Wild horse wild card
Ford has confirmed it will build a GT3 version of its Mustang for the 2024 IMSA WeatherTech series, but the car has yet to be homologated for competition anywhere in the world, and has already proven controversial among the European teams and series.
The Mustang will feature a
5.0-litre Coyote V8 taken from the manufacturer’s road car range.
The engine will be developed by M-Sport in the UK, the rally specialists which also developed and ran the Bentley Continental GT car in the Blancpain Endurance Series. The new Mustang will be built by Multimatic, but currently does not meet the minimum price point set for GT3 cars.
The FIA’s own requirements are that the entry-level production car has a minimum price of €70,000, set to include cars such as the Ferrari
488, Mercedes SLS and Porsche 911, but exclude those not considered exclusive. That leaves the FIA in the uncomfortable position of having to either ignore its own homologation requirements, or watch as IMSA welcomes a GT3 special into its series.
The Mustang will have to undergo some revisions compared to the road car, including the adoption of a rear-mounted transaxle to improve weight distribution and modified front and rear suspensions.
‘If you read the rulebooks now, you’re allowed to do considerably more than stiffer springs and fatter tyres to make the car faster,’ says Larry Holt, executive VP of Multimatic Special Vehicle Operations. ‘Pretty much in front of the firewall and in the back is all open. There are freedoms that the rules give us and it would be wrong for us not to take them all to the limit.’
The car will be built under new GT3 regulations that allow far more freedom than the original GT3 rules, which has allowed Ford to consider upgrading the Mustang. Previously it tried to homologate the Ford GT as a GT3 car, but that was rejected by the FIA.
Supporters of the Mustang say the prospect of Ford returning to factory motorsport against the likes of Corvette, Ferrari and Porsche is good for the category.