DETROIT: Ford Motor is joining rival General Motors in the US supercar ranks with the launch of the 2025 Mustang GTD, a limited-edition, high-performance hot rod priced from US$300,000 (RM1.4mil).
In a quirky shift for a company that has committed billions of dollars to building millions of zero-emission electric vehicles, Ford's newest offering is powered by a fossil-fuelled, supercharged 5.2-litre V8 engine delivering more than 800hp.
The Mustang GTD is loosely based on the 2024 Mustang coupe that is priced from around US$31,000 (RM144,000).
But the Mustang GTD really has more in common with the new Mustang GT3 racecar that is expected to compete next year at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, one of the world's premier endurance races.
Ford chief executive Jim Farley, in a promotional video, says the Mustang GTD is aimed at high-priced, high-performance European sports cars from Porsche, Aston Martin and Mercedes-Benz.
Ford owned Aston Martin, the fabled British marque closely linked to fictional spy James Bond, from 1987-2007.
"This car has been in my head for years," Farley said of Ford's latest effort.
The Mustang GTD, developed with Ontario-based specialty builder Multimatic, is slated to begin production in late 2024 or early 2025, and will be in extremely short supply, according to Ford. A spokesman would say only that GTD production will be "more than 50 cars."
Other than its stratospheric price tag, the ultra-Mustang bears little resemblance to GM's US$340,000 (RM1.6mil) supersedan, the Cadillac Celestiq, a big, battery-powered four-door fastback that goes into production late this year at the automaker's technical centre in Warren, Michigan.
