The often-said motorsport marketing mantra of “win on Sunday, sell on Monday” rarely ever rings true in an era of exotic composite materials and hybrid power units. Ford aims to reverse that trend with its new street-legal ultra-high-performance Mustang developed in parallel with its upcoming Le Mans GT3 pony car. Though, I can’t earnestly say that it’s simply a road-going version of the GT3 racer, because the 2025 Ford Mustang GTD is better.
The Mustang GTD moniker is a reference to IMSA’s GTD class, North America’s more prestigious category for GT3 racing. Aerodynamically, the two Mustang models share various similarities to maximize performance. The GTD is wrapped in carbon-fiber body panels to lower the car’s center of gravity and is even fitted with a massive rear wing. Anthony Colard, Ford Performance design manager, said in a release, “Our design team worked in conjunction with the Mustang GT3 design team and the aero team, sharing solutions between race car and road car, and vice versa. This is an aerodynamics-driven design.” The GTD is a lot scarier under its carbon-clad skin.
The 2024 Mustang GT3 will race with a naturally-aspirated 5.4-liter V8 engine, which will produce around 500 horsepower. The Ford Mustang GTD isn’t hindered by the rules and regulations imposed by racing’s governing bodies. Ford fitted the street-legal GTD with a supercharged 5.2-liter V8 engine that will put out an estimated 800 horsepower.
Ford’s attempt to build a two-seater Mustang supercar doesn’t stop with the powertrain. The storage space in the truck has been removed to place several other components: the semi-active inboard-mounted rear suspension, the hydraulic control system, and a transaxle cooling system. The GTD will be available with an optional active aerodynamic package with a hydraulically-controlled rear wing and front flaps.
Ford hopes the Mustang GTD will run a sub-seven-minute lap around the Nürburgring. The limited-edition GTD will become available in late 2024 for the eye-watering price of $300,000. The price for the most technologically advanced Mustang ever built might be worth it.