The video is kind of cheesy and lame.

The Nurburgring lap time "benchmark" is riddled with controversy. Understandably so. Regardless, I think this is a neat achievement.

I don't much care for the car, and modern cutting-edge cars in general, but I do have a fondness for the Mustang, Cobra, GT40, Ford GT, etc. I don't pick a side in the Ford vs Chevy debate, but I do prefer Ford's "sporty" cars over Chevy's sports car offerings. The Corvette is undeniably awesome (though I am not crazy about the C8), but I haven't really liked a Camaro since the third generation cars.

In addition to the Nurburgring benchmark controversy, I think Ford's dependence on Multimatic is a bit disappointing, considering they're seemingly a Canadian company (they manufactured all the second generation FordGTs in Canada). The '60s GT40 foundation was imported as well though. Corvette can perhaps make more substantiated claims to a more domestic program.

Lot's of ways to nitpick these things. At the end of the day, I think it's cool that an American brand snuck into a historically European-dominated field.

The Viper ACR and it's driver already had (and still have) a, IMO, cooler Nurburgring achievement, with 7:01 and 7:12 lap times using a proper manual gearbox and third pedal.

Corvette doesn't have a lot of representation in the 'Ring rankings. Some production version of a C7 or C8 can surely outperform this GTD. I wonder why Corvette apparently doesn't care to pursue more 'Ring representation.

I have long been aware of the 'Ring, but have only recently learned more about it. I am curious what other members here know and think about it.

I actually liked the video.
There aren’t many street production cars that can run a sub 7 minute lap.

Congrats to the team.

A stock Viper did it in 7:14. The Viper that did it in 7:01 had $28k in engine mods alone. The stock C8 Z06 does it in 7:10. They say the C8 could be faster if it were not for a really tall 5th gear. These cars are naturally aspirated. Also naturally aspirated, the $75k list Mustang Shelby GT350R took 7:32.

At $300,000 for the GTD, I’m not sure Ford is proving anything other than the old adage “Speed costs money, how fast do you want to go?"

The GTD is basically Ford's Mustang GT3 race car adapted to the road with all of the engine limiters off. I would be very surprised if it didn't outrun any production Corvette.

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These cars are naturally aspirated.

Thank you for emphasizing this. Though the European and Italian cars that the GTD set out to compete with are probably wearing turbos in many cases.

Thanks for sharing the video, KSGM.

I've heard about the 'Ring a lot, but never made time to get into studying it. For sure, that video is highly produced, but it does show some of the complexity of the course and the dedication of the team.

I worked in the automotive industry two careers ago, hoping to get closer to things like this. The technology that goes into the car and the telematics, plus the absolute skill and determination on the part of the driver... just amazing.

I've been a Mustang fan since I was "knee high to a grasshopper," so performance like this is very interesting to me. I read a while back that the Nurburgring opens up to "average Joes" on occasion. One day, after I find my giant bucket-o-money, I'd love to take a lap.

Trapper mentioned the Viper... I got (had?) to go to Chrysler's tech center for meetings a couple of times. One particular afternoon, waiting for things to start I heard the most awesome rumble coming from four floors down. I leaned over the atrium rail to look down and see what it was... it was a Viper, presumably prototype, slowly making its way through the building. I loved that moment.

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Originally posted by KSGM:
<snip>
In addition to the Nurburgring benchmark controversy, I think Ford's dependence on Multimatic is a bit disappointing, considering they're seemingly a Canadian company (they manufactured all the second generation FordGTs in Canada).
<snip>

Multimatic is a DCT? Eight forward gears?

Google says the GTD indeed has an eight-speed DCT.

The way I understand it, Multimatic is a high-performance motorsports engineering outfit. I don't know if the transmission is made by them.

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I would be very surprised if it didn't outrun any production Corvette.

Any manufacturer can choose to do what Ford did with the GTD. I suppose it's a question of if the juice is worth the squeeze to the company. It's ultimately a marketing play. As already stated, the GTD is wildly expensive and exclusive, but so are the other cars in the top Nurburgring rankings, which are also adapted racecars or heavily race-influenced models.

This is where much of the 'Ring debate stems from.

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Originally posted by KSGM:

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These cars are naturally aspirated.

Thank you for emphasizing this. Though the European and Italian cars that the GTD set out to compete with are probably wearing turbos in many cases.

I’d bet it’s true in all cases for street legal production cars. The Viper and C8 impress me because Dodge and GM did the work and produced outstanding cars that are almost affordable. Ford hired it out and got an outstanding car at a price that says fuck it, just buy a Ferrari.

I think Trapper pretty-well sums up the GTD effort.

Viper wears the crown, in my book.

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Originally posted by vthoky:
I've heard about the 'Ring a lot, but never made time to get into studying it. For sure, that video is highly produced, but it does show some of the complexity of the course and the dedication of the team.

Top of my bucket list is a trip to Germany & turning some laps on the 'Ring.

If you want some fun YT content on the Ring, look up Misha Charoudin. He pretty much has people lining up to take them on a hot lap of the Ring in their car. Everything from hopped up Civics to ultra high performance cars.

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look up Misha Charoudin

I think he predicted the GTD wouldn't get under 7:00. The conditions didn't look favorable.

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Originally posted by trapper189:
A stock Viper did it in 7:14. The Viper that did it in 7:01 had $28k in engine mods alone. The stock C8 Z06 does it in 7:10. They say the C8 could be faster if it were not for a really tall 5th gear. These cars are naturally aspirated. Also naturally aspirated, the $75k list Mustang Shelby GT350R took 7:32.

At $300,000 for the GTD, I’m not sure Ford is proving anything other than the old adage “Speed costs money, how fast do you want to go?"

Speed costs money. How fast do you want to spend?

I had shared this video previously, in another thread. It's a much more interesting and thorough video about Ford's 2016 LeMans win. Same partnership with Multimatic.

In case you’re wondering about the top production lap times here they are…

Mercedes AMG ONE | 6:29.09 minutes | 20,832 km
Porsche GT2 RS MR 991.2 | 6:43.30 minutes | 20,832 km
Mercedes AMG GT Black Series | 6:48.04 minutes | 20,832 km
Porsche GT3 RS 992 | 6:49.32 minutes | 20,832 km
Lamborghini Aventador LP 770-4 SVJ | 6:49.40 minutes | 20,832 km
Porsche GT2 RS MR 991.2 | 6:52.15 minutes | 20,832 km
Radical SR8 LM | 6:53.20 minutes | 20,832 km
Porsche GT3 992 MR | 6:55.73 minutes | 20,832 км
Lamborghini Huracan LP 640-4 Performante | 6:57.25 minutes | 20,832 km
Ford Mustang GTD | 6:57.68 minutes | 20,832 km

And if you want to buckle up your six point harness check out the ultimate fastest lap here..


https://youtu.be/KsLi7HgSuhI?si=tA1NYqpYkrR8whhu

It’s hard to believe that the above video isn’t being played at double speed!

More balls than a Christmas tree.

These drivers probably spend hours driving these tracks on games like Forza. To get times like these, you’ve got to know every inch of that track better than the back of your hand.

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These drivers probably spend hours driving these tracks on games

In the GTD video, they show the simulator he used to practice. It's insane.

That list is missing the Ferrari 296GTB and a few of those cars barely meet the definition of production. The Radical specifically, but I’d bet there’s a few others as well. The Radical is street legal only in Great Britain under their Single Vehicle Approval process. Most definitions of “production vehicle” mean 30 or more.

Speaking of the Ford GT, we saw this a week ago:

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Speaking of the Ford GT, we saw this a week ago

Yeah buddy! If the Superformance GT40s didn't exist, a Gen1 GT would be my #1 dream car. Very cool picture, BTW!