All is right with the world when Ford is pushing the Mustang into motorsports of all forms. Not only is it lapping ovals in stock car racing and blasting down the 1/4-mile in drag racing, but the original pony car is also set for a major resurgence in road racing. Ford Performance and Multimatic Motorsports — the team that created the Le Mans-winning Ford GT — join forces again on a Mustang GT3 racer destined for the IMSA GTD Pro class.
We have a long, great working relationship with each other, both at the highest levels of professional sports car racing.
Larry Holt, Multimatic Special Vehicle Operations
“The Mustang was born to race from the start and we’re thrilled to introduce the GT3 version to compete head-to-head against some of the greatest manufacturers in the world,” said Mark Rushbrook, Ford Performance Motorsports global director. “With 58 years of global endurance racing heritage, including NASCAR and Australian Supercars today, we are ready to take Mustang to the next level of global performance.”
While the initial focus is developing a winning machine for a factory-backed effort, the new Mustang GT3 will also be available for sale to racers across the globe beginning with the 24 Hours of Daytona in 2024.
“We’re excited to work on this new IMSA program as well as the GT3 customer program with Ford Performance,” said Larry Holt, Executive Vice President of Multimatic Special Vehicle Operations. “We have a long, great working relationship with each other, both at the highest levels of professional sports car racing and in developing competitive customer race program and vehicles. We appreciate their faith in us, and together, we can’t wait to show the world what’s coming down the road with Mustang.”
Traveling that road on the development trail is a driver who brings a winning heritage — Joey Hand, who piloted the Ford GT to victory in the 2016 Le Mans 24 Hours GTE Pro class. He will help dial in a potent pony benefitting from a bespoke Short-Long Arm suspension front and rear, rear-mounted transaxle gearbox, and carbon fiber body panels, which contribute to a unique aero package.
Perhaps most exciting is the naturally aspirated Coyote 5.0-liter howling under the hood of the forthcoming Mustang GT3. Developed by the engineers in Ford Performance, this race-spec Coyote’s construction is entrusted to M-Sport of Cumbria, England, which has a storied history of championship wins and a long-running partnership with Ford.
“We are delighted to be broadening our relationship with Ford and extending it into the racing world after a very successful 25 years together in the World Rally Championship, which is once again delivering stunning results with the Puma Hybrid Rally1,” said Malcom Wilson, owner of M-Sport. “M-Sport has a wealth and depth of circuit racing knowledge and expertise, particularly from our GT3 program that used an M-Sport developed V8 engine for GT3 that powered us to victory in the 2020 Bathurst 12-hour race and 2019 1000km of Paul Ricard.”
Look for the two factory-backed Mustang GT4s managed by Multimatic Motorsports to debut in Daytona in 2024.
Source: Ford Muscle
