Ford Mustang, the iconic sports car that created the pony car segment, will lead Ford’s return to global sports car racing as Ford Performance prepares an all-new Mustang GT3 IMSA race car for competition starting at Daytona in 2024.
Ford Performance revealed plans for its all-new Mustang GT3 race car that will compete in the International Motor Sports Association (IMSA) 2024 race season, including the 24 Hours of Daytona.
The new Mustang effort, announced in advance of this weekend’s Rolex 24 at Daytona, will be a joint program between Ford Performance and long-time racing collaborator Multimatic Motorsports with M-Sport supporting engine build and development.
The new Mustang GT3 racer will be powered by a Ford 5.0-liter Coyote-based V8 engine developed by Ford Performance and built by long-time racing collaborator and World Rally Championship winning team, M-Sport.
M-Sport and Ford together have a rich history in the FIA World Rally Championship and recently collaborated on the development and preparation of the Ford Puma Hybrid Rally1, which finished 1-3-5 in its debut event at Rallye Monte Carlo in January.
“We are delighted to be broadening our relationship with Ford and extending it into the racing world after a very successful 25 years together in the World Rally Championship, which is once again delivering stunning results with the Puma Hybrid Rally1,” said Malcom Wilson, managing director of M-Sport. “M-Sport has a wealth and depth of circuit racing knowledge and expertise, particularly from our GT3 programme that used an M-Sport developed V8 engine that powered us to victory in the 2020 Bathurst 12-hour race and 2019 1000km of Paul Ricard.
“Our most recent engine project has seen us become the official British Touring Car Championship engine supplier which also uses Ford engine architecture,” Wilson added. “We are very excited about working directly with Ford Performance and Multimatic on the Mustang GT3 and will be working very hard, leaving no stone unturned as we join forces to fight for more victories around the world.”
The race-specific powerplant will continue the heritage of high performance naturally aspirated V8s in the Mustang platform. The engine will carry the heart and soul of the world-renowned Ford Coyote® and have performance and packaging modifications to make it championship ready for world class GT3 endurance racing.
“Mustang was born to race from the start and we’re thrilled to introduce the GT3 version to compete head-to-head against some of the greatest manufacturers in the world,” said Mark Rushbrook, Ford Performance Motorsports global director. “With 58 years of global endurance racing heritage, including NASCAR and Australian Supercars today, we are ready to take Mustang to the next level of global performance.”
Published 3rd February 2022
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