The Ford Mustang GTD has just rewritten the record books at the Nürburgring Nordschleife. A lighter, more powerful, more aerodynamic GTD Competition variant has reset the benchmark with a time of 6:40.835 around the Green Hell, beating the GTD’s previous time by 11 seconds and the Corvette ZR1X’s time (6:49.275) by over eight seconds to become the fastest American car at the circuit, the second fastest production car ever to run the course—behind only the Mercedes-AMG ONE hypercar (6:29.090)—and the sixth fastest for the Nürburgring Pre-Production/Prototype Class. You can watch an on-board video of the record at the bottom of this article.
The news confirms a rumor from last month and is particularly impressive since the AMG ONE is a hypercar produced in collaboration with a Formula One team, and the ZR1X is an all-wheel-drive hypercar with 1,250 horsepower. So how did Ford do it, and can the Corvette team snatch it back again?
Mustang GTD Competition Gets Lighter, Slipperier, and More Powerful
The 5.2-liter supercharged V8 under the GTD Competition’s hood has been enhanced with both hardware updates and more aggressive tuning to deliver more than the original GTD’s 815 hp, says Ford, though an exact figure was not revealed. As the likes of Hennessey have shown, the 5.2-liter supercharged Predator engine is capable of four-figure output, but we’ll have to wait to find out just how far Ford pushed the limits. The GTD team worked on the aerodynamics, too, with a modified rear wing, secondary front dive planes, and carbon fiber aero discs on the rear wheels (like on a Porsche 911 GT3 RS Manthey Racing), enhancing downforce while minimizing drag. There’s also new rubber on the wheels, which have lost weight and are made of magnesium, and the damper system is lighter, too. Inside, new carbon bucket seats further strip weight, among other undisclosed upgrades.
While Ford is keeping its cards close to its chest, it does say the GTD Competition remains street-legal, and it’ll be offered to the public. Speaking of, Ford today reopens the application window for North American customers who want a chance to buy the GTD. So, can Chevy fight back and reclaim its title? Probably.
Chevy Has to Make One Change to Go Faster at the Nürburgring
While the Blue Oval points out that Ford Racing and Multimatic factory driver Dirk Müller is a former professional racing driver, the Corvette ZR1 and ZR1X times were achieved by engineers, not pros, and it’s therefore safe to assume that GM may be able to reclaim the title of fastest American car around the Nordschleife with a Nordschleife specialist at the wheel. Perhaps because of this, Ford notes that this more extreme Mustang GTD Competition was also taken around the course by engineer Steve Thompson, who has done fewer than 40 laps of the Green Hell, and he set a time of 6:49.337, which is still quicker than Müller’s original record and just a fraction behind the ZR1X’s time. Clearly, Ford recognizes just how tight the friendly competition is, but for now, it’s the undisputed American king of the ‘Ring.
