The Ford Mustang GTD has just accomplished a historic feat for America. It has completed a lap around the prestigious Nürburgring in under seven minutes.
The feat took place when Multimatic Motorsports driver Dirk Müller took control of the 815-horsepower muscle car. He raced it around "The Green Hell" in a blistering time of 6:57:685. This time secured the Mustang GTD's place in history.
According to the announcement from Ford Performance, the Mustang GTD is the first American car to complete a lap around the Nürburgring in less than seven minutes. Additionally, the Mustang GTD is the fifth-fastest stock production sports car according to the Nürburgring records.
The Porsche 991 GT2 RS Manthey Performance Kit tops the list at 6:34.300. It is followed by the Mercedes-AMG GT Black Series (6:48.047), Porsche 911 GT3 RS (6:49.328), and the Porsche 911 GT3 Manthey Performance Kit (6:55.737).
One important note is that while the Mustang GTD was stock, it featured safety equipment mandated by the Nürburgring. This is understandable considering the danger involved. The list of equipment included a competition seat with a five-point harness and a roll cage.
"The team behind Mustang GTD took what we've learned from decades on the track and engineered a Mustang that can compete with the world's best supercars," said Jim Farley, Ford President and CEO, in a statement.
"We're proud to be the first American automaker with a car that can lap the Nürburgring in under seven minutes, but we aren't satisfied. We know there's much more time to find with Mustang GTD. We'll be back."
The lap is complete, but motorsports fans have the opportunity to revisit it. Ford Motor Company posted the full lap on its YouTube channel. The clip shows Müller behind the wheel as he works around the prestigious course.
A dashboard camera shows the front of the Mustang GTD while data at the bottom of the screen highlights important details.
The company also released a 14-minute documentary about the process of accomplishing this historic feat. This documentary shows the Mustang GTD during testing at Sebring and other tracks. It features appearances from Farley, Muller, Multimatic Chief Technical Officer Larry Holt, Mustang GTD Chief Program Engineer Greg Goodall, and Mustang GTD Design Manager Anthony Colard.
Fun fact -- another American company broke a different record at the prestigious track back in 2008. General Motors took the 2009 Cadillac CTS-V to the Nürburgring and completed a lap in 7:59.32.
According to "Road & Track," this lap was believed to be the "fastest-ever documented laps posted by a production sedan running factory-spec street tires."