This is the quickest road-worthy Mustang… ever!

The Ford Motor Company has described the all-new 2025 Mustang GTD as “advanced” and “audacious,” as well as “an impossible dream.” Inspired by the Mustang GT3 that took on the 2024 Le Mans and finished third in the LMGT3 class, the GTD is an ultra high-performance street legal performance car that only a very few will ever enjoy.

Developed by many of the same people behind Ford’s Mustang race cars and the Le Mans-winning GT3, the GTD is a limited-production vehicle (Ford refuses to specify exactly how many GTDs they will build, but the number is limited).

According to official sources, the GTD was built at the behest of Ford President and CEO, James Farley. “Really, the genesis of Mustang GTD was Jim Farley seeing a Mustang GT3 and saying, ‘That’s great, let’s do a road-going version.’ And Chief Program Engineer Greg Goodall and his team got to work,” explains Jim Owens, Mustang Consumer Marketing Manager, Ford Motor Company.

Owens adds: “It’s a car that, for Ford, shows the importance of motorsports in a pretty dramatic way. We race to make our vehicles better, but what happens if we take the things we learned on the track and apply it to a car that doesn’t conform to any regulations? And then what if we made it road legal? You get the Mustang GTD.”

Impressive specs

With a supercharged 5.2-litre V8 under the hood producing over 800 horsepower, Ford says the GTD has been “engineered to go like hell.” In fact, it’s the highest horsepower street-legal Mustang ever developed by Ford.

Beyond the potent engine, the GTD boasts extensive use of carbon fibre in the body, a first-of-its-kind suspension that adjusts spring rate and ride height settings for track and street conditions, an eight-speed dual-clutch rear transaxle and carbon fibre driveshaft, magnesium wheels, a titanium exhaust (optional), and carbon ceramic brakes. Rear brake heat is shed with the aid of cooling ducts mounted below the rear suspension.

One of the available features is an aero package, which includes an underbody aerodynamic tray and hydraulically-controlled front flaps that manage airflow. According to Ford, these aerodynamic features provide a massive downforce, balanced across both front and rear axles. This, in turn, allows for higher cornering speeds, better control, “and incredible lap times at some of the world’s most hellish tracks.”

An exhilarating project

According to Owens, “everyone on the Mustang GTD team wakes up each morning and goes, ‘Holy cow, I can’t believe we are doing this car.’”

The GTD was designed from the get-go with racing in mind. “We planned to take the seventh-generation Mustang racing from the very start of development,” Owens says, ‘and today, we’re competing in and winning with Mustangs in series around the globe. From the 24 Hours of Le Mans to Formula Drift and Australia’s Supercar series, Mustang is one of the most raced nameplates on the planet. And the fact that we’re able to take the foundations that allow us to race in so many different series and turn it into a road–going race car that people will be able to buy—it’s the reason we all work on Mustang.”

Limited ownership

With a starting price north of $440,000 CDN, the GTD is not for everyone. “Mustang GTD is for enthusiasts who demand uncompromised performance and track-ready, race-derived technology paired with the unique sound and power of a V8 and the iconic style and soul of a Mustang,” Owens explains.

More importantly, consumers will not be able to walk into a Ford dealership and ask for a GTD. Instead, Ford has asked potential purchasers to apply online for the privilege of ownership.

“Like the Ford GT before it, we want the vehicle in the hands of customers who will embrace and engage with the vehicle in the manner with which it was designed and engineered,” Owens explains. “The Mustang GTD application window opened to the U.S. and Canada on April 17, 2024 and closed on May 22. That was for the 2025 and 2026 model years only.”

As might be expected, the GTD seems to appeal to adrenaline junkies. “In the first round of applications for the 2025 and 2026 model years, one in four applicants owns a Mustang and one in five own a competitor’s vehicle with a similar level of performance,” Owens says. “There’s significant interest from the motorsport community, too. The Mustang GTD appeals to a wide swath of the supercar market.”