Mustang GTD laps Nürburgring faster than any car from an American brand

Germany’s iconic Nürburgring Nordschleife is the gold-standard for sports car development. And the  Ford Mustang GTD ¹ is the first car from an American brand to complete a lap in under seven minutes.
 
Driven by Multimatic Motorsports driver Dirk Müller, the 815-horsepower Mustang GTD ^2,3 lapped the circuit nicknamed “The Green Hell” in an officially certified 6:57:685. It’s the fifth fastest time by a stock production sports car according to the Nürburgring’s official records and Mustang GTD is only the sixth vehicle in that class to break the seven-minute barrier.
 
The time delivers on the goal laid out by Ford CEO Jim Farley at the Mustang GTD’s debut in August 2023.
 

“The team behind Mustang GTD took what we’ve learned from decades on the track and engineered a Mustang that can compete with the world’s best supercars.

We’re proud to be the first American automaker with a car that can lap the Nürburgring in under seven minutes, but we aren’t satisfied. We know there’s much more time to find with Mustang GTD. We’ll be back.”

Jim Farley,

Ford President and CEO

 
Mustang GTD’s Nürburgring success is due to the work of a small, dedicated team of engineers and designers who worked tirelessly over the course of two years to turn the Mustang GT3 race car into the first-ever Mustang supercar.
 
We documented these efforts in the run up to the timed Nürburgring run in The Road To The Ring, a 13-minute documentary that covers the challenge, drama, and excitement of developing Mustang GTD.

 
The documentary, which is available on Ford.com, the Ford YouTube channel and Facebook, is a behind-the-scenes look at the testing of Mustang GTD, from iconic American tracks like Sebring, through to development sessions at the Nürburgring.
 
It features Farley, Muller, Multimatic Chief Technical Officer Larry Holt, Mustang GTD Chief Program Engineer Greg Goodall, and Mustang GTD Design Manager Anthony Colard, as well as other members of the Ford and Multimatic team.
 
Mustang GTD represents the apex of Mustang performance and benefits from lessons learned by the Ford Performance Motorsports and Multimatic Motorsports Mustang GT3 program, in particular around aerodynamics and setup for tracks such as the Nürburgring. However, Mustang GTD isn’t subject to the rules and regulations of GT3 racing, which prohibit much of the technology that allow a sub-seven-minute Nürburgring lap.
 
That includes carbon-ceramic brakes, active aerodynamics, a supercharger, and semi-active suspension. A carbon-fibre body is familiar from GT3 racing, and while the Mustang GTD that completed the sub-seven-minute lap was entirely stock, it did include motorsports-derived safety gear mandated by the Nürburgring. That includes a competition seat with a five-point harness and a roll cage.
 
¹ Officially homologated fuel efficiency and CO2 emissions will be published closer to on-sale date. In accordance with the Worldwide Harmonized Light Vehicles Test Procedure (WLTP).
 
² Horsepower and torque are independent attributes and may not be achieved simultaneously.
 
³ Ford calculated data applies to US specification vehicles by way of product information and should not be relied upon for vehicles that may be made available for sale outside of the US. Please also see ¹ above.

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