Ford Mustang GTD Celebrates Nürburgring Success and Land Speed Record Setter
January 10, 2025
If you look back at the history books, where foreign cars from Europe and Japan may be remembered for their focus on lightweight agility, American cars have the stereotype of stacking emphasis on power. Modern performance heavy hitters have helped reshape that narrative, including the 2025 Ford Mustang GTD, which recently accomplished its goal of setting a sub-seven-minute Nürburgring lap time.
A new special edition model, the “Spirit of America,” honors this feat and American ingenuity in the pursuit of speed, among other Mustang successes over the last 60 years. If the name sounds familiar, “Spirit of America” is the name of a land-speed record-setting, jet-powered speed machine, engineered and piloted by the late Craig Breedlove, who passed away in April 2023.
The Mustang GTD Spirit of America is finished with an appropriate livery: A Performance White base accented by twin stripes, Race Red and Lightning Blue, said to play off of the Mustang’s iconic tri-bar insignia. These full-length stripes also pay homage to the overalls Craig Breedlove wore when he broke two land-speed records, 500 and 600 miles-per-hour. Now those are some fast overalls.
Other body elements are made of carbon fiber, as expected; and that includes the rear spoiler, sporting red end plates and “MUSTANG” typography. Red accenting adorns the mirror caps and brake calipers. For those of you in the know, you may notice from pictures that the Spirit is rocking the GTD’s available Performance Package, given away by the larger front splitter and front-mounted dive planes, underscored by 20-inch magnesium wheels. The large rear wing is enhanced by a drag reduction system, optimizing downforce under hard braking and acceleration.
The Spirit of America’s cabin is enhanced by unique seats; they’re leather-trimmed with Dinamica inserts, the black upholstery divided by a red gradient stripe down the center and further contrasted by Re-Entry White accents and Victory Blue stitching. You’ll spot similar accents around the cabin, as well as 3D-printed titanium bits making up the paddle shifters, shift ring and interior badge.
Pricing for the 2025 Ford Mustang GTD Spirit of America is yet to be announced, but considering a GTD starting price of about $325,000, and considering the GTD’s exclusivity, we have a feeling the package price is of no concern to would-be buyers.