The Ford Mustang GTD has done the unthinkable: lapping the Nürburgring Nordschleife in a blistering 6:57.685, it now stands as the fastest American production car to ever tackle the Green Hell. Not only did the GTD smash Dodge Viper ACR’s 2017 record of 7:01.30, but it also entered rarified air as the fifth-fastest production car ever to hit the legendary German track. For Ford and its partners at Multimatic Motorsports, this moment represents more than just a performance milestone—it’s a declaration of intent.
Since its inception, the Mustang GTD program has been laser-focused on achieving one goal: breaking the seven-minute barrier at the Nürburgring. For Jim Farley, Ford’s CEO, and Greg Goodall, the program’s chief engineer, anything slower simply wasn’t acceptable. “There were no excuses — 7:01 was not going to cut it,” Goodall explained.
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The GTD is unlike any Mustang we’ve seen before. It’s a street-legal supercar that pulls heavily from Ford’s global racing pedigree. As Goodall put it, “We race Mustang globally. Almost every weekend there’s a Mustang racing somewhere in the world. The want was to take all of the goodness from racing and make it into a street-legal monster that can compete with all of the European supercars.” The Nürburgring served as the ultimate proving ground, not just because it’s revered by enthusiasts worldwide, but also because it’s in the heart of Europe, the home turf of Ford’s fiercest rivals.
Development of the GTD began three years ago, and its Nürburgring lap time was no accident. Ford and Multimatic Motorsports worked tirelessly to create a car that could translate racing prowess into street-legal dominance. Powered by a supercharged 5.2-liter V8, paired with advanced aerodynamics and an adaptive suspension setup, the GTD is as much a track weapon as it is a road car. Its focus on achieving Nürburgring supremacy meant every decision in the design process revolved around outright performance.
Testing began in earnest during the summer of 2023, with the GTD turning heads during industry pool days at the Nürburgring. While the months of June and July offered vital time for fine-tuning, Ford faced challenges as the fall rains limited their window for timed laps. In fact, the record-breaking session itself was run on a less-than-perfect track surface, further highlighting the car’s potential to go even faster. Out of just three official timed attempts, all three broke the seven-minute mark—a testament to the GTD’s engineering excellence.
The Mustang GTD’s record-setting lap isn’t just about breaking records—it’s about shifting perceptions. Historically, American performance cars were seen as muscle-bound machines great in a straight line but out of their depth when compared to European exotics on technical tracks. The GTD flips that narrative. It’s a thoroughbred capable of trading blows with the likes of the Porsche 911 GT3, which currently holds a 6:55.2 Nürburgring lap.
Ford documented this journey in a new 13-minute film, The Road to the Ring. The documentary offers an inside look at the GTD’s development and the monumental effort it took to turn a Mustang—a car originally dubbed a “secretary’s car”—into a Nürburgring-slaying supercar.
While breaking the seven-minute mark is an incredible achievement, Ford’s not resting on its laurels. Goodall and his team are already eyeing faster lap times in the future. “The very first lap that we ran, we hit the target,” Goodall said. “Pretty impressive, but man, the team is still hungry. It’s more than just meeting a metric. This became personal. The team wants to do more.”
Even Jim Farley confirmed Ford’s ongoing commitment to pushing the Mustang GTD to its limits. “We’re proud to be the first American automaker with a car that can lap the Nürburgring in under seven minutes, but we aren’t satisfied,” Farley said. “We know there’s much more time to find with Mustang GTD. We’ll be back.”
Ford’s achievement with the GTD sets a new benchmark for American automakers, but the competition isn’t sitting still. Chevrolet is preparing to unleash its new Corvette ZR1, which could challenge the GTD’s Nürburgring supremacy. Regardless of who takes the crown, it’s an exciting time for American performance enthusiasts. With the Mustang GTD proving that an American car can rival the best from Porsche, Ferrari, and McLaren, the global sports car landscape may never be the same.
Ford’s Mustang GTD has redefined what the pony car can be. No longer just an icon of Americana, it’s now a genuine contender on the world stage—a car capable of making even European purists take notice. For now, it’s the king of American production cars at the Nürburgring. But if the team at Ford Performance has anything to say about it, this is just the beginning.
