Ford is poised to continue their rich heritage in endurance racing with their V8 powered Mustang GT3, a joint program between Ford Performance and Multimatic Motorsports. The highly modified sports car will compete for victory in the IMSA Daytona GTD class starting from 2024.
There are few cars that have had such an impact in the motoring world as the Ford Mustang, which inevitably ushered in a whole new segment; the Pony car. The storied sports car will signal Ford’s return to global sports car racing as Ford Performance has greenlit the project to prepare a new GT3 challenger.
The partnership will include Multimatic Motorsports who have had a fruitful collaboration with the Blue Oval in the past. Mark Rushbrook, Ford Performance Motorsports global director stated that previous customer programs with Multimatic Motorsports in the past have yielded championship-level race programs for Ford and its customers.
On the engine front, M-Sport will develop the Ford 5,0-litre Coyote-based V8 engine that will drop into the highly modified GT3 racer. This after a 25-year relationship in the FIA World Rally Championship with the most recent 1-3-5 finish happening at the season debut at the Rallye Monte Carlo just a few days ago.
The growling powerplant itself will remain naturally aspirated and have endurance modifications implemented to make it championship ready for GT3 racing. Front and rear suspension will feature a short-long arm setup, a rear-mounted transaxle gearbox while carbon fibre body panels will be moulded into a unique aero package required to be competitive in the racing series.
Initial plans will feature a two-car factory backed IMSA GTD Pro works team managed by Multimatic as well as a customer branch for Mustang race cars in the GTD class. The fruits of this V8 powered Mustang GT3 labour will compete for the first time at Daytona in 2024. While that is still a far away date, have a look at our video of the new and old Mach 1 Mustangs.
