In America, Ford reopened buyer applications for its Mustang GTD supercar in April, but Europeans have had to wait a little longer. As of today, that wait is over, and Ford has shared new images of its reimagined Spirit of America design, introduced earlier this year in celebration of 250 years of American independence. The assymetric look combines a Performance White body with Race Red and Lightning Blue stripes, reinterpreting the Mustang tri-bar for the contemporary age, and although this color scheme may be a bit too on the nose for some European tastes, there are plenty of other options open to successful applicants.
Mustang GTD Buyers Have Plenty of Options
Ford
The European application window for the Mustang GTD is open through October 16, so interested parties have a little over a month to make their case for ownership. If successful, the Spirit of America package with its included Performance Package and Forgeline wheels is just one of many schemes available. We’ve seen Lamborghini purple and an exposed composite finish called Liquid Carbon, and if a buyer wants a unique color choice to stay that way, Ford will guarantee one-of-one status through the Exclusive Extended Color Palette Lock-Out option. Of course, all of these choices add to the final cost, and with the GTD starting at well over $300,000 in the U.S., it’ll be well over €300,000 across the pond. Still, that’s a bargain compared to the challengingly named new 637-horsepower Mercedes-AMG CLE 646 Spezialanfertigung, rumored to cost over half a million of your favorite currency. This special-edition AMG has some similar design cues and is much rarer with a 30-unit production run but is also vastly less powerful than the GTD’s advertised claim of 815 hp, which may be conservative.
Ford
With the AMG 646 beig revealed on Friday, we can’t help but wonder if Ford noticed the similarities between the Mythos-line Merc and its own creation and decided to reopen applications now to take advantage of those who may have missed out on the brutal Benz. Regardless, we’re sure Europeans are glad to have access to the GTD, especially since imported American supercars tend to become much more expensive when not acquired directly from the manufacturer.
Autoblog’s Take
Ford
The Mustang GTD acts as a halo model in the Ford Racing lineup, standing alongside cars like the Porsche 911 GT3 RS with its head held high, and having it available in Europe makes it feel even more like a global competitor to the best supercars in the world, while increasing its presence in Europe will also be beneficial in selling GT and EcoBoost models. Granted, it’s very expensive for a Mustang, especially when compared to the Corvette ZR1, but it’s as close to a racecar for the road as anything else out there, and its Nürburgring exploits have proven how capable it is in the right hands. Sure, the GTD is arguably too wide for most European back roads, but it’s most at home on a track anyway, and we hope to see several Europeans finding that out for themselves.
