With the flurry of supercars and hypercars constantly pushing the envelope of physics, cracking a Nurburgring lap under the magical 7-minute mark is still a party trick left to the big boys. There’s a new entry into that esteemed list now and with it, some good old ‘Murica pride, as the Ford Mustang GTD becomes the first car from the land of the free to break that mark.
Only around 20 “production” cars have dipped under seven minutes. The disclaimer is due to some manufacturers using non-standard rubbers or blurring the line between production and modified. Nonetheless, it’s still a huge achievement and one that indicates some serious performance from the 815 hp Mustang GTD.
Ford factory driver Dirk Müller piloted the Mustang GTD around all 20.82km of the Green Hell in 6:57.685, making it the first American production car to dip under seven minutes. For comparison’s sake, that’s less than a second behind the Porsche 918 Spyder, although the German did it on a slightly shorter course.
The Blue Oval made no secret of its intentions with the Mustang GTD – that is to take the fight to the continental carmakers on their own turf. Off to a great start then.
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Ford sent an army of development engineers and CEO Jim Farley to the ‘Ring back in August. Damp conditions almost ruined the attempt but the weather cleared up and the track dried out enough for Müller to pull out three laps in search of glory.
Müller told Car and Driver that he broke the seven-minute mark on the first lap and that gave everyone the confidence that the Mustang GTD could definitely go faster.
According to the Nurburgring’s official records, the Mustang GTD slots between the 992.1 Porsche 911 GT3 with a 6:59.93 time and a GT3 with the Manthey Performance Kit that did 6:55.737. If it aims to justify its nearly USD325,000 (~RM1.44 million) price though, it needs to catch up with the likes of the Mercedes-AMG GT Black Series and its 6:48.047 lap.
The Mustang GTD is no ordinary stickers-and-stripes special edition pony. It’s essentially a GT3 race car converted for road use. You’ll find all the exotic supercar prerequisites such as inboard laydown rear suspension, adjustable ride height, wider track and active aerodynamics. That 815 hp comes from a supercharged 5.2-litre V8 mated with an eight-speed rear-mounted dual-clutch automatic trans-axle from Tremec.
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Ford has documented the Mustang GTD ‘Ring journey in a 14-minute video titled ‘Road to the Ring’ that is posted below.
So it appears to be a case of game, set, but is it match yet? Because Chevrolet could very well leave the Mustang GTD in its wake with the mind-boggling 1,064 hp Corvette ZR1. Still, bragging rights will always be Ford’s.
