{"id":246743,"date":"2023-08-17T20:30:00","date_gmt":"2023-08-18T00:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thedetroitbureau.com\/?p=246743"},"modified":"2023-08-17T17:17:12","modified_gmt":"2023-08-17T21:17:12","slug":"2025-ford-mustang-gtd-designed-to-make-the-europeans-sweat","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/2023\/08\/2025-ford-mustang-gtd-designed-to-make-the-europeans-sweat\/","title":{"rendered":"2025 Ford Mustang GTD Designed to \u201cMake the Europeans Sweat\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

When Ford rolled out the seventh-generation Mustang for the upcoming model year, it offered up three different levels of performance for the iconic pony car, with the EcoBoost, GT and Dark Horse packages. As anyone familiar with Mustangs past certainly might suspect, even more beefy editions were already under development.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Ford
Based on the GT3 track car, the 2025 Ford Mustang GTD is designed to do the unthinkable and take on the Europeans.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

But just how far Ford is taking things with the next Mustang trim in the line-up is likely to come as a shock. With unique features including a rear-mounted transmission, spool dampers, active aerodynamics and a supercharged V-8 making \u201cmore than\u201d 800 horsepower, the all-new GTD promises to deliver far more than just an incremental improvement in power, performance and handling.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Based on the GT3 track car, the 2025 Ford Mustang GTD is designed to \u201cdo the unthinkable and take on the Europeans,\u201d CEO Jim Farley said during a Thursday morning media background briefing. \u201cI want to see Porsche, I want to see Mercedes, I want to see Aston Martin sweat.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Skunkworks<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The Mustang GTD is a classic skunkworks program, developed in a metal storage garage tucked behind the Ford wind tunnel a couple miles away from Ford corporate headquarters in Dearborn, Michigan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The original plan was to come up with a next-generation Mustang GT3 race car, the sort of vehicle that could put a halo around the Ford Blue Oval.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cFrom race to road has long been a winning formula for Ford,\u201d said Jim Baumbick, the automaker\u2019s vice president of product development.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The CEO steps in<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"Ford
The Mustang GTD is a classic skunkworks program, developed in a metal storage garage tucked behind the Ford wind tunnel.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

But then Farley got involved. He\u2019s a serious racer during his off-hours and was an active proponent of earlier efforts to deliver track-level performance in street-legal vehicles like the second-generation Ford GT. This time, rather than going with an ultra-expensive exotic, the boss told the pony car team to not only develop the track car, but to come up with a street-legal package.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The marching orders meant \u201ctaking Mustang in an entirely new direction,\u201d said Baumbick, and develop \u201cthe most audacious and advanced Mustang ever.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A custom-designed engine<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The beating heart of the GTD is a custom-designed, supercharged 5.2-liter V-8 making at least 800 horsepower and what can only be described \u2014 for now \u2014 as massive amounts of torque. To get there, Ford is pulling off a number of tricks. It features twin air inlets, as well as a dry-sump oil system that can keep all the moving parts well lubed even while facing maximum Gs in a corner. Redline is \u201cmore than 7,500\u201d rpms. And there will be an \u201cavailable\u201d titanium active valve exhaust to make sure everyone within several miles can hear the roar of that eight-banger.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But one of the most novel features will be found at the back end of the GTD, connected to a carbon fiber driveshaft. This marks the first time a Mustang will feature a rear-mounted transmission, an 8-speed automatic, beefed up enough to handle all that torque.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Suspension<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Up front, the Mustang GTD goes with a short-long arm suspension to handle high cornering Gs. The rear relies on an integral link pushrod and rocker arm architecture with inboard Adaptive Spool Valve shocks \u2014 another first for a Mustang.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Ford
The beating heart of the GTD is a custom-designed, supercharged 5.2-liter V-8 making at least 800 horsepower.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

The new Mustang\u2019s semi-active suspension will be able to lower as much as 40 mm when the driver mode selector is shifted to \u201cTrack.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Of course, it all comes down to getting power to pavement. Buyers will get the choice of 20-inch forged aluminum wheels or lighter magnesium wheels. Both will be shod with grippy rubber which, at 325 mm up front, is as wide as the tires on the Ford GT. The rear tires measure 345 mm in width.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To scrub off speed, Ford has opted for massive Brembo carbon-ceramic brakes. And the body features rear cooling ducts to help shed some of the heat they\u2019re invariably going to build up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Controlling weight and drag were critical steps<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Aerodynamics play a critical role in maximizing performance, of course. There\u2019ll be a smooth underbody, and a number of active aero parts, too, including a front flap and a big wing attached to the C-pillar.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Much of the GTD\u2019s body will be made of \u201ccarbon fiber body panels to reduce weight lower the center of gravity and improve responsiveness,\u201d said chief engineer Greg Goodall. These include the roof, fenders, hood, trunk lid, door sills, front splitter and rear diffuser. There are optional CF front and rear ends, as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wherever possible, Ford engineers also replace traditional interior panels and parts with carbon fiber alternatives. And the GTD introduces 3-D titanium parts in the form of the pony car\u2019s paddle shifters, rotary dial shifter and serial plate. In an intriguing touch, the titanium comes from \u201cretired Lockheed Martin F22 parts.\u201d  To further reduce weight, the rear seats have been stripped out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Ford
The 2025 Ford Mustang GTD will make its debut in \u201clate 2024 or early 2025, as a 2025 model.\u201d<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

While performance is key, the Mustang GTD does get a touch of luxury, with Miko suede and leather. And there are Recaro sport seats to firmly keep front occupants in their place.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Taking on the ‘Ring<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

To get a sense for what Ford expects all that to deliver, the company is aiming to \u201cgo much, much faster than we\u2019ve ever gone before with a targeted sub-7-minute N\u00fcrburgring time,\u201d said Goodall<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We\u2019ve seen Detroit make big promises before. There was the Dodge Challenger Demon making 900 horsepower. But it was really just a dragstrip racer barely legal enough to drive out to the track. Ford wants the Mustang GTD to dominate everywhere it goes, whether on the street or a street course.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ironically, said Goodall, there\u2019s currently no race series in which all the GTD\u2019s goodies would be legal. It would take setting up a unique, factory-sponsored series \u2014 something TheDetroitBureau.com was privately told is not in the cards. Not yet, anyway.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Timing and pricing<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The 2025 Ford Mustang GTD will make its debut in \u201clate 2024 or early 2025, as a 2025 model,\u201d said Mustang brand boss Jim Owens.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Production will start out at the Mustang plant in Flat Rock, Michigan. But, not surprisingly, the partially assembled vehicles will be shipped to Markham, Ontario, for completion at the same Multimatic plant that had build both generations of the Ford GT.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to Owens, Ford will use the same application process it set up for the GT, an approach nearly as top as one might expect when adopting a baby.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And the sticker for the new pony car will again remind some folks of the GT. Look for the 2025 Mustang GTD to carry a starting price of \u201capproximately $300,000 GTP.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Ford currently offers three levels of Mustang, now there’s a fourth: the GTD. A snarling beast that’s bad it’s not even race legal. Check it out at TheDetroitBureau.com.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":246766,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[7,8,5,1608,1164,2648,969,1347],"tags":[11981,521,11983,11984,11982],"make":[],"post-state":[],"category_old":[],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/246743"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=246743"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/246743\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":246770,"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/246743\/revisions\/246770"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/246766"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=246743"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=246743"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=246743"},{"taxonomy":"make","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/make?post=246743"},{"taxonomy":"post-state","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/post-state?post=246743"},{"taxonomy":"category_old","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/category_old?post=246743"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}