Ford Confirms 2025 Mustang GTD Hits 202 MPH, Packs 815 HP

2 months ago - 17 September 2024, autoevolution

The most powerful and fastest production Mustang ever has been confirmed with over 800 ponies and more than 200 miles an hour at full chatter. More specifically, Ford Motor Company promises 815 mechanical horses and 202 miles per hour, meaning 325 kilometers per hour in metric vernacular.

Coincidence or not, the starting price is 325 multiplied by 1,000 buckaroos, making the GTD the most expensive production Mustang of the lot. Speaking of production, it would be a stretch to consider the GTD a series-production vehicle over two particularities.

First and foremost, Ford's most badass pony car yet starts life as a body-in-white Mustang at the Flat Rock assembly plant in Michigan. The Dearborn-based automaker then ships these cars to Canada's Ontario Province, for the folks at Multimatic are tasked with putting the GTD together. It goes without saying that it's a very elaborate process, beginning with some rear-axle surgery to fit a Tremec-supplied transaxle with a dual-clutch setup rather than a torque-converter auto.

Save for the aluminum door skins, the rest of the bodywork is carbon fiber to keep the weight down as much as technically possible. Benchmarked against the likes of the Mercedes-AMG GT Black Series and Porsche 911 GT2 RS, the Mustang GTD further sweetens the deal with no trunk space whatsoever due to a semi-active rear suspension with a multi-link design, a transaxle cooling system, a hydraulic control system, and two air scoops that direct air from the back glass to the heat exchangers.

Given the aforementioned, are you even surprised that Ford charges $325,000 before options for the limited-run GTD? Only 2,000 examples of the breed will be produced for the entire world. More than 7,500 prospective customers expressed interest in the GTD, of which 20 percent live in North America.

More focused on handling rather than outright acceleration performance, Mustang GTD uses a rather familiar engine with a few improvements over the 5.2-liter Predator V8 of the S550-generation Shelby GT500 and the F-150 Raptor R. In this application, torque peaks at 664 pound-feet or 900 Nm as opposed to 625 pound-feet (847 Nm) and 640 pound-feet (868 Nm) for the GT500 and R.

Gifteed with Multimatic adaptive spool valve rear shocks and coilover springs integrated with a motorsport-style tubular subframe, Mustang GTD spins all the way to 7,650 revolutions per minute. Although it's not a screamer in the same vein as the naturally aspirated 5.2-liter Voodoo V8 of the GT350 and GT350R, that's plenty of revs for a blown V8 with a cross-plane crankshaft.

Ford claims the 202-mph top speed is only achievable with the Drag Reduction System active. Not only does the DRS of the Mustang GTD change the angle of the rear wing for less drag, but also works its magic on underbody flaps to balance between downforce for stability and airflow for speed.

Ford aims to lap the Nurburgring Nordschleife in less than 7 minutes with the Mustang GTD, which is a tall order because Ford's best-ranked production vehicle as of September 2024 is the first-generation Ford GT with a 7:52 posted back in 2006 by Horst von Saurma for the Germany's Sport Auto. The cars to beat are the Mercedes-AMG GT Black Series (6:43) and the 991.2-series 911 GT2 RS (6:47). The fastest production car at the Green Heel as of September 2024 is the electrified Mercedes-AMG ONE (6:30).