Ford Mustang GTD: New Nürburgring Record Achieved?

Ford wasn’t having it when the Chevrolet Corvette ZR1 and ZR1X dethroned the Mustang GTD as the quickest American car around the Nürburgring. At the time, the Blue Oval said, “Game On,” and apparently, game day was earlier this week. A video claims the automaker returned to the iconic track for another record-setting attempt—and it appears Ford succeeded.  

The video comes from the Statesidesupercars YouTube account and claims the GTD shaved 10 seconds off its time, circling the Nordschleife in 6 minutes, 41.74 seconds. If that time is correct, the GTD would be quicker than the ZR1X, which lapped the track in 6 minutes, 49.275 seconds. The previous GTD record was 6 minutes, 52.072 seconds, which arrived after its first attempt of 6 minutes, 57.685 seconds. 

The times recorded might be off by a second or so, considering the conditions and limited view, but even with that variance, the Mustang still comes out on top. According to the video description, it appearsFord ran an enhanced version of the GTD, perhaps a GTD Evo, featuring enhanced aerodynamics.

The GTD is Ford’s ultimate Mustang. Under the hood is a supercharged 5.2-liter V8 making 814 horsepower and 664 pound-feet of torque, with a price tag of over $300,000.

This is Ford’s street-legal version of its GT3 race car. It has a semi-active rear inboard pushrod suspension (visible through the rear bulkhead), a carbon-fiber driveshaft, an eight-speed dual-clutch transaxle gearbox, and a near-perfect 50-50 weight distribution.  

Motor1’s Take: Nürburgring lap times are pointless, but this battle between Chevrolet and Ford for the title of the quickest American car around the Nordschleife is pure fun. It should also result in better products down the road as Ford and Chevy push each other to eke out every bit of performance from their supercars.