The Ford story
Ford’s modern supercar history uses the GT name for two very different interpretations of its competition heritage. The first modern production GT put a supercharged V8 and manual gearbox inside a shape closely recalling the GT40. The later carbon-structure car used a turbocharged V6 and a body visibly shaped around airflow. Track-only Mk II and Mk IV programmes developed that later foundation separately from the road car.
Mustang GTD brings the current performance argument back to a familiar front-engined silhouette. Its interest comes from the engineering required to move that silhouette into a different territory. This is a performance-model profile, rather than a directory of Ford’s ordinary passenger cars and commercial vehicles.
Current lineup & programmes
Performance and specialist model families are listed below. Programme status describes the manufacturer’s published range or announcement, rather than stock or an available allocation. Open-top and special derivatives are grouped where they share a family; follow the model link for the distinctions.
Ford Mustang GTD / Spirit of America / Competition
Current programme · 2020s
Past models
Past performance-car families relevant to our 1996–2026 archive. A surviving product page or conversion catalogue does not mean the original donor car remains in production.
Ford GT 2005–2006 / Heritage
Archive · 2000s
Ford GT 2017–2022 / Carbon Series / Heritage / LM
Archive · 2010s
Ford GT Mk II / Mk IV
Track-only archive · 2010s
The SuperCarNews view
The later GT, launched as a production car for the 2017 model year, uses a twin-turbocharged V6 and a carbon structure in a body visibly organised around airflow. The flying buttresses are central to its identity. They create a markedly different visual argument from the earlier car, even though both draw on Ford's Le Mans history.
Our preference is to treat these as two interpretations of the same inheritance. One foregrounds a historical silhouette; the other lets an aerodynamic brief reshape it. Neither interpretation wins simply because it arrived later. Carbon Series, Heritage and LM editions belong within the later road-car family, with their specific changes established before any comparison.
Mustang GTD belongs here because the scale and intent of its engineering go beyond a routine performance package. Ford's current programme emphasises a supercharged V8, specialist suspension and substantial aerodynamic development. The name remains Mustang, but the technical brief demands its own discussion.
This is an interesting counterpoint to the GT. Instead of beginning with an obviously exotic mid-engined silhouette, Ford has used a familiar front-engined identity to pursue a much more specialised result. We find that tension compelling. A reader should be shown how the structure, suspension and drivetrain serve the new objective rather than be asked to accept the category solely on the strength of a lap time.
Special versions and demonstration specifications, including Spirit of America and Competition references, need their own source context. A factory record run does not establish that every customer car has an identical specification or would reproduce it under different conditions.