800-bhp Mustang GTD becomes Ford’s most powerful road-legal car

The £230,000 limited-edition special will go toe-to-toe with the Porsche 911 GT3 RS and Mercedes-AMG GT R Pro at the Nurburgring.

It took us over half a century to get Ford’s eminent pony car in right-hand-drive UK guise, but in 2016 the blue oval finally gave into demand and offered it. However, while this whet our appetite for muscle cars, it left us Europeans hungry for more. In particular, it was the elusive cobra-badged cars such as the GT350 and GT500, with their beefier power and more aggressive styling which we craved the most.

Now though, in a recent and unexpected turn of events, Ford has revealed an all-new three-letter nameplate destined to dethrone the GT500. It’s called the GTD, and it will be coming to the UK – albeit in extremely limited numbers.

First things first, let’s address the elephant in the room: that new name. Ford says the title derives from the racing class which inspires much of the technology and design for the new hardcore road car. But, on this side of the pond, such nomenclature conjures images of a mildly warmed-up diesel VW Golf.

Predictably (and fortunately) Ford hasn’t dropped a 4-pot oil-burner into the new apex Mustang though. Quite the opposite in fact: the most powerful ‘Stang ever is home to a 5.2-litre supercharged V8 which can spin to over 7,500 rpm. That’s much more like it.

That enormous power figure is just the first chapter of the GTD’s story. Like all-good skunkworks projects the new model is said to have been devised by just a handful of Ford employees with one inspiring, common goal: ‘design a Mustang to take on the best of European sports cars.’

It’s a bold mission statement, so have they succeeded? Well, to torture an old motoring trope, the GTD is literally a racing car for the road.

Starting with the exterior, almost nothing is shared with the standard car. Carbonfibre has been used liberally in the body accounting for a significantly reduced kerb weight and centre of gravity. The aerodynamics have been carefully considered too, with an active rear wing that’s so effective it would be illegal for use in motorsport.

Combine this extra downforce with a trick, semi-active suspension, a 100mm wider track width, and tyre widths akin to a road roller (325mm front / 345mm rear) and the ultimate Mustang should be almost unstickable on the world’s most demanding tracks.

When it comes to absolute grip, a tyre’s compound and tread pattern is just as important as its size. Ford’s racing division understands this of course, hence why the 20-inch forged aluminum wheels (magnesium items are also optional) are seen here wearing Michelin’s supremely focused and uncompromising, track-ready, Pilot Sport Cup 2R tyres.

As you can tell, Ford has pulled out all the stops for the GTD, and it’s seriously confident in the finished product’s ability to dominate the competition. In fact, company CEO, Jim Farley, has even issued a personal invitation goading other car company bosses to race him in their fastest machine.

In their pursuit of speed, they haven’t forgotten to honour the car’s fighter-plane roots either. Those lucky few who take delivery will be able to brag that their rotary gear selector and serial plate are all made of parts from a Lockheed-Martin F22 jet.

Tubular spaceframes and titanium aircraft parts aside though, the new GTD can be succinctly summarised in a single line from Ford’s media literature: it’s simply ‘engineered to go like hell’.

Do you think the new GTD has what it takes to smash through the 7-minute barrier at the ‘ring? Watch this space to find out.

Hero image credit: Ford