Last August, Ford told the world that it was shooting for a sub-seven-minute lap time at the Nürburgring Nordschleife with its upcoming GT3 racing-derived Mustang GTD. After two years of hard work, Ford nailed its target. The Mustang GTD recently became the fastest American car that’s ever taken on the 20.8 kilometers (12.9 miles), 73 turns, and 300 meters (984 feet) of elevation change otherwise known as the “Green Hell.”
The crews at Ford Performance and Canada’s Multimatic started with the basics. They cut weight by giving the GTD carbon fiber bodywork. A hydraulic Drag Reduction System that opens flaps under the body and adjusts the angle of the C-pillar-mounted rear wing makes the most of the air traveling over the lightweight exterior. Ford Performance coupled that reduced weight with increased output: 815 horsepower and 664 lb-ft of torque from a supercharged 5.2-liter V8 with a track-ready dry-sump oiling system.
That power would’ve been nothing without the right driver, so Ford turned to Multimatic Motorsports’ Dirk Müller, who was familiar with the Nürburgring from behind the wheel of real cars and simulators. The rest was up to nature. The Nürburgring Nordschleife can be drenched with sunshine and rain in different sections at the same time. When Ford set out to hit its goal lap time, the conditions were not optimal, but it made the attempt anyway.
Driving “by feel,” Müller set a time of 6:57.685. Not only is Ford the first and only American manufacturer to get a time that low, but the Mustang GTD is the fifth fastest stock production sports car and just the sixth vehicle in its class to finish its lap in under seven minutes. That last distinction puts the GTD in the same stratosphere as the Porsche 911 GT3 RS and Mercedes-AMG GT Black Series, according to the track’s official site.
So what are the go-fast gangs at Ford and Multimatic going to do now that they’ve made history? Return to the Nürburgring to run an even faster lap. As Jim Farley, Ford President and CEO, said, “We know there’s much more time to find with Mustang GTD. We’ll be back.”
Source: www.classiccars.com