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While acceleration times like 0-60 and quarter-mile times are useful and well-established, the ultimate performance metric for a high-performance vehicle is how fast it can lap the Nürburgring in Germany. Benna Ford is pleased to announce that the Ford Mustang GTD has entered an extremely exclusive club by lapping the “ring” in under seven minutes. Only six production models worldwide can claim to be in the “Under seven” club; the Mustang GTD is the only one from America. The specifics are this: On December 10, 2024, the 815-horsepower Mustang GTD, driven by Multimatic Motorsports driver Dirk Müller, completed the 12.9-mile 73-turn lap in 6 minutes, 57.685 seconds. This marks an achievement of a goal stated by Ford CEO Jim Farley at the Mustang GTD’s debut in August 2023. “The team behind Mustang GTD took what we’ve learned from decades on the track and engineered a Mustang that can compete with the world’s best supercars,” said Ford President and CEO Jim Farley. “We’re proud to be the first American automaker with a car that can lap the Nürburgring in under seven minutes, but we aren’t satisfied. We know there’s much more time to find with Mustang GTD. We’ll be back.” Ford has produced several blisteringly fast Mustangs in the past couple of decades, and some Shelby Mustangs even have greater horsepower than the GTD. However, even they aren’t as race-track-bred as the Mustang GTD. It began with the Ford Mustang GT3 race car, developed by Ford Performance and Multimatic Motor Sports, to compete in IMSA endurance races, such as the 24 Hours of LeMans, 12 Hours at Sebring, and 24 Hours of Daytona. The goal was to create a high-performance production car inspired by and derived from the Mustang GT3. This is a more challenging task than it sounds. Not only do production cars need to meet all manner of Department of Transportation and NHTSA safety standards, but the engine can’t be expected to be rebuilt after every long day of driving, as in a race car. At the heart of the Mustang GTD (taking its name from the GT Daytona IMSA class) is a Ford Performance-engineered 5.2-liter naturally aspirated (non-turbo or supercharged) V8 tuned to achieve 815 horsepower.  The engine features a dry sump oil system to prevent oil starvation on fast curves and is the first dry sump fitted to a production Mustang.  The V8 is paired with an 8-speed dual-clutch transaxle driving and is located between the rear wheels to help produce a 40/40 weight distribution. The chassis features a semi-active suspension with short-long arm geometry up front to handle High-G cornering, while carbon-ceramic brakes slow things down when necessary. Much of the body is made of carbon fiber panels, including the large rear wing, which forms road-gripping downforce at speed. As mandated by the Nürburgring, the production car was fitted with a competition seat with a five-point harness and a roll cage. Ford plans a limited run of about 1,000 Mustang GTDs. With a starting MSRP of about $325,000, it is more than a mere step up from a Mustang GT, so you will unlikely find one in Benna Ford’s inventory. That said, it is a testament to Ford’s engineering prowess and is an example of lessons learned on the track finding their way into production cars.

Picture this: A dark, damp room. It’s in the basement of a normal looking warehouse. There’s a door with a keypad, a place to swipe a badge and a retinal scan. But that’s just the beginning. Behind that door is a hallway that leads to another, larger door. There’s no keypad. There is no retinal scan, or place to swipe a badge. No, this door is only opened by you uttering a phrase that changes every week. It knows the sound of your voice. If it’s not your voice, an alarm sounds, and a dozen armed guards come to take you away. Impossible Mission? That kind of sounds like a plot for Ethan Hunt and the Impossible Mission Force. While it’s a dramatization, the Ford Skunkworks team does meet in a very remote area behind a giant wind tunnel where no one can really see what goes on. Watch Out Europe, Here We Come In this case, it was to develop a car that would spare no expense at taking on the best pure track machine that Europe has to offer: The Porsche 911 GT3 RS. That’s the car that everyone sets out to take the throne from, but while some come close, most miss the mark. However, the Mustang GTD has something up its sleeve. “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,” said Jim Farley, Ford president and CEO. Engine & Racing Tech The GTD is powered by a Supercharged 5.2-liter V8 that is promised to produce at least 800 horsepower and features a giant hydraulically-activated Drag Reduction System (DRS) wing that is attached to the body, plus active aerodynamics under the front of the car. There will be no back seats or trunk space, as the trunk will be taken up by rear suspension components. 50/50 Weight Distribution In order to make as close to a 50/50 weight distribution as possible, the Mustang GTD has a transaxle, which is a way to combine your transmission, rear axle, and differential for weight balance. It will have only one gearbox: an 8-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission. Production The Mustang GTD is produced by Ford at the Mustang plant in Flat Rock, Michigan, and then shipped to Markham, Ontario, Canada, the home of famed automotive engineering manufacturer Multimatic, the same company that redesigned the suspension for the latest generation Ford GT, using their incredible Adaptive Spool Valve dampers. Born From Jets Recycled titanium from retired F-22 Raptor jets is used to create the paddle shifters and door sills. There will also be an optional titanium exhaust. When asked what makes the Mustang GTD so special, Mark Rushbrook, global director of Ford Performance Motorsports, said, “We obsessed about the racing technology under its skin. What makes it go is even more compelling than what you can see when it passes you by. When you look at the engineering, the aerodynamics, how the powertrain works, the Mustang GTD is a rocketship for the road.” The Nürburgring Ford is aiming for a sub-7 minute lap time on the Nürburgring, the 12.49-mile German public highway that is used to qualify how great a streetcar is on a race track. It is one of the most dangerous tracks in the world, and it is also one of the longest. The lap time of the current generation 992.1 911 GT3 RS is 6:44.848. This is a car you can go into any dealership and buy and drive home. The Mustang GTD aims to be the answer for customers who don’t want a Porsche. Race Car First Since it was actually developed to race in the GTD racing class for the IMSA Weathertech Sportscar Championship here in America, it will also compete at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Both series will involve the Mustang taking on the likes of BMW, Porsche, Mercedes-Benz AMG, Ferrari, and the like. Cost The Mustang GTD will cost at least $300,000 and fully debut by early 2025. At Benna Ford, we offer some of the best prices and services to all of our customers. With more than 100 new and used vehicles to choose from, our great sales team and finance department will work hard to make sure you drive away happy. And our amazing service department will take care of your new-to-you vehicle as if it were their own.