The 2024 Ford Mustang has been officially revealed, offering new versions of the turbocharged 2.3-liter inline-four and naturally aspirated 5.0-liter V8 to go along with its bold new styling and tech-forward interior. But the seventh-generation pony car won’t merely focus on street performance, and the Blue Oval has announced the Mustang is going racing – at Le Mans.
Speaking to the crowd at the 2024 Mustang’s official debut, Executive Chair Bill Ford announced that the company would return to the famed 24-hour endurance race, following in the footsteps of such legends as the 1-2-3–finishing 1966 GT40. The new Mustang will race in the new-for-2024 GT3 class, which will replace the current Le Mans GTE field of cars.
“The Mustang GT3 will be eligible in 2024,” said Ford Performance Motorsports Global Director Mark Rushbrook. “We look forward to seeing Mustang race there.”
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As for the powertrain and mechanical alterations Ford will make to the newest Mustang to prepare it to compete on the global stage, mum’s the word. The automaker will likely reveal more specs in the next several months. The 2024 Mustang will also spawn GT3 and GT4 variants for IMSA, as well as an Australian Supercars Championship competitor and track-only variants of the sleek Dark Horse.
As big as the news is, the 2024 Mustang isn’t the first Blue Oval pony to race at Le Mans. Ford fielded one in 1967, then again 30 years later. Since then, Ford has relied on the GT supercar, which famously took a class win in 2016, 50 years to the day after the original GT40 won the race overall.
