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2024 Ford Mustang RTR Goes to Formula D With Gittin Jr., There’s Also a New Feature

Quite unsurprisingly, the Blue Oval Company keeps giving us fresh ways of rooting for the 2024 Mustang, which now has embarked on a novel Formula Drift journey alongside RTR and their megastar, two-time Formula Drift champion Vaughn Gittin Jr.
2024 Ford Mustang RTR competition vehicles and 2024 Mustang 31 photos
Photo: Ford Motor Company
2024 Ford Mustang RTR competition vehicles and 2024 Mustang2024 Ford Mustang RTR competition vehicles and 2024 Mustang2024 Ford Mustang RTR competition vehicles and 2024 Mustang2024 Ford Mustang RTR competition vehicles and 2024 Mustang2024 Ford Mustang RTR competition vehicles and 2024 Mustang2024 Ford Mustang RTR competition vehicles and 2024 Mustang2024 Ford Mustang RTR competition vehicles and 2024 Mustang2024 Ford Mustang RTR competition vehicles and 2024 Mustang2024 Ford Mustang RTR competition vehicles and 2024 Mustang2024 Ford Mustang RTR competition vehicles and 2024 Mustang2024 Ford Mustang RTR competition vehicles and 2024 Mustang2024 Ford Mustang RTR competition vehicles and 2024 Mustang2024 Ford Mustang RTR competition vehicles and 2024 Mustang2024 Ford Mustang RTR competition vehicles and 2024 Mustang2024 Ford Mustang RTR competition vehicles and 2024 Mustang2024 Ford Mustang RTR competition vehicles and 2024 Mustang2024 Ford Mustang RTR competition vehicles and 2024 Mustang2024 Ford Mustang RTR competition vehicles and 2024 Mustang2024 Ford Mustang RTR competition vehicles and 2024 Mustang2024 Ford Mustang RTR competition vehicles and 2024 Mustang2024 Ford Mustang RTR competition vehicles and 2024 Mustang2024 Ford Mustang RTR competition vehicles and 2024 Mustang2024 Ford Mustang RTR competition vehicles and 2024 Mustang2024 Ford Mustang RTR competition vehicles and 2024 Mustang2024 Ford Mustang RTR competition vehicles and 2024 Mustang2024 Ford Mustang RTR competition vehicles and 2024 Mustang2024 Ford Mustang RTR competition vehicles and 2024 Mustang2024 Ford Mustang RTR competition vehicles and 2024 Mustang2024 Ford Mustang RTR competition vehicles and 2024 Mustang2024 Ford Mustang RTR competition vehicles and 2024 Mustang
So, the Mopar aficionados need to switch to a zero-emissions lifestyle going past the 2023 model year of the ICE-powered 2023 Dodge Challenger and Charger, after they had their collector’s fill with the seven ‘Last Call’ special editions, of course. From then on, it is time for the nine levels of Banshee EV power, complete with the production series of the Dodge Charger Daytona SRT Concept. As for the Chevy Camaro enthusiasts, it is clear that the near future has nothing in store after the Collector’s Edition and production of the sixth generation ends in January 2024.

Thus, it is all up to the 2024 Ford Mustang’s seventh generation to keep the Ice banner up – at least in the short term. And, of course, the Blue Oval Company is doing its best to attract everyone’s attention that they are the only ones left standing and rooting for gasoline engines, from EcoBoost to Dark Horses, and from GT competitions to drifty stuff. Indeed, the latest motorsport novelty coming from the Detroit automaker has to do with none other than Formula Drift, which is going to be graced with all-new Mustang FD competition vehicles from both Ford and RTR Vehicles.

More so, after a short pause, two-time Formula Drift champion Vaughn Gittin Jr. has also announced his return to the competition, with the fresh Ford Mustang-based Spec 5-FD Formula Drift racer slated to appear at the 2023 Formula Drift Long Beach event held between April 7 and 8. “We took the badass styling, technology, and overall progression of the all-new Mustang as inspiration to develop our new Mustang RTRs for Formula Drift. The result is the best looking and best performing Mustang RTRs that we have ever created, and they are so fun to drive!” said the ‘soft-spoken’ Gittin Jr.

Even better, there isn’t just one competition vehicle – instead, Ford and RTR worked their magic on three Mustang RTR Spec 5-FDs with “entirely new exteriors based off the Mustang production car.” For example, Vaughn’s ride gets an “out-of-this-world livery,” thanks to inspiration from pictures snatched by the James Webb Space Telescope. Naturally, the same can be said about performance, as the FD Mustangs have 1,300 ponies under the hood, plus “enhanced suspension development.” The other drivers on call will be Chelsea DeNofa, Adam LZ, and new team member (but also a three-time champion) James Deane.

Plus, the competition-spec Mustangs have inspired a new feature for the regular 2024 pony and muscle cars. That would be “a segment-first” electronic drift brake, which is a track-only feature “that unlocks the rear-wheel-drive drifting capability of Mustang with the visual appeal and functionality of a traditional, mechanical hand brake.” It is part of the Mustang Performance Electronic Parking Brake on 2.3-liter EcoBoost and 5.0-liter V8 Mustangs (both manual and auto) equipped with the optional Performance Pack.

The gist of it is that “advanced” electronics mimic the RTR Formula Drift Mustang’s hydraulic drift brake and offer “more than three times the braking force of a conventional mechanical parking brake system.” And, best of all, the feature will be available from the get-go when the seventh-gen Mustang goes on sale this summer.

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About the author: Aurel Niculescu
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Aurel has aimed high all his life (literally, at 16 he was flying gliders all by himself) so in 2006 he switched careers and got hired as a writer at his favorite magazine. Since then, his work has been published both by print and online outlets, most recently right here, on autoevolution.
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