Why Ford failed to beat Porsche at the Nürburgring

When Ford Performance developed the Mustang GTD, the engineers had one big goal in mind. They wanted to beat the Germans at their home ground; the Nürburgring. In fact, they specifically aimed to dethrone the Porsche 992 GT3 RS as King of the ‘Ring. But Ford failed. And now, she probably no longer dares to take on the masters of the Nürburgring. Here’s why:

The hardships of challenging overseas

It’s never easy to go into battle overseas. No matter how much you study the land maps, your opponent will always know the terrain better than you do. In fact, Porsche and the Nürburgring are so closely related that I often said the Nürburgring wouldn’t be the Nürburgring without the howling sounds of Porsches flat-six engines. Porsche has decades of experience, developing their track weapons at the ultimate proving ground: the Nürburgring. Needless to say, it was a bold move from Ford to challenge Porsche in the Green Hell. Maybe they overestimated themselves, but hats off for trying.

Unlike Porsche, Ford doesn’t have their own test facilities at the Nürburgring. But Aston Martin was generous enough to lend some test center space. The Brits were probably interested to see the Americans compete against a common rival.

The differences are big

At first glance, the Ford Mustang GTD and Porsche 992 GT3 RS are quite similar. They are both barely road legal vehicles, optimised for the track. They both have a huge rear wing with DRS functions. They both filled the valleys of the Green Hell with the symphony of their combustion engines. I was there during multiple Industry Pool sessions, and my lord, that V8 engine in the Mustang GTD sounded GLORIOUS!

Apart from these similarities, they are completely different vehicles. The Ford Mustang GTD looks kinda bulky and has a supercharged V8 engine in the front. The Porsche 992 GT3 RS looks agile and has a naturally aspirated flat-6 engine in the rear. The Mustang GTD makes way more power, but is also a lot heavier. However, thanks to its engine layout, the Mustang GTD has a better weight balance. The Mustang GTD has a higher top speed, but the 992 GT3 RS is better at cornering. The Nürburgring has a few long straights, but also a lot of twists and turns…

Ford Performance spent months at the Nürburgring, in may and june with a black Mustang GTD. In august they took a blue one out on track. All tests and preparations had led to one big day for Ford Performance. October 1st 2024 was Fords final chance to do the lap record attempt. They took a black Mustang GTD out for press footage laps. But sadly, the hot lap never happened due to bad weather conditions. What a shame, they haven’t been able to verify their bold claims.

The Porsche GT3 RS MR is coming

Ford Performance has to come back to the Nürburgring to settle the record for first American car doing a sub-7-minute lap. However, I doubt if they’re still in for the race against Porsches laptime. The regular 992 GT3 RS already did the Nürburgring in 6:44.8 minutes. And on top of that, Mantey Racing is about to reveal their fully approved aero upgrade kit, which will undoubtedly shave off another few seconds of that laptime. But hey, maybe Ford has a backup plan and dares to come back with an upgraded Mustang GTD next year? After all, it wouldn’t be the first time an established European car manufacturer gets defeated by Ford.

Specs Ford Mustang GTD vs Porsche 992 GT3 RS