Ford’s taking the new S650 Mustang racing around the world in multiple series, including NASCAR, IMAS SportsCar Championship, and Australia’s Supercars series, along with the GT4 and GT3 classes of various series.
On Tuesday, Ford CEO Jim Farley tweeted a video of the Mustang GT3 race car undergoing testing at Sebring. Hours later the executive retweeted his initial tweet and asked if Ford should make a road version.
Should we make a road version? https://t.co/LxaK6AjvD6
— Jim Farley (@jimfarley98) March 22, 2023
Ford has already announced it will build a race-ready version of the new Mustang called the Dark Horse R. It’s unclear how much of the GT3 race car could be translated over to a street-legal variant, but if made, Ford could go beyond the Dark Horse R and target the likes of the Porsche 911 GT3 or even the Porsche 911 GT3 RS with its own street-legal race car.
The Mustang GT3 is being developed to compete in the World Endurance Championship’s GT class starting in 2024. The new race car will serve as the basis for the other S650 Mustang-based race cars in the GT classes of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, which will pit the American pony car against Corvettes, Mercedes-Benz AMGs, and the Porsche 911.
Like it did with the GT supercar, Ford has partnered with Canadian motorsports and engineering company Multimatic to develop the Mustang GT3. Multimatic’s also responsible for the Bronco DR.
The Mustang GT3 will be powered by a modified version of the 5.0-liter Coyote V-8 being developed in-house by Ford Performance, but it will be supplied by M-Sport, which is a British motorsport and engineering company that developed Ford’s most recent rally cars.
Mustang GT3s, in race spec, will run a different suspension than the street S650 cars. A new unequal-length double-wishbone suspension will be used both front and rear, and the car will use a rear-mounted transaxle gearbox.
The GT3’s body panels will be similar to the road car’s, but will feature series-specific aerodynamics for cooling and downforce, and the entire body will be made out of carbon fiber.
