Based on the seventh-generation, road-going muscle car, the Ford Mustang GT3 was finally revealed to the world on Friday ahead of the centenary edition of the French endurance classic.
Ford had previously only released some shots of the car in pure carbon fibre form in March from a test session at Sebring, which followed a short shakedown at a test facility near the Multimatic workshops in Mooresville, North Carolina.
Multimatic has been involved with Ford in development of the Mustang, while M-Sport helped assemble the 5.4 litre Coyote V8 engine that will sit at the heart of the car.
Ford has already secured Proton Competition as its first customer, with the German squad intending to run two examples of the Mustang GT3 in the WEC next year - including the Le Mans 24 Hours.
A manufacturer is limited to two cars in the new LMGT3 class for 2024 as per rules laid down by the ACO and the FIA.
In addition to the WEC, Ford will also run a two-car factory programme in IMSA’s GTD Pro division that will be managed by Multimatic, beginning with the Rolex 24 at Daytona in January.
While no information about other championships where the Mustang GT3 could race was provided, Ford said the car would compete in a variety of GT3 categories before its Le Mans debut in June 2024.
“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.”
Coinciding with the launch, the American marque also unveiled a new brand identity for its Ford Performance division, with the new ‘FP’ identity seen clearly on the showcar.
The Ford Mustang GT3 is the first sportscar of such type from the Blue Oval since the successful Ford GT that raced in the WEC and the IMSA from 2016-19, winning at Le Mans on its debut.
