Over the weekend at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, Ford unveiled the car it will take to the track next year for another shot at endurance racing victory, the Mustang GT3.
Based on the roadgoing Mustang ‘Dark Horse’, the race car will compete in the global FIA GT3 category and will attempt to replicate the Ford GT’s victory it made in 2016 at Circuit de la Sarthe.
Ford partnered with Multimatic and M-Sport to create the Mustang GT3, two longtime partners of the brand. Multimatic will help build and support the cars, while M-Sport, best known for its participation in the World Rally Championship, will assemble the 5.4-litre Coyote-based V8 that lays under the bonnet.
Some of the car’s features include custom-made short-long arm suspension, a transaxle gearbox mounted at the rear, carbon fibre body panels, and unique aerodynamic elements such as the gargantuan rear wing.
The Mustang GT3 made its debut in a colourful livery designed by Troy Lee, a well known motorsport designer who has worked with drivers like the late Ken Block in the past. He also designed Ford Performance’s new logo which will be featured on all Works vehicles.
Before it heads to Le Mans next year, customer teams will contest the new race car in various GT3 series across the globe. The first team to do so is Germany-based Proton Competition which will race a pair of Mustang GT3s in the FIA World Endurance Championship in 2024.
Ford Performance also plans to race two factory Mustang GT3 cars in the IMSA GTD Pro class which will begin at the 2024 Rolex 24 at Daytona.
“Ford and Le Mans are bound together by history. And now we’re coming back to the most dramatic, most rewarding and most important race in the world,” says Jim Farley, Ford Motor Company CEO.
“It is not Ford versus Ferrari anymore. It is Ford versus everyone. Going back to Le Mans is the beginning of building a global motorsports business with Mustang, just like we are doing with Bronco and Raptor off-road.”
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