Ford’s next-generation Mustang broke cover earlier this year with updated styling, a more powerful lineup and even a new top-of-the-line model called the Dark Horse. But now, it appears that Ford might have been working on a secret new Mustang, which could bring its race-ready tech to the highway.
According to a new report from Motor Trend, a car called the Mustang GTD has leaked ahead of its official unveiling. The report suggests that the new car is based on the Mustang GT3, which Ford created for professional racers, and would put some of that power in the hands of normal drivers.
The report is based on a video from YouTuber StangMode, who appears to have caught a glimpse of the car on stage preparing for its unveiling. In the footage, a dark blue seventh-generation Mustang sits on a stage in front of a huge carbon fiber-look Mustang logo. The car in question is no normal MK7, and comes with a few visual tweaks you’ll spot right away.
First up, there’s an enormous rear wing at the back of the car. It’s not exactly the same as the wing the GT3 uses to keep its rear end planted, but it’s similar. Then, there’s all manner of new vents and intakes across the car, including some huge intakes behind the front wheels and a few smaller ones at the rear end. These, again, are similar to the GT3 but not exactly the same.
After the obvious differences that you can see with your own eyes, things start to get a bit more speculative. If this is to be a hardened, track-ready car then Ford will probably have made more changes under the hood. Motor Trend suggests that this could include “bespoke” suspension and all manner of weight saving tech to get the car below its current 3,993-pound curb weight. To do this, think carbon fiber bodywork in places of some metal panels and maybe an option for carbon fiber wheels as well.
When it comes to the engine that you might find in the GDT, Motor Trend has a few interesting ideas:
The GT3 racer comes stuffed with a 5.4-liter V-8 based on the same architecture as the Coyote 5.0 liter in the Dark Horse. There is a chance that we’ll see that but as a street-legal, emissions compliant version. If Ford makes it a naturally aspirated and street-legal version of the GT3 engine, it would mark the return of a road-going Mustang with a 5.4 liter V-8 since the last legendary race car for the street Mustang, the 2000 SN95 Cobra R. However, rumors abound that the V-8 under the hood of the “GTD” will be supercharged or turbocharged. Either way, expect more than 500 hp from this unique Mustang.
If the engine does get an upgrade, a gearbox tweak could soon follow, including “the potential for adding a paddle shift system,” as Motor Trend reports. As the car could share parts with the GT3 racer, the site even suggests that this new Mustang could get a dual-clutch transaxle gearbox.
So, would you like to see a street-going variant of the Mustang GT3? Interestingly, that’s the very question that was posed by Ford CEO Jim Farley when the racer was first unveiled. Could that give some merit to the rumors here? We’ll have to wait and see what Ford has to say on the matter.