Mustang GTD Spirit of America Celebrates Ingenuity and Performance

Jan 09, 2025
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Mustang GTD Spirit of America

In 1962, a small team set out to turn a compact sedan into a sporty car called “Mustang.” It beat Europe’s best in its first race and hasn’t looked back, becoming the first car from an American automaker to lap Germany’s famous Nürburgring in less than 7 minutes. To celebrate these accomplishments and more, Ford debuted the Mustang GTD Spirit of America Thursday night ahead of the Detroit Auto Show.

Mustang has been uniquely American since 1965, from its V8 power to its iconic galloping horse logo emblazoned across a red, white, and blue badge. Mustang GTD Spirit of America represents more than Mustang’s performance legacy. It honors the spirit of ingenuity and courage in the face of challenge.

It’s also what drove Craig Breedlove, a structural engineering tech in the aerospace industry, to buy a $500 jet engine from a Korean War fighter plane and become the first person to break the 500- and 600-mile-per-hour barriers on land. 

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Craig Breedlove

Breedlove’s record-setting efforts in a sport dominated largely by European aristocrats and playboys helped inspire decades of American designers, engineers, and inventors, including the men and women of the Mustang GTD program. 

“Mustang GTD is the pinnacle of Mustang performance. Mustang GTD Spirit of America celebrates the daring behind that performance,” said Mustang GTD Brand Manager Jim Owens. “Mustang GTD wouldn’t have been possible without people like Craig Breedlove, pushing the edge of the envelope and challenging the Goliaths of the day in an all-American way.” 

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Stripes in Race Red and Lightning Blue run the length of the Mustang GTD Spirit of America’s body.

To bring Mustang GTD Spirit of America to life, Ford Design created a Performance White body with twin racing stripes in Race Red and Lightning Blue, mimicking the iconic red, white, and blue Mustang tribar that debuted in 1964. The stripes run the length of the Mustang GTD Spirit of America’s body. The design also matches the overalls that Craig Breedlove wore when he broke both the 500- and 600-mile-per-hour barriers in the 1960s. 

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The rear spoiler includes Race Red end plates and a “MUSTANG” wordmark on the underside.

Exposed carbon fiber is a primary element on the Mustang GTD Spirit of America’s aerodynamic features, including the front splitter, as well as on the rear diffuser and spoiler. That spoiler includes Race Red end plates and a “MUSTANG” wordmark on the underside, leaving no doubt for trailing cars about what just passed them. Owners have a choice of Race Red or exposed carbon fiber mirror caps, while Race Red calipers are standard. Additionally, the Mustang GTD Performance Package is standard. 

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Seats are leather trimmed with Dinamica inserts.

Mustang GTD Spirit of America features a package-specific seat option to present a unique take on the focused, all-glass cockpit. The seats are leather trimmed with Dinamica inserts. Black Onyx features prominently, with a Race Red gradient stripe down the middle and Re-Entry White trimmings on the exterior, while Victory Blue contrast stitching provides a subtle pop of color. Victory Blue also appears as a contrast element throughout the cabin. The paddle shifters, shift ring, and IP badges are available in 3D-printed titanium as well.

The all-new 2025 Mustang GTD, including Mustang GTD Spirit of America, is the apex of any Mustang ever engineered by Ford. It sets a new performance bar with 815 horsepower, 664 pound-feet of torque, and a top speed of 202 miles per hour, the most of any street-legal Mustang ever.