The new 2025 Ford Mustang GTD is out, and Ford has already released a video of the model testing at Road Atlanta. It sounds incredible, so you should stop what you’re doing to watch and listen.
What you’re hearing is a 5.2-liter supercharged V-8. It appears to be an evolution of the old Shelby GT500’s “Predator” engine, albeit with hardware changes and a new dry-sump oiling system. Output is 800 horsepower and 730 pound-feet of torque, which gets to the rear-mounted eight-speed dual-clutch transaxle via a carbon-fiber driveshaft. What’s unclear here is if the camouflaged testing mule is sporting the optional titanium Akrapovic exhaust, but what is clear is that it sounds amazing.
Not too different than the GT500, of course, but that’s no bad thing. That car made its presence known for miles. While testing one a few years ago, we actually got in trouble for violating a track’s noise limits. This, in a car that had license plates. Expect similar shenanigans from the GTD.
You can hear a bit of supercharger whine from the front, but as the car passes, all you hear is exhaust note. It sounds like the transmission shifts quickly, too. That was the case with the seven-speed Tremec dual-clutch in the GT500, and we suspect that the GTD uses Tremec’s eight-speed transaxle, a development of that seven-speed.
The car, of course, looks very fast. Ford is targeting a sub-seven-minute Nürburgring Nordschleife lap time, and with all that grunt plus massive Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 R tires and real aerodynamics, we can see them getting there. We’ll settle for driving one at Road Atlanta, however.
Senior Reporter
A car enthusiast since childhood, Chris Perkins is Road & Track’s engineering nerd and Porsche apologist. He joined the staff in 2016 and no one has figured out a way to fire him since. He street-parks a Porsche Boxster in Brooklyn, New York, much to the horror of everyone who sees the car, not least the author himself. He also insists he’s not a convertible person, despite owning three.