The Mustang's Cool Price Spread
A Ford Mustang starts at $32,640 for the entry-level EcoBoost model. If you want V8 power, you'll pay at least $46,560 for the GT. Should that not be enough, there's the Dark Horse that carries a base price of $64,080. But then, we get to the Mustang GTD.
The most extreme and expensive Mustang one can buy with a warranty retails for a whopping $318,760, sans destination and gas-guzzler tax. Throw those in, and you'll have to cough up $327,960 for what's essentially a Mustang race car with license plates.
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A Huge Hit
Just to further highlight the insanity, the Mustang's price spread is a cool $295,320, meaning you can buy nearly every trim of the pony car for one GTD — and we're not even kidding, either. From base EcoBoost to Dark Horse Premium, the total price of the six regular trims amounted to $299,780 when we added it all up.
Still, that hasn't put off people from filing an application to buy a GTD and pray they'll be lucky enough to be one of the chosen few. According to CarBuzz, Ford had shifted 231 examples of the GTD, likely giving the Blue Oval a healthy profit over each one sold. By the way, that figure doesn't include December's tally yet.
What Makes the GTD so Expensive?
For starters, nearly every panel fitted to the car is carbon fiber, and its design is unique to the GTD. The driveshaft is also made of the same material, as is that massive wing at the back. Its bones and appearance are those of a Mustang, but it's essentially a street-legal race car at this point.
The Predator 5.2-liter supercharged V8 engine has been massaged and breathed on to produce 815 hp and 664 lb-ft, making it the most powerful factory Mustang ever produced to date. Such engineering bumps up the price tag, and we haven't even gotten to the suspension system yet.
Whereas regular Mustangs use struts at the front and integral-link independent suspension at the back, the GTD throws all of that away for a far racier setup. The struts have been swapped out for double-wishbones with a wider track. As for the rear, it gets an active and adaptive pushrod suspension that wouldn't look out of place in a competition vehicle. Ford is particularly proud of it, too, by placing a window where the back seats were supposed to be so its proud owners can show it off or see it work.
More Extreme Factory Mustangs Coming Soon?
Given the sales success of the GTD so far, it has all the potential to inspire Ford to build more bespoke and limited-edition models for its pony car. Granted, the idea of building highly exclusive versions of the Mustang isn't new, but the fact that people are more than willing to pay over $300,000 for one opens up new possibilities for the Mustang as a brand.
We could see Ford pulling a Porsche 911-like hierarchy level down the line. Perhaps the next special Mustang won't be as extreme as a GTD, but some of the hardware and tech applied to it could trickle down to a model that bridges the gap between the Dark Horse and GTD — something along the lines of the Shelby Super Snake R.
It's an interesting and exciting prospect, and one that the Blue Oval could explore soon. Besides, it already seems that the market is comfortable with a Mustang that comes with a six-figure base price.
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