Ford’s all-new GT3 race car is here and with it a bold new Ford Performance livery. Unveiled at this year’s Le Mans, the world-revered American sports car will contend in the same event in 2024.
During the centenary celebration of the 24 Hours of Le Mans that took place before the prestigious event got underway over the weekend, Ford took the opportunity to unveil their own model which will battle in the FIA GT3 category at events like the hallowed Circuit de la Sarthe. The most recent triumph enjoyed by the Blue Oval at the French circuit was in 2016 with the Ford GT.
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“Ford and Le Mans are bound together by history. And now we’re coming back to the most dramatic, most rewarding and most important race in the world,” said Jim Farley, CEO, Ford Motor Company. “It is not Ford versus Ferrari anymore. It is Ford versus everyone. Going back to Le Mans is the beginning of building a global motorsports business with Mustang, just like we are doing with Bronco and Raptor off-road.”
The 8th generation Mustang will also feature fresh branding and a new logo designed by Troy Lee which represents the premier motorsport designer’s first foray with Ford race cars. This branding coincides with Ford Performance branding global that features a cleaner, simplified look that embraces the minimal design language of the world. More importantly the new identity will position Ford Performance as a “standout lifestyle brand with a sporting mindset.”
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Ford Performance has also extended its relationship with its two longtime partners; Multimatic and M-Sport for the basis of this project. Multimatic, builders of the iconic Ford GT, were also involved in the Ford GT race program and will help build and support the Mustang GT3s, while longtime World Rally Championship partner and two-time championship-winning team M-Sport will assemble the Ford Performance-developed 5,4-liter Coyote-based V8 engines that will propel all-new Mustang GT3 models forward.
“For a project like the Mustang GT3, we turned to two of our most trusted partners in the motorsports world to help bring this vehicle and program together,” said Mark Rushbrook, Global Director, Ford Performance Motorsports. “I know we’ll all be as thrilled as Ford fans when Mustang begins racing at the highest levels of GT racing in 2024.”
Interesting features of this purpose-built FIA model include a bespoke short-long arm suspension, rear-mounted transaxle gearbox, carbon fibre body panels, as well as a unique aero package developed to meet GT3 targets. Before the pony will take on the most recognisable endurance race in France for 2024, the Mustang GT3 will be competing at the hands of customer teams in various endurance series across the globe.
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The first customer team, announced on the unveiling is Proton Competition. Based in Ehingen, Germany. Proton intends to campaign a pair of Mustang GT3s in the FIA World Endurance Championship, starting in 2024. Ford Performance will also field a two-car factory race program with Mustang GT3 in IMSA’s GTD Pro class. This will be managed by Multimatic Motorsports and begin at the 2024 Rolex 24 at Daytona.
