Ford’s most famous sports car, Mustang, will compete in the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the world’s most iconic endurance race.
Designed based on the all-new Mustang Dark Horse, the Mustang GT3 racing vehicle was introduced to the racing world at the 100th anniversary celebration held before the 24 Hours of Le Mans. The Mustang racing vehicle draws attention with its bold and colorful design by Troy Lee, the world’s leading motorsports designer. The legendary Mustang GT3 also represents Troy Lee’s first work with Ford racing vehicles.
With this launch, Ford officially included the Mustang in the global FIA GT3 category. Ford’s last victory at the Le Mans 24 Hours came in 2016 with the Ford GT.
Ford Motor Company CEO Jim Farley stated that the histories of Ford and Le Mans are intertwined and said, “Now we are returning to the most exciting and most important race in the world. It is not just Ford and Ferrari racing against each other anymore. Ford is racing against everyone. Returning to Le Mans with the Mustang, just as we did off-road with the Bronco and Raptor, is a very important step in creating a global motorsports business.”
New Brand, New Logo
With this launch, Ford also introduced the new global Ford Performance brand. The new logo, which has a simpler and clearer design, will take its place on all Ford racing vehicles.
This impressive and eye-catching new identity will contribute to positioning Ford Performance as a sporty lifestyle brand. The new Ford Performance brand will be used in a variety of areas, including vehicle designs, products/apparel, displays, accessories and advertising.
Long-Term Relationship with Two Partners
Ford Performance further expanded its relationship with its long-term partners Multimatic and M-Sport for this project. Multimatic, the manufacturer of the iconic Ford GT, will also take part in the Ford GT racing program and contribute to the production of Mustang GT3s. In addition, M-Sport, a long-time World Rally Championship partner and two-time championship winner, will install the 5.4-liter Coyote-based V8 engines developed by Ford Performance that will power the new Mustang racing vehicle.
Mark Rushbrook, Global Director of Ford Performance Motorsports, underlined the importance of the collaboration and said, “We chose to work with two of the most reliable partners in the world of motorsports for an important project like the Mustang GT3. When the Mustang starts competing at the highest level of GT racing in 2024, I know we will all be as excited as Ford fans.”
The Mustang GT3 racing vehicle features specially developed short suspension arms, a rear-mounted gearbox, carbon fiber body panels, as well as a special aero body package to meet GT3 performance targets.
Proton Competition Becomes First WEC Customer Team for Mustang GT3
The Mustang GT3 will compete with customer teams in various GT3 series around the world before entering Le Mans in 2024.
The first customer team was announced as Proton Competition. Proton, headquartered in Ehingen, Germany, will start in 2024.* It plans to race two Mustang GT3s in the FIA World Endurance Championship from now on.
Proton Competition team principal Christian Ried expressed the importance of the Mustang GT3 and said, “This is a very important and exciting moment. Mustang is a great brand and this is an important step for our team. We are very excited to start racing with Ford in 2024.”
In addition, Ford Performance created a two-car factory racing program with the Mustang GT3 in IMSA’s GTD Pro class. This program will be managed by Multimatic Motorsports and will begin with the 2024 Rolex 24 at Daytona.
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