With roughly 12.9 miles of track and 73 turns, the Nürburgring Nordschleife is one of the most challenging racecourses in the world. Setting an impressive time around the ‘Ring gives an automaker a significant marketing opportunity to demonstrate that a new performance vehicle is among the best in the world.
Ford has been touting the Mustang GTD’s ability to lap the grueling track in less than seven minutes since the model’s debut. Until now, the company hadn’t actually proven that the hardcore model was really capable of such an impressive time. The GTD is officially the fastest American production vehicle ever to go around the ‘Ring.
Breaking The Seven-Minute Barrier
The Mustang GTD went around the Nordschleife in 6 minutes and 57.685 seconds. The feat is even more impressive because this time is just the sixth stock production sports car to complete an officially certified lap in less than seven minutes. The video above shows some of the preparation for the attempt, and the in-car footage starts at 10:13.
Ford President and CEO Jim Farley is proud of this achievement but thinks an even faster lap is possible.
“We’re proud to be the first American automaker with a car that can lap the Nürburgring in under seven minutes, but we aren’t satisfied,” he said. “We know there’s much more time to find with Mustang GTD. We’ll be back.”
The record-setting GTD was stock, except for additional driver-safety equipment. Ford added a roll cage and a competition-spec seat with a high-point harness. Veteran racing driver Dirk Müller piloted this Mustang for the lap around the ‘Ring.
For reference, the Mercedes-AMG One hypercar is the current record-holding production car around the ‘Ring, with a time of 6:29.090. Before this
, the Dodge Viper ACR was the fastest American vehicle by completing a lap in 7:01.3 in 2017.
Building A World-Beating Mustang
Since the GTD’s announcement, Ford has been promising the vehicle would be capable of taking on the world’s best sports cars. Achieving a sub-seven-minute lap around the ‘Ring was a way to demonstrate the vehicle’s astounding capabilities to performance vehicle fans around the world.
Onboard Camera Full Lap
The GTD is Ford’s most powerful production Mustang ever, with a supercharged 5.2-liter V-8 making 815 horsepower and 664 pound-feet of torque. It can reach a top speed of 202 miles per hour. A rear-mounted eight-speed dual-clutch transaxle improves the vehicle’s weight distribution.
The car looks suitably aggressive, too. The body features huge extractors in the hood and massive openings in the front fenders. The carbon-fiber body panels help keep the GTD’s weight to a minimum. Active flaps in the front and an optional rear wing with a drag reduction system allow for adjusting the aerodynamics depending on the driving conditions.
All of this power and aerodynamic tech comes at a hefty price because the Mustang GTD starts at $325,000. Ford only plans to produce them for the 2025 and 2026 model years.
TopSpeed’s Take
Breaking the seven-minute barrier around the ‘Ring is an accomplishment that Ford has good reason to celebrate. However, the burning question is how long the company gets to hold this title. The company’s cross-town rival at Chevrolet has the 1,064-horsepower Corvette ZR1 coming soon. With over 200 horsepower more than the Mustang GTD, it could be even faster around the Nordschleife.
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