Since the launch of the seventh-generation Mustang for 2024, Ford has been rolling out exciting new variants of its classic pony car. Not only was the Mach 1 replaced by the new Dark Horse with its 500 hp Coyote V8, but Ford has also added a veritable stable of dedicated race cars based on the new S650 chassis. The Dark Horse S and Dark Horse R are track-only variants of the Dark Horse you can find at Ford dealerships, while the Mustang GT4 and Mustang GT3 are designed for professional racing teams competing at the highest levels of motorsports. Now, Ford has unveiled a street-legal version of the Mustang GT3 that shatters expectations of what the Mustang can be.
The new 2025 Mustang GTD is not your normal Mustang. Rather than being a rowdy and affordable muscle car, this new model is a dialed-in track weapon designed to provide supercar performance for the ultra-wealthy. It is in an entirely different class than even the Shelby models like the GT350 and GT500, both on the track and when it comes to its eye-watering $300,000 price tag. In fact, it is a direct successor to the Ford GT supercar, combining the legacies of Ford’s two greatest sports cars. Needless to say, you won’t be seeing many of them on the road. However, this unique Mustang model shows what the S650 chassis is capable of and hints at possible future developments for the Mustang line.
Bringing Motorsports to the Street
For those unfamiliar with the world of grand touring car racing, the GT3 class represents the pinnacle of street car-based race cars. These models are based on production two-door sports cars like the Ferrari 296, Porsche 911, Lamborghini Huracan, McLaren 720S, and Aston Martin Vantage and compete in series like the Le Mans Cup, IMSA SportsCar Championship, Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters, and Super Taikyu. Ford has never been a major player in the GT3 series, but that is set to change with the new Mustang GT3. In order to celebrate its new push into GT3 racing and capitalize on the effort spent developing its new GT3 car, Ford has gone full circle and launched a street-legal version of the Mustang GT3, bringing motorsports back to the street.
Make no mistake; the 2025 Mustang GTD is not a mere “motorsports-inspired” model. This is a true supercar that brings many motorsports-exclusive technologies to the street. It starts with an aggressively aerodynamic body that is lifted almost directly from the Mustang GT3, including massive vents around the wheel wells to improve airflow and help cool the massive carbon ceramic Brembo brakes. A massive rear wing is frame-mounted to the C pillars and incorporates hydraulically-controlled active aero elements to maximize downforce through corners while reducing drag on straights. This is paired with less obvious but equally important front active aero flaps to keep the car balanced. In fact, because the GTD is not constrained by the GT3 rule set, it actually has better aero than the dedicated race car.
Diving Under the Skin
If the looks of the 2025 Mustang GTD are a radical departure from classic Mustangs, what’s under the skin is even more dramatic. The car is powered by a massive 5.2L supercharged V8 engine producing over 800 hp (which is several hundred ponies more than the GT3 car’s non-supercharged 5.2L). However, this is no overpowered muscle car that can’t turn. All of that power is sent to the rear wheels through a rear-mounted eight-speed dual-clutch transaxle (similar technology to what the new C8 Corvette uses). Not only does this provide incredibly fast gear changes, but it shifts the mass of the car rearward for perfect 50/50 weight distribution. Speaking of the rear wheels, the GTD comes with 345-width rear tires on available 20-inch forged magnesium wheels (the GT500 only came with 315-width rear tires).
Those rear wheels are kept firmly glued to the ground because of an incredible Multimatic semi-active suspension system that occupies the entire rear trunk. This suspension incorporates DSSV spool valve technology and can adjust both spring rate and rate height, dropping the car by 40mm in Track Mode. Because the coilover dampers are arranged horizontally rather than vertically, the car provides a superior cornering grip and more predictable motion. The car is also kept light through the extensive use of carbon fiber and titanium, including a carbon fiber driveshaft and titanium exhaust. However, perhaps the coolest feature of the Mustang GTD is that the paddle shifters, rotary dial shifter, and serial plate are all made from titanium originally used on the F-22 Raptor stealth fighter!
A New American Legend
With the 2025 Mustang GTD, Ford is taking an all-American car to new heights to challenge the European supercar brands. Not only will the Mustang GT3 run at the 24 Hours of LeMans in an attempt to relive Ford’s historic victories in that race during the 1960s, but Ford has implied that the Mustang GTD will be traveling to the Nurburgring for an official run. The new car is claimed to be able to lap the Green Hell in under seven minutes, but exactly how far under remains to be seen. The fastest lap from an American car is the 2017 Dodge Viper ACR, which put down a 7:01 in unofficial testing. So even if it is unlikely that the Mustang GTD will unseat the Mercedes-AMG One with its blistering 6:30.705, it will almost undoubtedly take the title of the fastest American street car on the Nurburgring. This car may be a departure from the Mustangs of old, but it is a new chapter we can all cheer for.
