It’s hard to imagine a world without Mustang special editions. From Boss to Bullitt and California to SVT Cobra, there’s almost always been a Mustang for all tastes and all budgets over the years. Now, however, things are getting very serious for the special ‘Stangs, with the introduction of the first limited model based on the wild GTD: say hello to the Spirit of America.
Nothing based on the 826hp monster was going to be subtle, and the Spirit of America leans right into Ford’s pride around being the first US maker to get a car around the Norschleife in less than seven minutes. It’s Race Red, Performance White and Lightning Blue, for starters - like a car with this name could be anything different - the colour scheme aiming to hark back to the Mustang tribar from 1964. Naturally, there’s a stripe running the whole length of the car. As well as celebrating the legacy, Ford says the Spirit of America 'honours the American spirit of ingenuity and courage in the face of challenge.’ Hard not to admire the attitude; a Spirit of Britain for something over here just wouldn’t quite work the same way.
This GTD special also pays specific tribute to Craig Breedlove, the first person to achieve 500 and 600mph on land in cars called Spirit of America - with red, white and blue overalls, of course. In one of the finer feats of daring-do, the story goes that Breedlove paid $500 for a Korean war jet engine, built a car for it, then took on the world in finest American tradition. ‘Breedlove’s record-setting efforts in a sport dominated largely by European aristocrats and playboys helped inspire decades of American designers, engineers, and inventors, including the men and women of the Mustang GTD program’, reckons Ford. Which probably is a slight dig at the established supercars the new model is aiming at. Here’s a Mustang to properly take on 911s, AMG and M cars, and it’s not going unnoticed.
As well as the stripe, the Spirit of America will be marked out by ‘MUSTANG’ written on the underside of the rear wing - ‘leaving no doubt for trailing cars about what just passed them’ - Race Red or exposed carbon mirrors and red calipers. The GTD Performance Pack is standard for the Spirit, which means the exposed carbon is included alongside the magnesium wheels, a DRS-enabled rear wing, dive planes and a few unseen parts: aerodynamic flaps underneath and a bit less sound deadening, most notably.
The colour scheme continues inside, with Victory Blue contrast stitching and stripes through the seats. Nobody’s likely to forget which GTD they’re in, put it that way. Ford’s Brand Manager for the Mustang GTD, Jim Owens, said of the Spirit of America: “Mustang GTD is the pinnacle of Mustang performance. Mustang GTD Spirit of America celebrates the daring behind that performance. Mustang GTD wouldn't have been possible without people like Craig Breedlove, pushing the edge of the envelope and challenging the Goliaths of the day in an all-American way.”
That’s what we meant about pride. Ford hasn’t confirmed yet whether this will be an upgrade available to all GTD customers, or if a limited number will be produced, though given the excitement around the model as a whole there surely won’t be any difficulty selling them. No doubt one or two more similar editions will follow - despite everything, this is still a Mustang…
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