2023 Mustang News

Since the very start of the Ford Mustang story almost 60 years ago motorsport from club level to international competition has been a part of the storyline of the original ‘pony’ car.

And, with the announcement today of the new, seventh-generation Mustang, the next chapters of the Mustang’s competition history are being written too.

The new Mustang road car features two new engines, a 2.3-litre four-cylinder EcoBoost turbo and the Mustang GT’s most powerful 5.0-litre Coyote V8 ever, plus the extreme road and track day Dark Horse and Dark Horse R.

It’s the Coyote V8 power plant that will form the basis of what is potentially the most significant new Ford competition car of the 21st Century so far.

More significant than the Ford GT that took Le Mans glory?

Well, in its potential for numerical and global spread yes, the forthcoming, 2024 Mustang GT3, with its potential for sales into just about every major racing market on the planet, including Le Mans as the transition of the FIA WEC to GT3 regulations will be completed in the new car’s first season.

And the new Mustang will also spawn a new version of the Mustang GT4 (below), set to be officially launched next year for 2024 competition too.

Add in too racing versions of the Mustang in NASCAR, V8 Supercars in Australia and for NHRA drag competition and the new Mustang is set to become a very familiar shape on track as well as on the road where Ford’s GT car has already been the world’s best-selling sports coupe for seven years running.

The design and development of the new GT3 Mustang are well advanced at Multimatic with the engine programme in the hands of MSport, a development of the 5-litre Coyote V8 that will feature in the Mustang GT road car.

Mark Rushbrook Global Director of Ford Performance Motorsports told the DSC Editor that the new car and its engine development was well on track for homologation in the third quarter of 2023 ahead of preparation for production and sales for the start of 2024.

“There’s been very strong interest. The response has been fantastic from right around the world. I am worried though about whether we can build enough to match demand. We’re certainly paying very close attention to the supply chain, something that is as much an issue for us as everyone else.

“We’re excited about the prospect of a factory effort in GTD Pro in IMSA in 2023 but there is significant interest from customer teams too including current GT teams racing at a high level, teams from elsewhere in endurance racing and some high-level teams from other forms of motorsport that have seen the opportunities in Sportscar racing.

“What SRO have done around the world too is very impressive and there too there’s interest in the car, and rather wider than just in the US. So are there any priority areas that Ford are focusing on with the new car?

“We can see that there are a number of major races that the car can tackle in the customer’s hands. I was at Spa this year for the 24 Hours and it was a very impressive event, a huge field and a very professional set-up.

“The Nurburgring 24 Hours too, the Bathurst 12 Hour and several other races have great appeal.”

And Le Mans?

“LM GT3 and the FIA WEC are important of course, suffice it to say that we are very happy that GT convergence happened! “For WEC and at Le Mans it has to be customer racing as things stand, we can’t go as a factory. Our intention though is to have a customer able to race there and 2024 is possible.

Will the car test in development form in 2023?

“We’ll have two test cars and they will test at a good variety of tracks. There may be some test races before the end of 20-23 but nothing has been decided as yet.”

With 2023 and 2024 set to see a significant variety of programmes for Mustangs in a variety of different formulae across the world there’s perhaps one formula that we haven’t yet covered – LMDH.

Having counted it out as an immediate prospect when we last spoke in January 2022 at the announcement of the Mustang GT3 project, there was an interesting response to the question this time around: “We’re always evaluating,” said Mark Rushbrook. Now whilst that is a long way from a “yes”, it would be fair to say that it has moved on significantly from the choice of words just 8 months ago!

Is Ford coming out with a 2023 Mustang?

Will the 2023 Ford Mustang be redesigned?

When can you order 2023 Mustang?

Will the 2023 Mustang have a V8?