- The Ford Mustang GT4 debuted at the 24 Hours of Spa in Belgium, with the entry-level race car slotting below the GT3 that will compete at Le Mans next year.
- The GT4 is a dialed back versus the GT3, but it is still an extreme track car with a ginormous rear wing, a stripped-down interior, and a lightweight body.
- Co-developed with Multimatic, the GT4 packs a V-8 based on the Coyote 5.0-liter available in the factory Ford Mustang.
The seventh-generation Ford Mustang has motorsports in its blood. When Ford first revealed the 2024 Mustang, it also teased a series of race cars based on the V-8-powered muscle car—from the Dark Horse R track toy to an NHRA drag racer. Now, Ford has fully taken the wraps off the Mustang GT4 at the 24 Hours of Spa, which will serve as the entry-level vehicle for drivers looking to hone their craft in wheel-to-wheel competition.
The reveal of the GT4 comes shortly after the unveiling of the Mustang GT3 earlier this month. The GT4 sports a similarly vivid orange, red, and purple livery plastered with the new, simplified Ford Performance logo, a look also echoed on the SuperVan 4.2 that recently competed at the Pikes Peak Hill Climb. Based on the road-going Dark Horse, the GT4 slots between the Dark Horse R (which will be fully revealed soon) and the GT3 in the Ford motorsports lineup. GT4 cars produce less power and less downforce than the GT3 category.
The car qualifies for the SRO-sanctioned GT4 category, which includes GT4-specific series in Europe and America as well as eligibility for mixed GT3 and GT4 fields in leagues like the British GT Championship. The GT3, meanwhile, can run in more prestigious series like the World Endurance Championship, where Ford will enter the GT3 into the 24 Hours of Le Mans next year. While the GT3 will be run by a factory-backed team in IMSA’s GTD Pro class, the GT4 car is exclusively for customer teams. Ford first entered GT4 racing with the Mustang in 2017.
Ford closely worked with Canadian engineering experts Multimatic—responsible for assembling the most recent Ford GT and developing many special-edition Aston Martins like the Valkyrie—on the GT4. Under the hood lies a Coyote-based V-8 that has been tuned for motorsport and was developed in-house by Ford Performance. It will also be built by Ford in Dearborn, Michigan, but Ford didn’t provide any other engine specifics.
The GT4 packs Multimatic spool-valve dampers and sheds weight thanks to bodywork made from natural fibers. Shifting is handled by a Holinger dog-ring gearbox with paddle shifters with pneumatic actuation, while the aerodynamics are specially designed for the GT4 category. The GT4 still features a large rear wing sprouting from the trunk lid, but the diffuser is far more tame than on the GT3, and there are fewer vents carved into the narrower fenders. The cabin is very similar to the GT3, stripped down to the bare essentials with Recaro racing seats to keep the driver nice and snug.
Associate News Editor
Caleb Miller began blogging about cars at 13 years old, and he realized his dream of writing for a car magazine after graduating from Carnegie Mellon University and joining the Car and Driver team. He loves quirky and obscure autos, aiming to one day own something bizarre like a Nissan S-Cargo, and is an avid motorsports fan.
Source: www.caranddriver.com