed supercharged 5.2-liter V8 with dual air inlets, mated to a TREMEC dual clutch 8-speed automatic. Not much in terms of specifications has been announced yet, but we know that this engine is a modified version of the Predator engine we’ve seen in the 2022 Mustang Shelby GT500.
9 The Symphonic Titanium Active Valve Exhaust System
The way a car sounds is as important as the rest of the car itself. It is impossible to imagine a muscle car without the roar of a V-8 engine. Ford amplifies the 7,500 rpm redline of its monstrous engine with a titanium active valve exhaust system. Apart from the weight reduction of the optional titanium exhaust, enthusiasts will enjoy the exotic metallic resonance it provides.
Active valve exhaust systems allow drivers to vary the loudness of their exhaust systems to suit their needs, it is available as an option for all the Mustangs. The Mustang’s active valve exhaust has four settings: Quiet, Normal, Sport, and Track.
8 Dry-Sump Engine Oil System For The Demanding Corners
The race intent of the GTD shines when you imagine at how many G’s they’re expecting you to corner it at. Dry Sump oil systems are not that uncommon on supercars including the Ford GT, since it also has the added benefit of being able to mount the engine much lower for center of gravity and shallower engine bay, but this is a first for the Mustang name.
If you’re not aware, Dry sump oil systems provide many important benefits, such as the elimination of power-robbing windage, no loss of oil pressure from hard acceleration, braking or cornering, and reduced engine wear thanks to an ongoing supply of cool, clean lubricant. All of these are indispensable for racing cars which will endure excessive G-forces.
7 Racing Inspired Semi-Active Suspension System
The Ford Mustang GTD features an incredibly advanced racing transmission and groundbreaking suspension technology we’ve seen in Le Mans before. The Adaptive Spool Valve (ASV) damper technology with hydraulically actuated dual spring rate and height suspension provides separate modes for on-road and on-track performance independently.
A short-long arm front suspension provides enhanced lateral stiffness and improved kinematics. The suspension settings allow for nearly 40 mm lower ride height in Track Mode and overall has a nearly four inches wider track than the Mustang GT. Let’s hope it has that dramatic body drop like on the Ford GT.
Don’t go around expecting cargo room in the trunk, that is where the rear suspension, a hydraulic control system, and a transaxle cooling system lie. The rear suspension is a push-rod rocker arm placed horizontally, in a cross pattern, with a strong, stiff and lightweight tubular sub-frame. This race focused setup allows the Mustang GTD to have a super precise and responsive motion damping.
The skunkworks team really took this suspension design to the next level by showcasing their state-of-the-art DSSV spool valve suspension technology, with features not even allowed in racing. The Mustang GTD sets a new benchmark for road going racers.
6 A Rear-Mounted 8-Speed Dual-Clutch Transaxle For A Near Perfect 50/50 Weight Distribution
The only way to have a balanced weight distribution between the front and rear, after putting a massive engine on the front, is by taking the transmission to the back. It is imperative for front-engined super cars to have a balanced weight distribution, especially if they’re targeting the tracks.
“All the Aston Martin front-engine cars have transaxles in the back. All the Ferrari front engine cars have transaxles in the back. So we packaged a transaxle into Project Gold”, says Larry Holt, founder of Multimatic Motorsports.
And that is exactly what they did, power is transmitted through a carbon fiber driveshaft to an 8-speed dual clutch transmission built by TREMEC. The GTD features a transaxle cooler mounted on the trunk lid that cools the gearbox.
Achieving this in a Mustang presented what Holt referred to as a “smoking hard problem to solve”. Lap time drive simulations and powertrain dyno testing led to the selection of the powertrain and transaxle architecture to put power to the ground.
5 Lightweight Carbon-Fiber Construction
After taking the S650 Mustang, Multimatic completely overhauled it to reach its final form. In reality, the S650 serves more as an inspiration than a platform, the only literal carryover is the advanced electrical system architecture of the seventh-generation Mustang. The Mustang GTD is really born from the concept of the Mustang GT3 race car returning to Le Mans next year.
The Mustang GTD takes advantage of the extensive use of carbon fiber body panels to reduce weight, lower the center of gravity, and improve responsiveness, just like the GT3. The fenders, hood, cover that replaces the trunk lid, door sills, front splitter, rear diffuser, and roof are all carbon fiber with optional carbon fiber front and rear fascias. All this makes it look like an aggressive, wide-bodied ‘Stang ready to take on the streets.
4 Aerodynamics Focused Design With Venerable Down-force And Grip
Aero always defines the shape of a racing car, Ford went above and beyond with the GTD to even surpass the GT3’s caliber. The extent of work done to this Mustang is reminiscent of the 1970s Plymouth roadrunner Superbird, with its sharp nose and comically large wing. This is what a purpose-built aero-driven design of a modern muscle car looks like.
The 100-millimeter widened body of the GTD makes for an excellent aero surface, they covered all the basics from the GT3: the widened front and rear fenders are vented for better cooling of the brakes and reliving pressure off the wheel well; The carbon fiber under-body aerodynamic tray tail ended by a rear diffuser is a trick taken directly from the GT3; and of course the front splitter.
But since this car isn’t bound by FIA GT3 regulations, the engineers we’re free to use everything at their disposal. They’ve included hydraulically controlled front flaps to manage airflow for aerodynamic balance, a feature illegal in racing. The C-pillar mounted rear wing is also an active hydraulically controlled unit, with a feature we’re familiar with in F1: DRS.
3 20-Inch Lightweight Magnesium Wheels
All the earth-shattering 800 ponies need an optimally wide tire setup with maximum efficiency in order to hit their aspiration goals. Tire width on the GTD is comparable to the ones seen on the Mustang GT3. Road grip and cornering stability for the Mustang GTD come from 325 millimeters in width front tires – as wide as the rear tires of Ford GT – while the rear are 345 millimeters. The GTD features some of the largest front tires ever on a production car.
Reducing unsprung weight by reducing the weight of the wheels is customary for a GT car. Lightweight wheels are essential in providing faster acceleration, shorter stopping distances, and better handling. The GTD comes standard with forged aluminum wheels. But the magnesium wheels offer the ideal combination of weight and durability, and with a similar design to the Mustang GT3 race car.
2 Massive Brembo Carbon Ceramic Brakes
The collaboration of Ford and Brembo goes well beyond the Mustang GTD. Brembo, together with Ford, had designed a unique braking system for the road-going Ford GT whose similar technology has been proven on the Ford GT race cars that won the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Utilizing their award-winning carbon ceramic (CCM) rotors with dedicated high performance 6-piston caliper and brake pads.
We can only speculate that the Ford Mustang GTD and GT3 have that premium treatment. We know that, behind those mag wheels, are massive Brembo carbon ceramic brakes, which are optimized for heat rejection, leading to harder, more consistent stopping further into the braking zone. Rear brake heat is shed with the aid of cooling ducts mounted below the rear suspension.
1 Nürburgring Lap In Under Seven Minutes
The team came up with performance targets for a Mustang that could measure up to the likes of a Porsche 911 GT3 RS, which seems like an impossible goal and may in fact be. One of those goals is a sub-seven minute Nürburgring Lap time. The Porsche GT3 RS currently stands at 6:49.328 for road-legal cars on the Nordschleife, which is already a huge feat considering the Mercedes-AMG one is at 6:30.705.
The GTD name for this newest Mustang refers to the IMSA “GTD” racing class for cars that are built to FIA GT3 technical regulations. If Ford achieves this tremendous goal, then the Europeans will have a hard time in their home turf for the coming years.
