Cars in Review: 2025 Ford Mustang GTD

No more waiting for this blog post my fellow gearheads, enough information was finally released for me to write about it. So for this week’s Cars In Review, the 2025 Ford Mustang GTD will be reviewed. It’s review was a long time coming and I’ll write this as a thank you post for someone who has become really important in my life recently. This is just my little way of doing something for you now like you’ve done for me. 

Its known to Ford as a supercar but to the public eye its a dream car, one that many will say they rather keep dreaming about than owning due to the price tag. I recommend you’re sitting for this one because it’s a real jaw dropper. When the car was first rumoured around August of 2023 the price was anticipated to be around $300,000 – that’s right a six digit number. But as time passed, and it got closer to the actual release date, the price was very evidently a lot higher than what it was once first thought out to be – $325,000. Now that the car has officially been released, you guessed it, the price went up yet again. Currently the price to buy one of these amazing beasts is actually $327,960 (before any options are considered). Have you fallen off your seat yet? And just to put this into perspective, my previous post on the 2024 Mustang Dark Horse linked here, has a price tag of $62,500 on the high end – that’s almost 5 times and a little bit more of the original cost of this new release! But the purchase is so worth it I promise you. Especially knowing that Ford only plans on limiting production to about 1000 or so units, making this a very rare find when you get your hands on one. 

Overview

This car screams race car vibes even before you actually see it. I mean seriously, what else do you think of when you hear the word “Mustang”? Performance? Sports car? Dream car? Yeah not to put words in your mouth but the sentiments are shared around the world for this model. The only thing is along with these words you may not have thought of “street legal” which this car actually is although much of the inspiration comes from a race car. The GTD has been stripped of restrictions that limited horsepower, weight, and aerodynamic devices through its transition into a street legal ride. 

New for 2025

For 2025, Ford introduced the GTD model so virtually everything about this car would be new. It is important to note that Ford decided to use a dry-sump version of the 760 horsepower Mustang Shelby GT500 engine, helping the GTD model to make 815 horsepower very easily. 

Engine, Transmission, and Performance

To start off this section I think it’s important to go over some very useful information. The Mustang GTD gets its name from IMSA’s GTD (Grand Touring Daytona) racing class where full-on GT3 race cars compete. This is the inspiration for the most powerful Mustang Ford ever built. Its supercharged 5.2 liter V8 engine produces 815 horsepower and for a street legal car it makes more horsepower than the GT3 race car which instead uses a 5.4 liter V8 engine that makes around 500 horsepower. Shocking I know! Ford says this car’s redline is well over 7500 RPM. And for those of you who don’t know what RPM is here is a mini lesson for you. RPM stands for Revolutions per Minute and it is a unit of measure that describes the rotational speed of an object, with its specific focus on how many times it completes a full rotation every minute. To simplify, it’s how fast something is spinning or rotating in a timed session. 

There’s something truly special when a horse can be free and let loose in the wild, even if this was just a reference to the Mustang being released without the technical restrictions from a sanctioning body as mentioned previously. A carbon fibre driveshaft sends power to the rear mounted eight speed dual clutch transaxle which helps with shifting and Ford actually admitted to the whole car being constructed from carbon fibre, with the exception of the door skins of course. It also features an aggressive front splitter, a vented hood under vented fenders, and comes available with a C-pillar mounted and hydraulically controlled wing that takes over the width of the back trunk. Ford offers an aerodynamic equipment package that adds a carbon fibre underbody tray and hydraulically controlled front flaps that help balance airflow and front-to-rear downforce.

Did You Know: Ford says tech like that isn’t allowed in sanctioned GT3 racing cars? 

With this car, you do lose trunk space but for a good reason – it is the new home of suspension and cooling components. Two huge air scoops direct air from the rear window down into heat exchangers to help cool off the transaxle. Multimatic’s adaptive suspension covers the transaxle, using race type pushrod suspension and the latest in adaptive spool valve shocks to enable as much control for the driver as possible. 

In Track Mode, the hydraulically actuated springs lower the ride height by approximately 1.5 inches. The Mustang GTD uses 325 MM wide tires in the front and 345 MM’s in the rear. It does come with standard 20 inch forged aluminium rims but has a magnesium wheel option that helps to shave down the overall weight while still keeping the same race car look. However, unlike the typical race car, these wheels have 5 lug spots instead of centre-locking but thanks to the wheels that are wrapped in sticky Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 R tires, the racing spirit is very much alive.      

Fuel Economy and Real World MPG

For this car, Ford really put the emphasis on performance rather than fuel economy hence the really crappy numbers this car carries around. According to the EPA, the 2025 Ford Mustang GTD manages a 10 MPG city, 17 MPG highway, and 12 MPG combined – one of the lowest ratings we have ever written about on this site! But what it lacks in this category it really makes up for it in the previous one.

Interior, Comfort, and Cargo

Don’t let the outside of this car fool you, it is very much a street legal car on the inside. The interior features a mixture of suede, leather, and carbon fibre but the main attraction has to be the Recaro bucket front seats. It does however sacrifice the rear cushions (to help reduce the weight) and you do lose a bit of cargo space but let’s be real, as much as you would want to show this car off, I’m pretty sure you wouldn’t use this as your daily. 

Now here’s where things get really cool for this car (not that this car needs any help being cool in general) but keep reading and you’ll understand why I made this statement. The paddle shifters are 3D printed from titanium and the same goes for the rotary dial gear selector and serial placard. Ford admitted the material sourced for these parts were actually from a retired Lockheed Martin F-22 Fighter Jet. 

You do have many options to choose from for the interior when it comes to things like colour and equipment that will really allow you build an interesting car that can hopefully closely mimic your style. 

0-60 MPH Times

If you’re looking for an adrenaline rush, the Mustang GTD is the car for you! It is able to make it from 0-60 MPH in literally under 4 seconds. Some sources say it’s closer to 3.5 seconds even just around the 3 second mark, but this time is very comparable to those under the performance supercar category. Wait a go Ford!  

Infotainment and Connectivity

Just like the exterior look and engine in this powerful beast, the infotainment system is no different – but it carries around its own reputation. I mean it would only make sense to put in a high tech system into a car that’s already got a lot going for it right? The GTD comes equipped with a 12.4 inch LCD digital cluster and a 13.2 inch centre touchscreen. Drivers have the ability to tailor the information presented on the screens to their preferences with the main focus on performance data, navigation, or connectivity. Interestingly enough both screens are being powered by video-game inspired graphics from the Unreal gaming engine which helps to create an engaging and intuitive user experience, not to mention a totally cool unforgettable experience for the driver and their passengers. But sounds surreal right? 

The GTD also comes with SYNC4 technology programmed into the system. This enables streamless integration with compatible smartphones that can provide access to navigation, music streaming, and other apps, plus natural voice recognition, one step destination search, and of course wireless phone connections. 

Over the air updates are also part of the infotainment system for the FordPass Connect that allows for remote features like start/stop, lock/unlock, and vehicle status checks through the FordPass app with updates sent over the air of course. A Ford Premium Connectivity package also comes optional which offers a 5G Wi-Fi hotspot, real time navigation, and access to streaming apps when the car is parked.  

Safety and Driver Assistance Features

Believe it or not, Ford also prioritizes occupant protection just as much as it does performance and features a wide amount of different types of advanced features and technologies throughout. Some of the features include (but are not limited to): lane keeping assist, adaptive cruise control, and automatic emergency braking. The standard ones include features like blind spot monitoring with rear cross traffic alert and a distracted driver alert system (maybe the only downfall of this car). 

Warranty and Maintenance Coverage

For the 2025 model, Ford created a couple of different sub categories when it came to warranty and maintenance coverage. They are listed by group below: 

Basic Warranty: 

• 36 months or 60,000 KM (whichever one comes first) 

Powertrain Warranty: 

• Engine and transmission components are covered for 5 years or 100,000 KM 

Safety Restraint System Warranty: 

• Safety restraint components are covered for 5 years or 100,000 KM 

Emissions Warranty: 

• 36 months or 60,000 KM (according to Ford Canada) 

Corrosion Warranty: 

• 5 year, unlimited distance corrosion warranty, covering perforation on the vehicle body parts 

Extended Warranty

• Various “Ford Protect” plans are offered that can extend coverage after the warranty is expired
  • These plans include, PremiumCARE, ExtraCARE, BaseCARE, and PowertrainCARE all covering different components and systems, that include but are not limited to the engine, transmission, steering, brakes, and more 

When it comes to the maintenance coverage for this car, Ford does not include a complimentary scheduled service, but depending on the Ford Protect Plan you choose, maintenance coverage may be offered.   

Final Thoughts

Well there you have it, another Cars in Review post is finished. I hope you enjoyed the read and learned something new even if it means you learned you gotta work a little harder to be able to afford your dream car! Until next time, stay safe and don’t forget to read our previous blog post on the Chevy Camaro, what a shocker that article was!