22-03-2025
Hold On Tight—the Fastest Mustang in History Has Entered Production
After more than 18 months since its debut, the Ford Mustang GTD is officially in production. According to CEO Jim Farley, the first 10 carbon-bodied, record-breaking 'Stangs are being assembled at the same facility that produced the GT supercar, with customer deliveries expected soon.
Speaking on the 'Spike's Car Radio' podcast with Spike Feresten and Jonny Lieberman, Farley shared that the car has successfully passed all the "engineering and supply chain hurdles" and is now in full production.
"Typically, Mr. Ford gets the first one, as it should be," Farley remarked about the GTD's arrival to customers. The "Mr. Ford" he's referring to is William Clay Ford Jr., executive chair of the company's board and great-grandson of Henry Ford. Once the head honcho receives his GTD, deliveries to the loyal Mustang enthusiasts will follow shortly, as long as they've submitted their configuration requests on time.
While the Ford Mustang GTD is street-legal, it comes with several features that Farley suggests are best reserved for the track. For example, its active aerodynamics and drag reduction system are designed to activate at speeds that are typically not recommended on public roads.
"Of course, we all want to engage the active aero, so we're always pushing ourselves to go fast in a straight line just to see the rear wing adjust," he said, laughing alongside Feresten and Lieberman.
Ford's CEO has played a key role in the GTD program, but even he was surprised by the final version of the Mustang GTD.
"For me personally, the rear suspension was much more dynamic and active than I anticipated," Farley shared. "I found myself constantly looking in the back seat. It's not every day you see a pushrod suspension in a production car, and it really works hard back there."
He also noted that the active height control, carried over from the former GT mid-engined supercar, is more enjoyable to use in the Mustang than he had expected.
The pushrod suspension, visible through a peekaboo window in the rear bulkhead, is one of the key reasons the GTD is built at Multimatic's facility in Ontario, Canada, rather than the Flat Rock Assembly Plant in Michigan, where all Mustangs have been produced since 2005.
The Mustang GTD is a completely different beast compared to the EcoBoosts and 5.0 GTs that share its pony badge. While it starts as a shell at Flat Rock, the GTD is then shipped across the border to Multimatic's plant near Toronto, where it receives its dynamic spool valve pushrod suspension, carbon-fiber bodywork, rear-mounted eight-speed dual-clutch transaxle, and advanced active aerodynamics.
This isn't the first time Ford and Multimatic have partnered on an extraordinary sports car; the revived 2017 GT supercar was also built at the same facility as the high-performance Mustang. The GTD shares another trait with its mid-engined counterpart as well. To ensure the car finds its way into the hands of true enthusiasts rather than speculators, owners must sign a contract committing to keep their new Mustangs for at least two years before selling. Ford took action against GT customers who tried to flip their supercars for a profit—John Cena even found himself sued for making money on his purchase.
Source: Spike's Car Radio via Ford Authority
