Ford Mustang GT3 Revealed at 2024 Launch Event

Image: Mustang GT3

Ford has provided the first look at its new Mustang GT3 during the launch event of the 2024 Mustang production and race car lineup Wednesday evening in Detroit.

Previewed in a one-minute video featuring six different Mustang race or track day cars, both the new Multimatic-built GT3 and GT4 cars broke cover for the first time, alongside Mustang examples for NASCAR, NHRA and Australian Supercars.

‘The Stampede’ event also saw the surprise reveal of the Mustang Dark Horse, which will be available both as a production car and track day vehicle with Dark Horse S and R models.

The Mustang GT3 is set for its official race debut in the 2024 Rolex 24 at Daytona, with the GT4 variant slated to start racing in the second half of next year according to Ford Performance global motorsports director Mark Rushbrook.

“Ford Performance is an important part of our company and what we represent in terms of the motorsports heritage for Ford and the performance we have,” Rushbrook told Sportscar365.

“Mustang itself is an important car for our company. It’s an iconic car that has such great history.

“What [tonight] was all about was telling the world that will continue for the foreseeable future, both on the road and on the race track.

“There’s a lot of excitement inside our company, to be able to tell the world what we’re doing, especially from our senior leadership that are very passionate about what we have.”

Rushbrook said the global push around the Mustang, in his mind, has a greater significance to its previous factory GTE-spec program with the Ford GT that was highlighted by GTE-Pro class victory in the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2016.

“Going to Le Mans in 2016 through 2019 with the [Ford] GT was a huge deal because of the history and what that car meant to us and what the current GT meant to us,” he said.

“But I think what we’re doing now with Mustang… is a bigger deal. Mustang has been a consistent part of our company for so long. It’s such an iconic car.

“Now that we have the opportunity with GT3 to truly race the car that we sell everywhere, to be able to race it everywhere is a huge deal.”

Rushbrook wouldn’t confirm if the new GT3 car will be specifically based on the Dark Horse.

“This seventh generation platform is the basis for all of these cars,” he said.

He added: “I think the purpose of the Dark Horse as a road-legal car, is more track-capable than ever before.

“You can literally take it on the track and you don’t have any concerns with temperature, d-rates. It’s a good track car as a road-legal car.”

Image: Mustang GT3

Mustang GT3 Could Begin Testing Late This Year

Rushbrook indicated that the Mustang GT3 is currently scheduled to begin on-track development phase either late this year or early 2023, with “a lot of testing” to happen before its homologation in the third quarter of next year.

While Multimatic will operate a two-car factory GTD Pro effort in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, there are no current plans for any works efforts in other GT3-based championships.

“We’re still on track to do [the factory program in GTD Pro],” Rushbrook said. “Everywhere else is customer racing.

“We love the fact — with GTE/GTLM gone away now with everybody focused on GT3 — all the manufacturers and the series, we can now sell these Mustang GT3s around the world… as a customer racing program.

“We’ve had a lot of interest and are going to sell a lot of these cars. We have a lot of interest from existing teams, new teams that want to get into these series and race these cars.

“That’s important for us, with Mustang being the best-selling sports car in the world, we now have the opportunity with GT3 and GT4 to truly race all around the world.

“Yes, we want to be racing in IMSA. Yes, we want to be racing in all of the SRO series around the world and also in WEC and at Le Mans but as a customer effort.”

Image: Mustang GT4

Left to Right: NASCAR, GT4, NHRA (rear), GT3 (front), Australian Supercar, Mustang Dark Horse R

John Dagys

John Dagys is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of Sportscar365. Dagys spent eight years as a motorsports correspondent for FOXSports.com and SPEED Channel and has contributed to numerous other motorsports publications worldwide. Contact John