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Ford throws down the gauntlet to Porsche, Mercedes-AMG, Lamborghini and others with sub-seven minute Nurburgring lap time in Mustang GTD.
The 2025 Ford Mustang GTD has lapped the 20.832km-long Nurburgring circuit in Germany with a record-setting time of six minutes and 57.685 seconds, making it the sixth quickest around the infamous racetrack and the number one US-built model.
It makes the flagship Mustang the first American model to stop the clock around the Nurburgring in under seven minutes, beating the Dodge Viper ACR that achieved a 7min 1.3sec time in 2017.
The GTD is understood to have set its time around the 20.832km configuration of the track used for official lap timing since 2019, while the Viper used a slightly shorter 20.6km layout that excludes a small section of the final straight, and typically cuts a few seconds off the lap time.
The time puts the Mustang GTD on pace with the likes of the Porsche 911 GT2 RS (6min 58.28sec, 20.6km), Ferrari 296 GTB (6min 58.7sec, 20.6km), and famed 2013-15 Porsche 918 Spyder (6min 57sec, 20.6km) hybrid supercar.
Around the newer 20.832km-long layout, the latest Porsche 911 GT3 posted a 6min 59.93sec time.
Piloted by Dirk Muller, a Multimatic Motorsports driver – the company that has teamed with Ford Performance Motorsports in racing the Mustang GT3 program – the Mustang GTD run was achieved in August this year.
Multimatic was also the company that assembled Ford’s former flagship, the second-generation GT, and the business has also had engineering input into models like the Aston Martin Valkyrie and RUF CTR3.
The Mustang GTD was revealed in August 2023, based on the current seventh-generation Mustang, and was designed from the onset to be the road-going version of Ford’s GT3 race car.
Powering the model is a supercharged 5.2-litre petrol V8 that punches out a sizeable 608kW/900Nm to the rear wheels.
Also unique on the GTD is a rear-mounted eight-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission, helping achieve a 50:50 weight distribution.
But a fast lap time at the Nurburgring is about more than just outright power, which is why the Mustang GTD is also equipped with semi-active pushrod suspension – borrowed from the GT3 race car – that can adjust spring rates and ride height in Track mode.
Aside from the mechanical changes to a standard Mustang, the GTD also boasts a wider body, and carbon-fibre panels for the bonnet, boot lid, wheel arches, door sills, rear diffuser and front splitter to keep weight down – as well as a massive rear wing for added downforce.
Filling out the enlarged wheel arches are 20-inch forged aluminium wheels (lighter forged magnesium wheels are available to customers as an option) wrapped in 325mm wide front and 345mm wide rear tyres, which gift the GTD a near-102mm wider track.
Bringing the ultimate Mustang to a stop are Brembo-branded carbon-ceramic brakes, helped by added cooling ducts.
Unfortunately for Australian buyers, the Mustang GTD is produced exclusively in left-hand drive, and the asking price is $US300,000 ($AU465,000).
Tung Nguyen has been in the automotive journalism industry for over a decade, cutting his teeth at various publications before finding himself at Drive in 2024. With experience in news, feature, review, and advice writing, as well as video presentation skills, Tung is a do-it-all content creator. Tung’s love of cars first started as a child watching Transformers on Saturday mornings, as well as countless hours on PlayStation’s Gran Turismo, meaning his dream car is a Nissan GT-R, with a Liberty Walk widebody kit, of course.
