Think the Shelby GT500 Is Fast? Just Wait for the Ford Mustang GTD
Ford and Shelby have a time-honored tradition of pushing the Mustang to previously unreached heights. As such, the Shelby GT500 has stood as something of a range-topper for most generations of Mustang. However, Ford recently broke cover on the all-new Ford Mustang GTD, which the Blue Oval bills as “supercar power with Mustang soul.” Watch out, past and future Shelby GT500s– the GTD might be as good as it can get.
The Ford Mustang GTD might be a solitary example of a non-Shelby pony car upstaging the fastest of Shelby GT500s
Ford has high hopes for the upcoming GTD. The Blue Oval calls the GTD “the most audacious and advanced Mustang ever.” With GT3 racing DNA, the new super-’Stang looks like a Mustang, but that’s about where the similarities end.
The new Ford Mustang GTD works in extensive carbon fiber paneling, fully adjustable racing suspension components, and active aero. What’s more, the new GTD packs a supercharged 5.2L V8 in place of the lineup’s ubiquitous Coyote V8. In fact, it’s the first supercharged V8 to reside in a factory Mustang since 2020, when the final S550 Shelby GT500s rolled off the line.
Of course, Ford didn’t build the GTD without good reason; the Blue Oval is going hunting. First, Ford is targeting 800 horsepower, the most of any road-going factory Ford Mustang. Even more ambitious, Ford wants its GTD to lap the infamous Nürburgring in under seven minutes. To give you an idea, no production American car has ever pulled that off. Not Vipers, not Corvettes, not even the bleeding-edge Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE.
If Ford can pull it off, the GTD won’t just be faster than the now-discontinued Shelby GT500; it’ll leave it in the dust. With 760 horsepower on tap and a 0-60 mph time of just 3.4 seconds, the GT500 is currently one of the quickest American muscle cars of all time. However, the GTD’s racing DNA can’t be ignored.
Magnesium wheels, titanium exhaust, carbon fiber panels, and a carbon fiber driveshaft. The GTD won’t just be savagely powerful; it’s going to be light, explosive, and grippy. Of course, with a price tag of around $300,000, the GTD is less of a Mustang and more of a street-legal race car. Still, we’re excited to see what Shelby does with the seventh-generation Mustang.
