Flip your audio system up. A throaty V-8 symphony is not unusual on the Nurburgring, but it surely’s often related to the likes of Mercedes-AMG. An American muscle automobile is uncommon throughout official testing periods, however the Ford Mustang GTD is not like any muscle automobile from Detroit.
When this road-going model of the Mustang GT3 race automobile debuted, Ford made no bones about going to the Nurburgring with ambitions of setting a significantly quick lap time. The automaker believes the GTD can run the Nordschielfe loop in below 7 minutes, and testing is now underway forward of an official try later this yr.
CarSpyMedia shared a video taken from numerous places across the 12.9-mile course, and even at this early stage, it seems to be composed by the corners. We most likely needn’t say it is quick, however we’ll emphasize it with some commentary concerning the first high-speed flyby beginning on the 52-second mark. We see the automobile because it approaches Kliens Karussell, the “little” carousel on the again finish of the loop. The GTD truly lifts the within entrance tire on entry, carrying every kind of velocity and grip by the mild banking. It seems to be very composed, and the sound is pure petrol heaven.
The remainder of the video is extra of the identical. We sometimes hear supercharger whine from the force-fed 5.2-liter V-8, however the deep exhaust word is as American as a Bald Eagle. There’s over 800 horsepower below the hood, powering the rear wheels by an eight-speed dual-clutch transaxle. Sure, it is a transaxle—mounted on the rear of the automobile with the drive wheels to present the Mustang a close to 50/50 weight distribution.
The race-inspired pushrod suspension is again there too, seen by a plexiglass window the place the again seat would usually be. We might love to observe it work whereas carving up the ‘Ring. Are you listening, Ford?
With an estimated price ticket of $325,000, it is dearer than any Mustang in historical past. However, if it succeeds in turning a sub-seven-minute lap, it will likely be the quickest American manufacturing automobile to ever lap the Nurburgring. That may even place it among the many quickest manufacturing vehicles on this planet
Judging by this video, issues are trying fairly good thus far.