When Ford CEO Jim Farley introduced the company’s plans for the 2025 Ford Mustang GTD last year, he famously said, “We didn’t engineer a road car for the track; we created a race car for the road.” Today, ahead of this weekend’s 24 Hours of Le Mans, Ford introduced the GTD’s new Performance Pack and driver-focused interior.
Why the Mustang GTD matters
Ford races. Always have and likely always will. Starting in 2025, Ford returns to F1 racing with its new partnership with Red Bull. Ford and Red Bull will work together to develop the hybrid powertrain that will propel the next-generation F1 race cars beginning in 2026. GM wants to be part of F1 racing, too, but so far hasn’t made a match with or outright purchased one of the ten teams that comprise the F1 race schedule’s 20-car lineup for the full 24-event season.
But Ford has its F1 deal in hand and promised to show up at the 24 Hours of Le Mans race with the $300K+ Mustang officially known as the 2025 Ford Mustang GTD Carbon Series. There won’t be many units of the new GTD available in the exceedingly limited edition. One doesn’t buy or order a Mustang GTD. Instead, one must apply to purchase the car.
What Ford added to the Mustang GTD
The new Mustang GTD gains a Performance pack for the car and a new driver-focused interior strategically organized and displayed to favor the driver’s control of what is frankly a beast of a car. Ford’s goal was to add the good stuff that would enable a skilled pilot to complete a full lap of the Nurburgring race circuit in under seven minutes.
The new Performance pack for the Mustang GTD includes magnesium wheels, active aerodynamics on the rear wing, new dive planes in front, and a larger splitter in the front fascia. The large active wing in the rear can drop to reduce drag when the car travels in a straight line but stays up to increase downforce in corners, similar to the DRS (downforce reduction system) wing on F1 cars.
The GTD’s interior has standard Recaro seats and adds large 3D-printed titanium paddle shifters. It also has a thick-rimmed flat-bottom steering wheel with accommodations for an array of extra driver controls. The driver can use the additional button controls to manage the GTD’s suspension firmness and exhaust mode. The larger paddle shifters will help drivers keep their hands ready to control the GTD’s greater than 800 horsepower. There are myriad additional minor tweaks in the Mustang GTD, all supporting that sub-7-minute lap time.
