Ford has tested its new-for-2024 Mustang GT3 at Sebring, in the first public test of Ford Performance’s first ever ‘official’ GT3 car.
The car, powered by a Ford 5.0-litre V8 engine, will enter the IMSA WeatherTech Sportscar Championship next year, in the GTD/GTD Pro classes, as well as entering the 24 Hours of Le Mans in the LMGT3 class, which will begin in the WEC in 12 months time, replacing GTE-Am.
The car was announced in 2022, and was due to be unveiled to fans at Sebring this past week — but that plan was scrapped in favour of a test in the days after the Super Sebring weekend. Until this point all that had been seen of the car was renders, but these are the first ‘real life’ shots, giving us an early glimpse of how it will look on track.
While Ford has not revealed who drove the car at the test, it’s believed factory driver Joey Hand, who was involved in Ford’s last factory GT racing programme, the 2016-2019 Ford GT GTE, was at Sebring.
Ford posted these images of the car’s test on Instagram, while Ford CEO Jim Farley tweeted this video of the car going through Sunset Bend, the long, bumpy final corner at Sebring.
The car will go up against other GT3 machinery from the likes of Mercedes, Audi, Honda, Lamborghini and Ferrari next year, as well as the also new-for-2024 Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3, which is also Chevrolet and Corvette’s first ever official GT3-homologated car.
