Ford has confirmed a return to Le Mans with a hardcore Mustang set to compete in the FIA GT3 category at next year’s World Endurance Championship and the 2024 24 Hours of Le Mans.
Ford Performance says the GT3 racer is based on the Mustang Dark Horse that headlined the seventh-generation Mustang’s launch last year, and comes powered by a 5.4-litre Coyote-based V8 unit.
Ford Performance will lean on Multimatic, the company responsible for the Ford GT race program to build the GT3 racer, while M-Sport will be in charge of assembling and tuning the V8 power unit.
The Mustang GT3 wears a bold new racing frock atop its carbon fibre body panels, and receives redesigned Ford Performance branding, and a radical aero package designed for the FIA’s GT3 regulations.
Underneath, there’s a bespoke short-long arm suspension system, with power thrown to wheels via a rear-mounted transaxle gearbox.
Ford Performance has signed its first customer race team, Proton Competition, who will pilot two Mustang GT3s in the 2024 FIA World Endurance Championship.
Ford Performance will also enter two Mustang GT3 factory racers into the IMSA GT3 Pro class, which kicks off with the Rolex 24 at Daytona. CEO Jim Farley said:
“Ford and Le Mans are bound together by history. And now we’re coming back in the most dramatic, most rewarding and most important race in the world. It’s not Ford versus Ferrari anymore… it’s Ford versus everyone.”
