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When Ford set out to transform a purpose-built Mustang GT3 race car into a road-going rocket dubbed the Mustang GTD, the company had the same mission: upstaging the elite European performance cars on their turf. The Ford achieved that goal with the Mustang GTD’s sub-7-minute lap around the storied Nürburgring.
Featuring Performance White paint the Mustang GTD Spirit of America is adorned with racing stripes in Race Red and Lightning Blue inspired by the overalls worn by Craig Breedlove the driver of the original, record-setting Spirit of America. (Photo Credit: Ford Motor Company)
As the first production vehicle from an American brand to achieve this feat, it was a point of pride for the global company with its headquarters in Dearborn, Michigan. With that success in mind, the company created a new special edition called the Mustang GTD Spirit of America, which it says celebrates “America’s spirit of ingenuity and perseverance and 60 years of Mustang achievement.”
“Mustang GTD is the pinnacle of Mustang performance. Mustang GTD Spirit of America celebrates the daring behind that performance,” Mustang GTD Brand Manager Jim Owens said. “Mustang GTD wouldn’t have been possible without people like Craig Breedlove, pushing the edge of the envelope and challenging the Goliaths of the day in an all-American way.”
The Mustang GTD Spirit of America’s cockpit features Black Onyx leather-trimmed seats with Dinamica inserts, Race Red gradient stripes, Re-Entry White trim, and Victory Blue contrast stitching. Its paddle shifters, shift ring, and dash plaque are all 3D-printed titanium.
Breedlove, an aerospace engineer, put a cheap jet engine in his Spirit of America, a three-wheel chassis with a streamlined fuselage, which he drove beyond the 500- and 600-mile-per-hour barriers to set land speed records. An inspiration for American innovators, his iconic machine’s moniker lives on with this extra-special-edition Mustang supercar.
Inspired by the overalls that Breedlove wore during his record-setting runs, the Mustang GTD Spirit of America’s Performance White body wears a set of Race Red and Lightning Blue racing stripes that resemble the design of the original Mustang Tribar emblem. That theme of red, white, and blue accents continues in the cockpit, while generous doses of exposed carbon fiber grace the aerodynamics of this patriotic pony car.
Most of the Mustang GTD’s aerodynamics, including the front splitter, rear diffuser, and rear spoiler are all exposed carbon fiber. The mirror end caps can be ordered in Race Red to match the brake calipers or in exposed carbon fiber to match the aero elements. Built with the Mustang GTD Performance Package as standard, the Mustang GTD Spirt of America’s spoiler wears Race Red end plates and a prominent ‘MUSTANG’ wordmark across the spoiler’s backside.
The 815-horsepower Mustang GTD Spirit of America debuted at a pre-Detroit Auto Show tailgate event at Huntington Place in Detroit, Michigan.
