Mustang GTD’s Second Lap Of The Nürburgring Just Made The Corvette ZR1’s Job A Whole Lot Harder

6:52.072. It’s redemption for Ford after last summer’s bittersweet trip to the Green Hell. Sure, the Mustang GTD managed a very impressive feat by smashing through the seven-minute mark around Germany’s legendary Nürburgring racetrack on that last trip, but it hadn’t gone to plan. The effort was met with unusual cold and damp weather, with a wet surface meaning Ford knew it left some time on the table.

The GTD became the sixth-fastest production car ever around the track, at least by the official records. The first American car in the sixes. But Ford knew the car could do better. When Porsche came along in April with the 911 GT3, making a little more than half the GTD’s horsepower and a stick-shift and setting a faster time, it had to sting. As Ford CEO Jim Farley said, the Mustang would be back. The Mustang came back, and it beat its old time by more than five seconds. You can watch that at the bottom of this article.

Second-By-Second Lap Analysis Means A Better Mustang

Ford is shockingly serious about just how fast the Mustang GTD is. Instead of sitting and waiting for spring and a new lap, the Mustang GTD team made a “second-by-second” review of one of the car’s best laps. They analyzed, tested changes through simulations, and repeated the process.

The results of those simulations were some surprisingly extensive changes. Ford stiffened the chassis for more torsional rigidity. It updated the Mustang GTD’s suspension hardware and alignment to make it more predictable. Ford even replaced the Active Spool Valve Multimatic shocks with a new development.

We’re talking serious changes to a car that was then weeks away from production. There were aerodynamic changes to increase the car’s downforce, new ABS and traction control behavior, and updates to the calibration of the engine and transmission.

Related

Options Can Easily Add Another Six Figures To The $325,000 Mustang GTD

The Ford Mustang GTD Carbon Series costs $428,000, while the Spirit of America is $429,000.

All of the changes led to a car that is 5.5 seconds quicker around the 12.9-mile track. The new 6:52.072 time puts Ford back ahead of the 992.2 911 GT3 and makes it the fourth-quickest production car (fifth if you count the AMG ONE, which Ford and Nürburgring officials put in a different class) around the ‘Ring of all time.

Ford says the changes aren’t just for this record-setting lap. They will be applied to every production copy of the Ford Mustang GTD.

Will The ZR1 Take The Bait? We Hope So

As the fastest American car around the track, though, Ford will have a big target on its back. A target that must look very tempting to Chevrolet’s Corvette team and the all-new 1,064-horsepower ZR1. It’s been a long time since GM officially brought a Corvette to the track, but the company has been chasing lap records with the ZR1 already.

The Ford Mustang GTD is an 815-hp super pony. It uses a 5.2-liter supercharged V8 that makes 664 lb-ft of torque to take it to a top speed of 202 mph. Active aerodynamics, carbon ceramic brakes, and an inboard rear suspension you can watch from in the cabin, all make this car a massive leap over any Mustang that has ever come before it.

Related

How The Ford Mustang GTD Stacks Up Against America’s Most Powerful V8s

One of the most powerful Mustangs is set to take the stage soon, but how does its monstrous V8 compare to other titans of the American car industry?

Other GTD highlights include a dry sump oil system and a titanium exhaust. This horse has active spool valve shocks from Multimatic and an F1-style drag reduction system that opens the rear wing when it is galloping for top speed. The quarter-million-dollar cars are finished by race shop Multimatic for Ford, and will be produced in very limited numbers. Those who ordered one should feel a little more smug, and we can’t wait to see if the ZR1 can remove their smiles.