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Car and Driver
24-05-2025
- Automotive
- Car and Driver
1978 Cadillac Coupe de Ville Archive Road Test
From the June 1978 issue of Car and Driver. It's a dirty shame that Cadillacs aren't built in England or Germany. Their humble Detroit birthplace means that they never get taken seriously as automobiles. Rich Republican burghers want them because they've always believed that a Cadillac was their due, a perk, baked into the deal along with the country-club membership and the GOP-camouflage Hickey-Freeman suits. The nouveaux riches want them because the rich Republican burghers have them. People who read Road & Track magazine detest Cadillacs, their hatred falling only a few points short of that registered by the eco-troops, those sons and daughters of wealthy orthodontists, who long for pre-Industrial Revolution America and dream of wildernesses organized along the lines of a Montessori school. View Photos Larry Griffin | Car and Driver For all their prejudiced points of view about Cadillacs, none of these people ever think of them as cars. Status symbols, sex symbols, power symbols, energy-consumption symbols, decay-of-the-American-dream symbols, but never as sublimely comfortable ways to get from Point A to Point B in a seated position. The Cadillac people must bear some of the responsibility for this state of affairs, of course. They've never really sold Cadillacs as cars. The bland, Osterized sales pitch for The Standard of the World generally tells the prospective buyer a great deal about Cadillac's assessment of him, but precious little to help him assess the purchase of an automobile. What must the prospective Cadillac buyer feel who does not meet Cadillac's research criteria? Does he look guardedly over his shoulder as he reads the ad, knowing himself to be an impostor? Does he dart nervous glances around the room, half expecting to see the Cadillac-intender to whom they were really addressing their message, and does he feel like an eavesdropper? Does he lie awake at night and wonder if the Cadillac dealer will accept his order? (Maybe they have a list of names.) Imagine the embarrassment of being turned away, referred to the Buick dealer down the street. The pain! View Photos Larry Griffin | Car and Driver Why should this very nice car-that-is-not-perceived-as-a-car mean so much to so many? It certainly doesn't hurt that it's a very good car, reliable to a fault, undemanding to live with, and loaded with potential resale value, but these are not the virtues upon which legends are made. Is it enough that it was the first car in the world with a self-starter, that it introduced the concept of parts interchangeability to Europe? Does it have something to do with the fact that Cadillac not only pioneered tail fins but also held on to them longer than the rest of the automotive world? Probably none and all of the above is the correct answer. The real reason is that Cadillacs really used to be something special. They were faster than less expensive American cars. They held the road better (see "A heavy car holds the road," "More road-hugging weight," et cetera). In the 1950 Carrera Pan Americana, 21 of 126 starters were Cadillacs, and the big beasts took second and third places overall. Mr. Briggs S. Cunningham put a whole slew of European hotshoes on the trailer at Le Mans in 1950 when the Collier brothers came in tenth in his slightly modified Cadillac coupe. Cadillacs were, in those dim, bygone days, built to a higher standard of engineering and workmanship than Chevrolets, and their styling was distinctly their own. Latter-day Cadillac buyers who were mere boys back then undoubtedly carry deeply imprinted tribal memories of those cars, subliminal pokes and prods that lead them to see shades of sharp-edged '41 Fleetwoods in today's Cadillac de Villes and Broughams. View Photos Larry Griffin | Car and Driver When asked to explain Cadillac's unique grip on its owners, the division's chief engineer, Bob Templin, laid this one on us, ready to Xerox: "When you buy a Cadillac, you buy Cadillac tradition, Cadillac quality, Cadillac product, the Cadillac dealer, Cadillac service, and Cadillac warranty. And remember, the Cadillac buyer knows Cadillac is at the forefront of automotive technology." One might find that last bit a little more digestible had he said "believes Cadillac is at the forefront of automotive technology." For it is undoubtedly true that Cadillac loyalists believe their cars to be the pinnacle of automotive-engineering achievement, but it is unfortunately also true that they're quite wrong. The Cadillac is an extremely well done execution of the basic American car idea, as conceived some time before World War II, and it is undeniably a great car for the money, but it will have to go like the very devil to catch those cars that are "at the forefront of automotive technology." Our test car was a 1978 Coupe de Ville, and we loved it in spite of ourselves. It weighed in at 4270 pounds and it was 18.4 feet long, making it the lightest Cadillac you can buy (edging the Seville by just four pounds) and almost the shortest (not quite a foot and a half longer than the Seville). It is—surprise, surprise—the nicest of the bunch to drive, offering a much nicer blend of room, ride, comfort, visibility, handling and performance than any of the others, including the Seville and the Eldorado. Why this should be so is hard to divine, but the Seville is claustrophobic and its ride primitive by comparison, and the Eldorado has become grossly corpulent, so much so that the inherent benefits of its front-wheel drive are virtually wiped out. The poor old Eldo is actually heavier than Cadillac's seven-passenger limousine! View Photos Larry Griffin | Car and Driver Our Coupe de Ville carried a base price of $10,444 and an as-tested price of $13,375. This is not chicken feed, but neither is it very much money to spend for such a remarkable bundle of automotive virtues, luxuries, features, and super-zoomy Astro-Boy gadgetry. The price puts it right in there with the Porsche 924 ($10,995), the Peugeot 604 ($10,990) and the Saab Turbo ($9998), while the obvious thrust of the Cadillac concept and its execution puts it right up against the Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow II ($48,600), the Mercedes-Benz 450 SEL ($27,945 ) and, of course, the Lincolns. The de Ville lacks many of the engineering and performance features that set the Mercedes apart, and it doesn't have the Rolls's panache of matched veneers and Connolly hides and hand-rubbed everything, but it more than holds its own if the mission is to transport four normal adults at reasonable speeds over American roads in mind-boggling luxury. In its relationship with the Continentals, we deem it the winner, because GM's whole philosophy of car "feel" is so much more to our liking than Ford's (at least as expressed in Ford's current lineup of big cars). Cadillacs have rather sensitive controls, with quite a lot of "feel" fed back to the driver. Lincolns are Novocain-numb: no feeling, no sensitivity, just softness and silence and the fear that it's all been taken out of the driver's hands. View Photos Larry Griffin | Car and Driver You slide behind the Cadillac's wheel, try to orient yourself to the various switches, knobs and buttons that festoon the instrument panel, and there is no question whatsoever that this is one of Nature's special places, a sort of Grand Canyon/Matterhorn/Stonehenge with tinted windshield and disappearing windshield wipers. One would not be surprised to learn that fairies and fauns cavorted and giggled inside there when the Caddy was put away for the night. One probably will be surprised to find that someone back in the GM building has seized control of the headlights. Our de Ville was fitted with the Kafkaesque Twilight Sentinel and Automatic Headlamp Control, the former causing the headlights to go on and off of their own volition, the latter causing them to dim themselves whenever they see their own reflection in a store window. The controls for these are fiendish indeed, and until we learned how to turn them off and fend for ourselves, we were unwilling to launch the Cadillac into the flow of traffic. Believe it or not, and you probably won't, the Cadillac is nimble! Once launched, a feeling of undamped softness comes up from the wheels, but this quickly fades as you get used to the car. It has a surprisingly capable suspension system, handling frost heaves and potholes with equal aplomb and enabling an enthusiastic driver to hurtle through corners and place the car where he wants it with remarkable ease. The six-way power seat and the tilt-and-telescope steering column augment incrementally the driver's ability to come to terms with this large car. It is not a BMW 733i, and you might want something else for your Alpine land-speed record attempt, but we liked driving it. View Photos Larry Griffin | Car and Driver Some of the frills and gadgets are silly and excessive. Opera lamps, for heaven's sake? Power door locks that snap down every time you put the old dear into Drive? Even if you're just moving it in the driveway? Some don't work very well. The cruise control, for instance, is utterly exasperating. It is supposed to be activated by a simple touch on the button in the end of the turn-signal lever, but it usually isn't. You push the button. You know that something electrical is going on because there's a simultaneous pop from the radio. You lift your foot to let the autopilot take over, and the car just continues to coast. Accelerate and try again. Maddening. Daimler-Benz resisted the cruise-control idea for years but finally acknowledged that the accessory was important for America's superb but speed-limited roads, and developed one that just makes the General Motors unit look homemade. It's too bad that American manufacturers are so intimidated by the cost bugaboos of really important product features like independent rear suspension. They know they can get their money out of junk like opera lamps and Twilight Sentinels, but they just don't have any confidence in the more esoteric appeal of chassis and suspensions like those of Jaguar, BMW, and Mercedes-Benz. The de Ville, along with the big limousine, is now the only Cadillac that doesn't have four-wheel disc brakes as standard equipment. We applaud the fact that Cadillac's philosophy has come that far, but now we're impatient for that last step toward a real fine-car commitment. View Photos Larry Griffin | Car and Driver The world's best road system can be a liability. The Cadillac is designed to be master of the roads most well-fixed Americans normally drive upon, and this prevents it from making any wholesale assault on cars like Mercedes, BMW, or Jaguar. Happily for the guys who build the cars bearing the name and arms of Le Sieur Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac, most of the people who buy them don't seem to care. We, on the other hand, would dearly love to drive a Coupe or Sedan de Ville modified and breathed upon in the manner of our Seville project car (August '77 issue). The new GM big cars, introduced in 1977 and including such impressive and gratifying machines as the Chevrolet Impala/Caprice with F41 suspension (August '77) and the Buick LeSabre Sport Coupe (May '77), have proved to be the best sedans the corporation ever made. The Cadillac shares all their basic strengths and undoubtedly has terrific potential as a luxurious car for American enthusiasts, given the same specific attention to handling and roadholding. We may not be the people the Cadillac designers had in mind when they engineered the de Ville series, but it's a little startling to look up one morning and realize how far they've shifted their product focus in our direction. These are good cars, easily upgraded to terrific cars—with the right shocks, springs, stabilizer bars, wheels and tires—and, compared to prices of the good European stuff, a relative steal. Maybe a hot-rodded Cadillac is your best hedge against the strength of the deutsche mark and the decline of the dollar. Counterpoint The last Cadillac I drove before I got into this year's Coupe de Ville was an enormous powder-blue '75 Coupe, and it took me a long time to forget what driving it was like. You didn't steer the thing, you gave orders to the helm. And for more or less speed, you rang down for more steam. Damn the Datsuns! Full speed ahead! It was a nightmare of a car, exactly what every sports-car enthusiast figures a bloated Caddy would be like. But all that's gone. The new Coupe de Ville is a civilized, decent performer. It'll steer as well as any new C-body GM car (which is pretty good indeed nowadays), and will even let you feel something of the way the suspension and steering are handling the messages the road is sending through them. Moreover, it's a very comfortable car. And even though I've never lusted after an automobile that tries to do my driving for me, it's not at all hard to see why someone would want to spend over ten grand for a Coupe de Ville. —Steve Thompson View Photos Larry Griffin | Car and Driver I've never been big on the coach-lamp, opera-roof, wide-whitewall look that seems so essential to the Cadillac mystique, but I did find a solid piece of machinery under this Coupe de Ville's embroidery that left me favorably impressed. What you have to do is drive the thing hard enough to bottom out all the spongy padding and Jell-0-soft bushings. Take charge like a drill sergeant in basic training, and you'll find a car that does what you tell it. The big motor responds with an authoritative howl when you orange-alert the fuel monitor with the throttle, and, so motivated, this 2.1-ton Cadillac wakes up ready to romp. It's the biggest cruiser I've ever pitched sideways into an entrance ramp, and just as competent breaking traction as bearing a wedding party. There is, however, one weak link to consider before you choose this as your gymkhana ride. The brakes fade away after just a few quick laps of street racing. —Don Sherman On a long trip through hilly and mountainous country a year and a half ago, shortly after it first appeared, I discovered that the smaller Coupe de Ville wasn't totally out of its element. It was a revelation. It used a fair old amount of gas because we stopped to shoot a lot of pictures and because I played low tricks on guys in two-seaters and two-liter sedans, but it fairly boogied and never drew a complaint from a passenger whose scream factor runs about two on a scale from one to ten. The latest Coupe de Ville feels even better. Run silent, run deep, like the capsulized environment it is, or belt it deftly around like the lean hell-raiser it can be. Play with the gadgets, watch out for dawdlers and set your own pace. You'll not be dulled into a stupor by the Coupe de Ville. —Larry Griffin Specifications Specifications 1978 Cadillac Coupe de Ville Vehicle Type: front-engine, rear-wheel-drive, 6-passenger, 2-door coupe PRICE Base/As Tested: $10,444/$13,375 Options: cabriolet package, $369; leather seats, $295; AM/ FM stereo CB radio, $281; 6-way power passenger seat, $262; dual-comfort front seats, $198; electronic level control, $140; theft-deterrent system, $130; cruise control, $122; tilt/telescope steering wheel, $121; automatic door locks, $112; rear-window defogger, $94; power trunk, $80; opera lamps, $63; automatic head lamp control, $62; illuminated entry system, $59; floor and trunk mats, $58; turbine-vane wheel discs, $54; twilight sentinel, $54; accent stripes, $53; illuminated vanity mirror, $50; controlled-cycle wipers, $50; remote-control right mirror, $34; fuel monitor, $29; illuminated thermometer, $27; trumpet horn, $21; license-plate frames, $18; door-edge guards, $11; front-bumper reinforcements, $9; California emissions controls, $75 ENGINE V-8, iron block and heads Displacement: 425 in3, 6960 cm3 Power: 180 hp @ 4000 rpm Torque: 320 lb-ft @ 2000 rpm TRANSMISSION 3-speed automatic CHASSIS Suspension, F/R: control arms/live axle Brakes, F/R: 11.7-in vented disc/11.0-in drum Tires: Firestone Steel Belted Radial GR78-15 DIMENSIONS Wheelbase: 121.5 in Length: 221.2 in Width: 76.4 in Height: 54.4 in Curb Weight: 4270 lb C/D TEST RESULTS 60 mph: 10.6 sec 100 mph: 37.9 sec 1/4-Mile: 18.2 sec @ 79 mph Top Speed: 108 mph Braking, 70–0 mph: 207 ft Roadholding: 0.79 g C/D FUEL ECONOMY Observed: 16 mpg EPA FUEL ECONOMY Highway: 18 mpg C/D TESTING EXPLAINED
Yahoo
19-05-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Why Is This Carbon Fiber BMW 2002 Worth $200,000? Because It's Incredible.
Sliding open a garage door in sunny Costa Mesa, California, to reveal a pair of aging BMW chassis, Paul LeFevre's life these days is a far cry from his origins in Normandy, France. But long before he reached the Golden State, LeFevre's destiny of of building high-end Bavarian restorations was already beginning to set. "I built some American cars in Europe before I moved here. I had a '68 Fairlane and then a '64 Ford Falcon," LeFevre explained in an interview with Road & Track. " I had an E21 in France, and I really wanted a [BMW] 2002, but I never had a chance to buy one in France because they were pretty expensive back in the day. And they were all rusted out." The Frenchman moved to California back in 2016 to pursue a career in surfboard production, hand-crafting the wave-riding vessels out of the very same garage in Costa Mesa where his BMW builds began. But it was his lifelong yearning for a 2002 that kick-started his new business, Son of Cobra. After finding a 1972 BMW 2002 in Verona Red north of Los Angeles — and surviving a harrowing drive back to Orange County without properly functioning brakes — LeFevre set off to improve the nearly 50-year-old coupe. Which, in turn, birthed his joint BMW restoration and surfboard building shop. At its core, Son of Cobra is focused on squeezing every drop of driver feedback and capability from the 2002 platform. The beginning of this process takes a well-kept 2002 shell and strips it of its steel and aluminum body panels in favor of carbon fiber ones. Initially, LeFevre was using a fiberglass provider to shed weight but found the distributors too unreliable and the weight loss negligible. Peering over a Son of Cobra structure is, well, awe-inspiring; the sheets of structural carbon fiber are eventually hidden underneath an Alpina-inspired widebody kit that is also made of carbon fiber. Curb weight is reduced to around 1800 pounds by the time LeFevre is finished, with the 2002 shedding around 400 pounds in the build process. "Basically, I wanted to have a 2002 race car feel on the street without the bad things. Just keep all the good things. So a very low and very lightweight car with a very high horsepower ratio. Keep it minimal, but still keep it comfortable," LeFevre said. "I started with the hood, because the hood was one of the heaviest parts of that car, especially carrying all that weight on the front. I ended up doing the whole body." The addition of all that carbon fiber wasn't just about losing a few pounds. Improving the structural rigidity of the 2002 chassis was key for the rest of LeFevre's dream build, which included a complete overhaul of the steering system, transmission, pedal box, and engine. It was honing the steering system that took the most effort, as LeFevre explained simply that upgrading the stock system wasn't going to cut it. After many rounds of trial and error, he settled on a steering rack from a late-model Ford Escort, but this swap comes with its own challenges, too. "We can still find them to rebuild and reinforce, so it's easy to source. The problem is that it requires a lot of modification on the subframe, on the steering arm, on the steering column, the firewall, and the pedal box. A lot of people ask me if I was able to sell a kit, but it's just so many little details and too many parts involved. It's a whole thing," LeFevre said. Other than the bastardized steering rack, Son of Cobra is all about taking the idea of OEM+ building to the next level. Power is delivered to the rear wheels via either a stroked-out version of the stock M10 powerplant or an E30 M3-sourced S14 engine. Both powerplants offer the pleasure of wringing out a raspy, hyperactive BMW inline-four, but the overhauled M10 is what LeFevre is most proud of. Working with a local engine builder, LeFevre turned the 1.8-liter, barely 100-hp inline-four into a 2.3-liter, 180-horsepower beast. The notable boost in power is worthwhile on its own, but LeFevre says that customers who opt for the M10 benefit from a more factory-spec weight distribution. Even so, he admitted most customers opt for the exotic S14 engine. Becoming a Son of Cobra customer is, as you might suspect, an exclusive club. LeFevre chooses his customers as much as they choose him, and there have only been five complete builds to date. There's an interview process and a setting of expectations that LeFevre has to establish before moving forward; the process of finding a proper 2002 shell is getting harder by the year, and finishing the build doesn't cost quickly or cheaply. Those who pass the test are granted access to owning what appears to be the BMW 2002 equivalent of a Singer-customized 911. "I'm selecting only the nicest cars I can find, and that's getting a little hard," LeFevre said. "I like to provide the donor, so that the customer doesn't have to hunt for a car and bring me a car that I can't do anything with." "I like to select my customers, too, because there's a big variety of people out there. And then I feel like my customer is part of the family, and more in a friendly zone than on the business side. The customer and I have a really strong connection to get that car back [to life]." So, what's the grand total for a Son of Cobra BMW 2002? It all depends on what engine you opt for and how you want the interior adorned, but LeFevre said all five of his customer builds so far have run about $205,000. That's a lot to pay for what was once a 50-year-old BMW with not much performance to its name, but the Son of Cobra is absolutely more the sum of its parts. That's a good thing to have established... especially when LeFevre is turning his attention to a new chassis, the E9, soon. You Might Also Like You Need a Torque Wrench in Your Toolbox Tested: Best Car Interior Cleaners The Man Who Signs Every Car
Miami Herald
16-05-2025
- Automotive
- Miami Herald
This Type of Vehicle is Shockingly on the Rise in the U.S.
It's not often that the minivan earns a headline, but 2025 is shaping up to be a turning point. Sales of several top models, including the Kia Carnival, Toyota Sienna, and Honda Odyssey, are up significantly through April, signaling a comeback few expected. While SUVs still dominate American driveways, minivans are quietly carving out more space on the sales charts. The Kia Carnival has been the biggest mover so far, up 60% year-to-date compared to the same period in 2024. A massive April helped fuel the surge, with Carnival sales jumping 87% over April of last year. Part of that momentum may be tied to the introduction of a new hybrid version, which removes a key disadvantage the Carnival had against rivals like the Sienna and Pacifica Hybrid. According to Edmunds' head of insights, Jessica Caldwell, the current sales rally could be tied to both product improvements and market forces. "Buyers in this segment are planners, and with tariffs in the conversation, some may be pulling the trigger early - helping fuel the Q1 sales surge," Caldwell told Road & Track. "Minivans might not stir the soul, but in 2025, they're making a strong case for themselves." That case is being made with improved fuel efficiency, added tech features, and refreshed designs. The Toyota Sienna, which was refreshed for 2025, saw a 54% boost in sales through April. The Sienna's steady rise - from just over 6,400 sales in January to more than 10,000 in April - shows growing consumer interest in efficient and spacious family vehicles. The Honda Odyssey isn't quite keeping up with the Carnival and Sienna, but it's still having a solid year. Sales are up 29% through April, totaling nearly 32,000 units. That's on pace with Toyota's numbers and shows that minivan shoppers are still loyal to the long-running Honda. The Chrysler Pacifica, on the other hand, is the only mainstream minivan not riding the 2025 wave - at least not yet. First-quarter sales dropped slightly by 2% compared to Q1 2024, though total volume remained strong at more than 32,000 units. Chrysler reports sales quarterly, but assuming April followed the upward trend seen across the rest of the market, the Pacifica could still end up as the year's top-selling minivan. Despite the segment's surge, minivans aren't overtaking SUVs anytime soon. Three-row crossovers like the Kia Telluride, Honda Pilot, and Toyota Grand Highlander continue to post strong sales, appealing to buyers who want the look and feel of an SUV with similar levels of interior space. What's changed in 2025, however, is that minivans are no longer the obvious second choice. Thanks to new hybrid options, refreshed designs, and rising awareness around value and practicality, today's minivan is shedding some of its old stigma. For growing families, road-trippers, or anyone who just wants sliding doors and a ton of space, the current crop of vans is more appealing than it's been in years. If trends continue, 2025 could mark the start of a long-overdue minivan revival. Copyright 2025 The Arena Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Yahoo
12-05-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
EPA Is 'Fixing' Start/Stop Tech, Agency Admin Says
Start/stop technology is one of the more divisive fuel-saving strategies manufacturers use, and now EPA administrator Lee Zeldin is targeting it, per a post on X Monday morning. If you're looking for additional details of what Zeldin means by 'fixing it,' we're afraid they're not available as of yet. Road & Track reached out to the EPA to learn more, but hadn't received a response by the time this story was published. Zeldin says in his post that companies 'get a participation trophy' from including start/stop tech in vehicles. Of course, that's not technically what's going on here, but the EPA does offer car makers something called 'off-cycle credits' that incentivize the use of start/stop technology, amongst other things that aim to reduce vehicle emissions. Here's what the EPA has to say about the tech as of today on its website. 'Start-stop systems (sometimes called idle-stop, smart start, or other manufacturer-specific names) save fuel by turning off the engine when the vehicle comes to a stop and automatically starting it back up when you step on the accelerator. Start-stop can improve fuel economy by 4%–5% and provides the biggest benefit in conditions where the engine would otherwise be idling, such as stop-and-go city driving.' Does start/stop tech actually reduce fuel consumption, though? One real-world test from Jason Fenske's Engineering Explained showed there is a benefit to the tech when you're sitting stationary for extended periods of time, such as at a long traffic light. If you're only stopping briefly, however (like for a stop sign), the benefit drops away. It's also important to recognize that not all start/stop systems are the same. Many traditional internal-combustion cars with the tech will shut the engine off when you've come to a full stop, then switch the engine back on once you lift off the brake pedal to begin moving again. Vehicles with mild-hybrid electric assist will take that a step further and shut the engine off as you're coasting to a stop, eliminating the rough sensation of an engine abruptly stopping. They're typically much smoother on start-up, too, as the electric assist gets you moving off the line, giving the engine a chance to start after the car's already started to roll forward. Many mild-hybrid-equipped vehicles will even shut the engine off while coasting, too, silently saving fuel in the background. Where this ultimately leads is unclear at the moment. Even if the EPA eliminates any incentives to include start/stop on cars, there's no guarantee that car companies will drop the technology. Car manufacturers are in no way required to include start/stop technology on their vehicles, and virtually every new car on sale today that has it allows you to turn it off. The one annoyance commonly voiced by folks is that many of those vehicles will force you to stab the 'off' button on every key cycle because it defaults to on. We'll update this story with any developments if and when the EPA provides additional details. You Might Also Like You Need a Torque Wrench in Your Toolbox Tested: Best Car Interior Cleaners The Man Who Signs Every Car
Yahoo
01-05-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
The Ford Mustang GTD Just Broke Its Own Record with a 6:52 Lap Around the 'Ring
Even thought it ran a record-setting run last year, Ford remained unsatisfied with the Mustang GTD's performance at the Nürburgring Nordschleife. Despite being the first American car to break the seven-minute barrier at the famed circuit, FoMoCo knew the supercharged pony car had more to give. Well, the automaker has returned to the track — andhere in 2025, it has just shaved more than five seconds off of its previous run. In fact, the Mustang GTD is the now fourth-fastest production car to ever lap the 'Ring, completing the 12.9-mile loop in just 6:52.072. Last year's lap attempts weren't ideal by any means. Ford told Road & Track that it only managed to get three officially timed laps in during the entirety of 2024, owing largely to struggles with the weather. You can even see sections of wet track in last year's documentary about the attempt, keeping the car off of the fastest line at times. The new year, in turn, seems to have brought better conditions around the Green Hell. That's not to say that Ford hasn't made adjustments, with the GTD receiving a thorough rework over the last few months. The team has revised the chassis tuning, adding increased torsional rigidity throughout. The traction control and ABS systems were also reworked, as was the initial powertrain calibration on the supercharged 5.2-liter V-8. Combined with the refined aero package and the tweaks Multimatic Motorsports driver Dirk Müller, and Ford found those five-and-a-half seconds around the 'Ring. A 6:52.072 lap puts the GTD in rarified air. Only the Mercedes-AMG One (6:29.090), Mercedes-AMG GT Black Series (6:48.047), and the current Porsche 911 GT3 RS (6:49.328) sit ahead of the car in the production car segment, which is a massive achievement for Detroit. (Technically speaking, the 991.2 GT2 RS with the Manthey Performance hardware is also quicker, having posted a 6:43.300 on the longer layout completed by Ford; The Blue Oval clearly doesn't see that as a true production car record, however) Ford says that the Mustang GTD will start to roll out to customers this spring, which means we won't have to wait much longer before these beasts hit driveways. We hope to see at least a few owners using the car for its true purpose, in spite of the fact that they seem destined to become some of the more valuable Mustangs of the modern era. We also would love to see Ford continue building machines like this, even if they aren't all made for chasing 'Ring records. You Might Also Like You Need a Torque Wrench in Your Toolbox Tested: Best Car Interior Cleaners The Man Who Signs Every Car Sign in to access your portfolio
