Ford Mustang GTD Liquid Carbon Package Goes to Extremes
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Ford
Ford’s new Liquid Carbon package adds even more carbon fiber to the Mustang GTD.
Free of paint, the weave of the bodywork is easily seen, and the sheetmetal of the doors is now also carbon composite.
The weight savings are minimal, the look is pure menace.
In the supercar world, less is more is a motto adhered to by basically every manufacturer. Want less weight, that’ll be more carbon-fiber then, and as that material is expensive to manufacture, the price goes up. We don’t know just how much Ford’s latest carbon-fiber-tastic version of the Mustang GTD is going to add to the already eye-watering $300,000-plus price, but the new Liquid Carbon package is bound to cost a premium for shaving a few pounds off the most extreme pony car yet.
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Ford Motor Company
Although we can’t really call the GTD a pony car anymore, can we? This machine is very nearly the Mustang version of the Mercedes-Benz CLK GTR of the late 1990s: something that has the silhouette of an ordinary coupe but is crammed with racing technology. The GTD is as much of a supercar as either of the two generations of Ford GT were, with the high-tech construction and sub-seven-minute Nürburgring lap time to match.
When parked, you can’t see the GTD’s rear-mounted eight-speed transaxle gearbox, nor the dry-sump 5.2-liter V-8 with its more than 800 horsepower, nor its clever semi-active front suspension. Onlookers can, however, immediately clock that blistered, vent-shredded bodywork and know that this Mustang is built to tear up the track.
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Ford Motor Company
Paint that body, and the bodywork still impresses. Leave off everything except clearcoat, and the sheer amount of carbon fiber on display is like something you might see from Horacio Pagani. The Liquid Carbon package for the GTD also replaces the sheetmetal of the door panels with more carbon fiber and exposes the naked construction of the car. Ford claims this package saves 13 pounds versus a normal GTD Performance package, but really, who cares about spec sheet footnotes? This thing is all about physical presence, a taunt of “Bring it on” at any passing Ferraris or Porsche 911s.
You can only order the Liquid Carbon package with the Performance package as standard—the latter strips out sound deadening and swaps in magnesium wheels for lightness, as well as adding aerodynamic elements. So equipped, it’s the lightest variant of GTD by those few pounds, but still a road car with a full interior.
The standard Mustang GTD is monstrous enough by itself. The Carbon Series shows off a bit more carbon fiber on the hood, roof, and rear trunklid, and this new package effectively checks all of the carbon-fiber boxes. How much carbon fiber? All of it.
It’s showy, brash, and sure to be expensive. Ford’s version of a Zonda R? Why not. The Blue Oval brand is not shy about the GTD’s mission statement.
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Lettermark
Brendan McAleer
Contributing Editor
Brendan McAleer is a freelance writer and photographer based in North Vancouver, B.C., Canada. He grew up splitting his knuckles on British automobiles, came of age in the golden era of Japanese sport-compact performance, and began writing about cars and people in 2008. His particular interest is the intersection between humanity and machinery, whether it is the racing career of Walter Cronkite or Japanese animator Hayao Miyazaki’s half-century obsession with the Citroën 2CV. He has taught both of his young daughters how to shift a manual transmission and is grateful for the excuse they provide to be perpetually buying Hot Wheels.
