Ford Unveils Mustang GT3; Proton Named First Customer

Photo: Ford

Ford has officially taken the wraps off its Mustang GT3 ahead of the car’s competition debut in 2024 that will include a planned FIA World Endurance Championship customer program with Proton Competition.

Unveiled Friday at Le Mans, the Multimatic-built car, based on the all-new 2024 Mustang Dark Horse, was presented in a special livery from Troy Lee, featuring the new Ford Performance logo and branding.

It will race in the new LMGT3 category of the WEC, with a planned two-car program from longtime Porsche squad Proton. Ford’s entry in the class is subject to a decision by the WEC Selection Committee.

The Blue Oval will also be represented in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship’s GTD Pro class with a two-car factory Multimatic-run effort, while additional customers beyond Proton are expected in various other GT3-eligible series.

Ford is poised to make its return to the 24 Hours of Le Mans for the first time since 2019 when Chip Ganassi Racing fielded factory Ford GTs. The team won the GTE-Pro class in its debut in 2016.

“Ford and Le Mans are bound together by history,” said Ford CEO Jim Farley. “And now we’re coming back to the most dramatic, most rewarding and most important race in the world.

“It is not Ford versus Ferrari anymore. It is Ford versus everyone. Going back to Le Mans is the beginning of building a global motorsports business with Mustang, just like we are doing with Bronco and Raptor off-road.”

Ford, meanwhile, has confirmed a larger displacement for the M-Sport tuned, Coyote-based V8 engine, which was originally announced in January 2022 to be a 5.0 liter powerplant but has been increased to 5.4 liters in size.

The car, which has been testing in North America since March, features a bespoke short-long arm suspension, rear-mounted transaxle gearbox, carbon fiber body panels, as well as an aero package developed to meet GT3 targets.“

“For a project like the Mustang GT3, we turned to two of our most trusted partners in the motorsports world (Multimatic and M-Sport) to help bring this vehicle and program together,” said Ford Performance Motorsports global director Mark Rushbrook.

“I know we’ll all be as thrilled as Ford fans when Mustang begins racing at the highest levels of GT racing in 2024.”

Proton Set for Dual Hypercar, LMGT3 WEC Program

The Christian Ried-led Proton squad will make the switch from Porsche to Ford in the GT ranks next year, although maintaining its links with Multimatic in both LMGT3 and Hypercar with the Mustang GT3 and Porsche 963, respectively.

In addition to building the Mustang GT3, Multimatic produces the chassis for the German manufacturer’s LMDh car.

Proton has previously utilized Multimatic Motorsports crew for its GTE-Am effort.

“This is a very important program and an exciting moment for our organization,” said Ried. “The Mustang is a great brand and this is an important step for our team. We look forward to joining with Ford starting in 2024.”

Photo: Ford

Photo: Ford

Photo: Ford

Photo: Ford

Photo: Ford

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