Germany’s Nürburgring Nordschleife is the gold-standard for sports car development. Now Ford has shot their way to fame as the first American brand to lap the circuit in under seven minutes, with the 2025 Mustang GTD.
Driven by Multimatic Motorsports driver Dirk Müller, the 607kW (815HP) GTD lapped the circuit nicknamed “The Green Hell” in an officially certified 6:57:685. It’s the fifth fastest time by a stock production sports car according to the Nürburgring’s official records.
The Ford Mustang GTD is only the sixth vehicle in that class to break the seven-minute barrier. The time delivers on the goal laid out by CEO Jim Farley at its debut in August 2023 as well.
“The team behind Mustang GTD took what we’ve learned from decades on the track and engineered a Mustang that can compete with the world’s best supercars,” Farley said.
“We’re proud to be the first American automaker with a car that can lap the Nürburgring in under seven minutes, but we aren’t satisfied. We know there’s much more time to find with Mustang GTD. We’ll be back.”
The car’s Nürburgring success is due in no small part to the work of a dedicated team of engineers and designers who worked tirelessly over the course of two years to turn a GT3 race car into the first-ever Mustang supercar.
Ford documented their efforts in the run up to the timed Nürburgring run in The Road To The Ring, a 13-minute documentary that covers the challenge, drama, and excitement of developing Mustang GTD.
The documentary, which can be viewed on Ford’s YouTube channel (and Facebook) is a behind-the-scenes look at the testing program, from iconic American tracks like Sebring, through to development sessions at the Nürburgring.
It features Farley, Muller, Multimatic CTO Larry Holt, Mustang GTD chief program engineer Greg Goodall, and design manager Anthony Colard, as well as other members of the Ford and Multimatic teams.
The GTD represents the apex of Mustang performance and benefits from lessons learned by the Ford Performance Motorsports and Multimatic Motorsports Mustang GT3 program, in particular around aerodynamics and setup for tracks such as the Nürburgring.
Thankfully, this car isn’t subject to the rules and regulations of GT3 racing, which prohibit much of the technology that allow a sub-seven-minute Nürburgring lap. That includes carbon-ceramic brakes, active aerodynamics, a supercharger, and semi-active suspension.
Featuring a carbon fibre body, the GTD that completed the sub-seven-minute lap was entirely stock, but did include motorsports-derived safety gear mandated by the Nürburgring. That includes a competition seat, five-point harness and a roll cage.
