Mustang GTD Breaks Its Own 'Ring Record by More Than 5 Seconds | Carscoops

      The latest lap time reduces the previous record of the GTD as the fastest American production car at the notorious German track by 5.5 seconds.

      The Mustang GTD has just surpassed its own best Nurburgring time, achieving a lap of 6:52:072, marking the quickest recorded by an American production car.

      According to Ford, the Mustang GTD is now the fourth fastest production sports car to qualify at that location.

      Ford has fulfilled its commitment made late last year when it recorded the first-ever sub-seven-minute lap by an American company with the Mustang GTD at the Nurburgring. The automaker then expressed confidence that the car could improve its time, citing suboptimal track conditions during the initial run and vowed to return.

      “We are proud to be the first American manufacturer with a car that can complete the Nürburgring in under seven minutes, but we are not content. We believe there is still time to gain with the Mustang GTD. We will return,” remarked CEO Jim Farley at the time. They have stayed true to their word, achieving an even more remarkable record now.

      When Ford first established the record, the time was 6:57.685, which secured a spot in the top 10 production sports cars of all time. The new lap time of 6:52.072 has pushed it into the top five, and Ford claims this positions it as the fourth fastest production sports car to race there.

      While the specifics of Ford's criteria for defining a sports car or the track length they refer to are unclear, it appears they may be using the longer 20.8km version, placing it just below the 2023 Porsche 911 GT3 RS. In contrast, other vehicles were assessed on the shorter layout. Regardless, Ford has been contacted for clarification, and this story will be updated upon receiving a response.

      No matter its ranking, this achievement is undeniably impressive. How did Ford manage to reduce lap time so significantly on the world’s most daunting and challenging track? Improved conditions likely played a part. Additionally, it suggests that insights gained during the initial record attempt were applied.

      This entailed optimizing all possible aspects for this track, including the power delivery, aerodynamics, ABS, and more. One thing is certain: customers will undoubtedly take pride in their new acquisition once they receive this vehicle.