In a bleak time for fast Fords, the Mustang GTD has been a beacon of hope. A very expensive beacon, yes, but a beacon nonetheless, boasting the same sort of made-by-Multimatic greatness as the GT - with a supercharged V8 playing the very large cherry on top. It looked like a Mustang race car and reportedly drove like one, too, with its semi-active pushrod suspension, transaxle and dramatic aero enhancements. The GTD was the most exciting thing to happen to Mustangs - and to Nurburgring lap times - in a long time.
Now there’s an opportunity once more to own a Grand Touring Daytona in Europe, with an application window open from today until October 16th for prospective owners to throw their hat into the ring. It says a lot, in fact, about just how special the GTD is that such a lottery exists; it’s hard to think of many other Mustangs in history where European customers would be clamouring to own one. Even fewer where such a process opens up again - and could be even more oversubscribed the second time around.
Ford says 500 GTDs are coming to Europe in this latest batch; understandable when you bear in mind the 349g/km and 18.5mpg. Not terrible given more than 800hp and almost two tonnes, if catastrophic for fleet CO2 averages. Especially with not enough Europeans taking notice of Ford’s electric cars. But if ever a brand could do with the halo effect of a limited-run dream machine in 2026, it’s the Blue Oval.
Exactly what happens next isn’t clear. The GTD microsite says that the application form ‘is to assist Ford Motor Company and its affiliates in selecting applicants to be given the opportunity to purchase this limited production Mustang GTS in select markets.’ There has been no announcement of right-hand drive, which seems very unlikely for such a tiny number of cars anyway. Price? ‘Expected to start from £315,000’, it says for the moment, so right in the upper echelons of new track day toys: you’d do well to spend more than that on a GT3 RS. But then there won’t be another half a dozen GTDs at your local circuit evening - don’t be surprised if that counts for quite a lot when some come to make their application…
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