00:00Oh, I love this car.
00:23Nobody's keeping up with this thing.
00:28People have probably said this about lots of different sports cars and supercars over the years, but the only way to describe this car is as a cheat code.
00:39This is one of those cars that you're just, your license is always in danger because even when you're going, what would in most any other cars count as really fast, this car still feels like you're not even pushing it.
00:51I know we say it's about lots of cars, but like it has so much grip on the front that it seems like it can go around most of these corners without really slowing down all that much or even at all.
01:03Like I feel like I'm breaking for them just because that's what you do.
01:11There are a lot of companies that have done the whole race car for the road thing, right?
01:15Oh, we took the race car and then we put the interior back in and we just change it just enough to make it legal and then on and on and et cetera, et cetera.
01:21This one, you kind of buy a lot of that marketing line because that was more or less the actual progression of it.
01:29They started, they built the dark horse and then they built the GT3 race car and then they built this on top of it.
01:35And what they kind of did here was they gave it things that they couldn't give the race car.
01:41This is the car that Ford says it would build as a track car if there was no rule book.
01:47But you know, then they brought up their pro drivers and you really got the sense when you talk to them that they actually kind of mean it.
01:53Like this actually does things that they wish their race car would do.
01:56We have to talk about all the active air on this car because there are these flaps under the front bumper.
02:07You can't see them without crawling under there.
02:08But what they do is they open and close and that changes how the air goes under the car or through the radiators around it and things.
02:15And that changes how much downforce is on the front nose.
02:18And then, of course, you've got this swan neck wing on the back.
02:21This is where we're getting into the real like fancy stuff on the GT3 race car that the GTD is based on.
02:30You can't have active aerodynamics, but this is a street car. There's no rules.
02:34So inside these wing stands are hydraulic lines controlling this rear wing so that it can do the thing that you see in F1.
02:42When you want top speed, it opens up, air goes straight through it, low drag.
02:47But then when you get into those corners and you need that downforce to really put the power down, wing closes.
02:53And on this car, it's got its own brain. It does everything automatically.
02:59Part of what makes this car work so well is the balance of it.
03:03They've moved the transmission back to the back of the car and made it a trans-axle.
03:08So the rear axle and the transmission are all one unit and it's connected to the engine with a torque tube.
03:12And that moves the weight back, gives it a 50-50 weight balance, and it puts more weight on the rear axle.
03:19So that when you are sending 815 horsepower and 664 pound feet of torque to only the rear wheels, it can actually put that power down.
03:29Now it does have gigantic Michelin Cup 2R tires on it that are doing all the sticking, but like that's a lot of power for two wheels.
03:37Big car is heavy car and big car is going to stop, so you need big brakes to go with it.
03:48Brembo carbon ceramic rotors here, much lighter than what you would get if it were steel and more heat resistance.
03:55Then being clamped by these big giant six-piston monoblock calipers up front, four pistons in the rear.
04:02The dark horse did this trick first, you know, where it really made this what is a big car and what is a big coupe really dance real well.
04:15And this one just takes that and runs with it.
04:22So this is where the real race car stuff is happening right here.
04:25This suspension, this whole thing, not in any other Mustang.
04:29This is an integral length suspension with this push rod activated rocker arm set up here.
04:34And this is what they do in race cars because this gives you a perfect ratio of inputs as the wheel goes up and down into the shock absorbers and the springs.
04:43And these are really cool shocks and springs right here.
04:45This is Multimatic's adaptive spool valve.
04:47So it's electronically controlled, so it changes the damping, but also it's hydraulic.
04:52So when you put this thing in track mode, what it does is literally compresses this spring with a hydraulic ramp and that drops the car 50 millimeters.
05:01And then this softer spring that gets you better ride on the road is out of the equation.
05:05It's compressed.
05:06Now you're just using the hard spring.
05:08That's your race spring.
05:09And that's how you go from a reasonable ride quality on the street to a proper track setup.
05:15The one I think very legitimate complaint on this car is that you are still getting a pretty standard Mustang GT interior for $325,000 plus.
05:36And I say that approximately because Ford still won't tell us exactly how much this thing costs.
05:41Same screen.
05:42Same dashboard.
05:43The Recaro seats are new and they're awesome.
05:45Same doors.
05:46Like, and that just for $325,000 or, you know, half a million, who knows?
05:51Like when you do all the options, you kind of want it to be a little more special, right?
05:56It's a lot of money for a, you know, $50,000 Mustang interior.
06:01But hey, you know what?
06:02If all you want is absolute performance, I get the philosophy at least.
06:07Ford committed.
06:08They gave you the absolute lightest version of a Mustang they possibly could.
06:12I mean, hell, everything on the outside of the car is carbon fiber except for the door skins and the roof rails right here.
06:18Like that's metal.
06:19Everything else, carbon fiber.
06:20Unless you get the liquid carbon package, in which case everything is carbon fiber.
06:24So they did their best.
06:31The Air Force Off
06:45This is it.
06:48Put up or shut up time for Ford right now.
06:54It's put up or shut up time for Ford right now.
06:56We talked a big game about this car, right?
06:59Oh, it's a super car with the soul of a Mustang.
07:02It's a GT3 car, basically, but for the road, et cetera, et cetera.
07:07Well, is it?
07:09We're on the track.
07:10We're going to find out.
07:13So all this active aero, it's actually doing something.
07:17It's not actually nonsense.
07:20And that's the thing.
07:22The only other car that I can really say that about, the only other street car, is the 911 GT3 RS.
07:29And that is a high compliment right there.
07:32Because most cars, you, the amateur driver, even pro driver, honestly, will rarely get going fast enough, even on a racetrack, where you will feel the effects of any actual downforce.
07:43But this car and that GT3 RS, you actually do feel a little bit of it.
07:50And that's special.
07:55Look at this.
07:56I'm not, like, exaggerating how much I'm leaning over here.
07:58Like, I am pulling a lot of lateral G.
08:00And the car is just taking it and continuing to grip.
08:04That time, I didn't even push wide.
08:06So, more speed next time.
08:07And then out of that corner right there, I mean, I just went all the way to the floor right there, not even thinking about it, not worried.
08:14Oh, I better be careful.
08:15Don't get the throttle to it.
08:16It's got so much grip.
08:18And it puts the power down so well.
08:21This is why race cars try to train their necks.
08:36Like, if you start pulling that much frickin' G, like, street cars don't do this.
08:42I just want to emphasize that.
08:43Like, don't, like, hurt your neck in street cars unless there are ones like this.
08:54Oh, yeah, it's a little power oversteer.
08:56Just a teensy bit to rotate the car out of the corner.
08:58But all very easily controlled.
09:03Big brake right there.
09:04And then you turn.
09:05Nothing.
09:06It just grabs.
09:08And that's wild to me.
09:10Because that's a very tight corner.
09:12I've driven a very good, very fast car through that corner.
09:16And even it struggled.
09:19And by it, I mean the GT3 RS.
09:22Mustang GTD, man.
09:25This thing's the real deal.
09:28This car is amazing to drive on the track.
09:35It's amazing to drive on the road.
09:37It delivered everything for it said it would.
09:39And it doesn't have a $300,000 interior.
09:41It's true.
09:42But if someone brings that up, you can just tell them, well, that's because every dollar went into the performance.
09:46And that's the truth.
09:48For the whole story, go to MotorTrend.com.
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