When the Corvette ZR1X took the record Nürburgring Nordschleife lap time off the Ford Mustang GTD last year, no one thought the Blue Oval would be able to come back. After all, the ZR1X is a supercar-slaying mid-engine hybrid hypercar, with all-wheel-drive and 1,250 horsepower.But Ford CEO Jim Farley wasn't joking when he said it was "game on", and for the last few weeks something has been brewing over in Dearbon. Now we know: Ford's answer to the ZR1X's lap time has been to obliterate it — and to introduce a whole new Mustang model in the process. Never a dull day in the world of American performance cars... Ford Just Unveiled The Mustang GTD Competition — And It Is Frighteningly Fast Ford There is nothing like a bit of rivalry to stir things up. Ford must have been feeling pretty pleased with itself when it set a 6:52.072 lap time of the Nurburgring in May 2025, with a barely street-legal Mustang GTD. That joy didn't last long, with Ford's cross-town nemesis, Chevrolet bringing a Corvette ZR1X to the 12.9-mile circuit and signing off with a time of 6:49.275. What more could Ford possibly squeeze out of a two-door, front-engined coupe in response to the mighty ZR1X hypercar? Well, it turns out, quite a lot, actually. The company unveiled the GTD Competition today, and it just went a whole 11 seconds quicker than the ZR1X. Enter The Mustang GTD CompetitionHaving become the first car from an American brand to break the 7-minute barrier at the Nürburgring Nordschleife, the Mustang GTD just smashed its own record with a new 6:40.835 lap time. The car was piloted again by Ford Racing and Multimatic factory driver Dirk Müller. Ford now claims the two fastest Nürburgring lap times of any American brand, with the new GTD Competition slotting in behind the Ford GT Mk IV. That car lapped the Green Hell in 6.15.977, but then again it is a $1.7 million track-only, limited edition version of its Ford GT, rather than a tuned version of an affordable, everyday muscle car. So how exactly did Ford get so much more speed out of the GTD? Ford Shared Some Juicy Details On The New Car's Spec Ford While there isn't a deep dive into the GTD Competitions specification, Ford has given away a lot of intersting insight. The updates to the GTD boil down to a hike in power thanks to hardware updates and aggressive tuning. The Mustang GTD Competition’s supercharged 5.2-liter V8 now has a higher engine output than the original Mustang GTD’s 815 horsepower.The car also features advanced aero, with changes to the rear wing, as well as the addition of secondary front dive planes, and rear carbon fiber aero discs, all equating to more downforce "without sacrificing efficiency or aero balance." The GTD Competition is lighter thanks to a range of tweaks, including new carbon bucket seats, a lighter damper system and new magnesium wheels. Finally, new high-performance tires offer more grip. The GTD Competition Just Took Out Some Serious German Sports Cars Too Mercedes-AMG Just to hammer home how quick the GTD Competition is, Ford Racing engineer Steve Thompson also managed a 6:49.337 lap despite having only been around the circuit a few dozen times – and even that was faster than Müller’s original record. The GTD Competition is quicker than a Manthey-spec Porsche 991 GT2 RS (6:43.300), and a Mercedes-AMG GT Black Series (6:48.047). It's hard to imagine Chevrolet not coming back with an even more focused ZR1X in a bid to smash the lap time again. Chevy, it's over to you.Sources: Fromtheroad.ford.com
