The idea of a race car that can be a beast on the tracks and civilized on regular roads has always been a dream. A sort of Pentacostal in the sheets, Presbyterian on the streets sort of thing, if you’ll allow me to use my poorly-understood grasp of mainstream Christian denominations as an analogy. Or maybe a Walt Disney in the sheets, Walt Whitman on the streets? Is that Walt-spectrum one any better? It doesn’t matter, you know what I mean, and I think the car that best exemplifies this idea available right now has to be the Mustang GTD.
I say this because it’s a no-joke track monster that ran the Nürburgring in 6:52 and yet it’s also shockingly comfortable for a normal, multi-hour road trip that won’t leave you feeling like you spent five hours in an industrial washing machine when it’s done. I’m not speculating when I say this, either: I know from experience, because I rode in Autopian co-Founder Beau Boeckman’s brand-new Mustang GTD as we drove over 300 miles from Los Angeles to Monterey.
Beau’s GTD is a pretty special one, as it’s a one-of-one color, Beau’s signature shade of vivid purple-pink called Beauberry. I assume there are berry scientists at work right this minute attempting to create actual beauberries in some lab somewhere, furiously cross-pollinating raspberries with maybe grapes and Hubba Bubba DNA.
Now, we took this trip with the intent of taking the First Ever Real Road Trip in a Mustang GTD, and I believe we did just that. However, little-known Opel collector Richard Hammond has just recently made a similar claim of his own, taking a road trip in France in a Mustang GTD, from what seems to be Reims-Gueux to the Circuit Chambley racetrack. It looks like they had some fun on the track as well as on the roads, and you can see the whole thing here:
Okay, sure, that looks like a pretty good time. That “road trip” is distinctly European-fun-sized, as it would have taken (depending on route) anywhere from just under two hours to two and a half hours, covering a distance between about 105 to 109 miles. Two hours! That’s not a road trip! Here in America, we call that a “commute.”
Now, when Beau and I did our road trip, we went from Los Angeles to Monterey, California, and while I don’t remember our exact route, the shortest way we could have gone would be 318 miles or so, taking around five and a quarter hours. We made a little video of it, too:
We did our trip on, let’s see August 13? I have no idea when Hammond took their GTD on their little micro-road triplet, but I know Beau’s GTD was only number three, and among the first delivered. Hammond’s was provided by Ford, it seems, so I’m not sure how that affects when it may have been shot. I suspect our run happened first, though.
Also, the break-in period for the GTD is 250 miles, which we passed during the trip. Was Hammond’s already broken in? Because the number of miles they traveled in that car would not be enough to get out of the break-in period, which I think would devalue any “road trip” claims, too. Though they did track the car, which would suggest it’s already broken in? Maybe this was a Ford car that already had some miles on it?
But still, when it comes to the first road trip in an honest, customer-purchased Mustang GTD, I think we did it, not Mr.Hammond. I mean, we met all the crucial road trip criteria: snacking in the car – not only did we polish off a huge bag of jerky, I think Beau was the first to actually eat a sandwich in the driver’s seat of a customer-delivered GTD:
I took the time to appreciate the sequential front indicators at a gas stop, also a road trip hallmark:
…and I know this has to be the first GTD to be in such close proximity to a Nissan Murano CrossCab:
So, you know, beat that, Hamster.
I guess there’s really two takeaways here: first, the GTD is a shockingly civilized road trip car. It feels about as comfortable as any modern Mustang, and you’re not lacking for features or comfort. This thing had fantastic A/C, comfortable seats, lane keeping and cruise control, and all that, and while the trunk was now the domain of those amazing suspension bits you can see through that window, the former rear seat area looks like it can handle a good bit of luggage. This is genuinely a race car that can be used for road trips without compromise.
And the second takeaway? We road tripped it before Hammond, even if he shot his little video before we did, because two hours does not a road trip make. Four is the minimum. I looked it up at the International Bureau of Standards. Feel free to call them and confirm.
You had to stop for gas on a 312-mile road trip? Lame.
To me, it feels like the sequential turn signals light up in the opposite order of what they should. Cool paint color though.
I think Jason set the GIF to play back and forth instead of loop?
The sequential signals work differently front to rear, and their function is based on the FMVSS US law regarding the minimum area of illumination needed for the turn signals.
In the rear, the three segments illuminate one-two-three from inboard to outboard, and then all shut off. The first segment that illuminates is large enough to satisfy the FMVSS rule on minimum area of illumination. It has been this way since sequential signals on the Mustang became factory in 2015.
On the front, all of the segments turn on first, and then turn off sequentially one-two-three from inboard to outboard. The first segment alone does not have enough surface area to satisfy FMVSS, thus Ford illuminates them all first and then the sequencing is for shutting off the illumination. The three segements together satisfy FMVSS.
This is the same reason that many european cars in the US will have sequential turn signals, but also have a large element that illuminates along with the sequential portion…to satisfy FMVSS.
There sure is a lot of rich guy content lately with way over 6 figure cars.
What happened? This place used to be cool.
A rich car guy is one of the founders of this site and the money source to keep it going. I’ll take Beau any day over the private equity suits that bought Jalopnik.
I understand how this is/was funded but there’s still an unusual amount of rich dude content lately for a site that is far more fun and interesting when it dissects an obscure blinker from 1963. The more it leans into rich dude shit, the more it just starts feeling like the same old stuff we always had rather than the crew of misfits toys that makes this place rock.
But Torch, did Beau let you drive it? That is the question inquiring minds want to know.
There were not enough pictures of this car….at all lol
I guess I’m the only one who doesn’t allow food in his car.
More or less, yes. I don’t eat while driving, but I do eat in the car. Occasionally, that is.
I don’t allow OTHERS to eat in my car. I’ll mess up my own car and be happy to clean it up. I will NOT be happy cleaning up others’ mess.
But how does the on-road comfort compare to, say, a GT3 RS? Which I could also afford.
What is that shirt Beau is conspicuously NOT dripping on? I thought it might be an “Evolution of Autopian Logo” shirt, but a review of this piece doesn’t bear that out. Regardless, can I have one?
Beau looks incredibly happy in that picture – is it due to the car or the sandwich?
Probably both.
Those brits wouldn’t know a road trip if it bit them right in the face.
I’d like to see ol’ Hammo do a cannonball run.
Knowing Hammond’s history, he would end up in a ditch on fire.
In Europe 200 miles is a long way. In America 200 years is a long time.
I literally did a 2 hour “commute” to work site today. Definitely not a road trip.
My commute from home is 150 miles. 100 miles is not a road trip. For those that ask, it is not a daily commute. I go to work Monday, return home Friday or Saturday
Otr trucker. Most are on the road 2 to 4 weeks, so 5 or 6 days isn’t too bad. Most weeks I just take the truck home, which helps
Ok. Questions about the turn signal GIF. It seems to indicate the turn signal lights illuminate from the side of the car to the middle of the car? Is that actually what actually happens?
I ask because it makes my head hurt if that is the case. The animation direction I see in is in the OPPOSITE direction the car is signaling to turn! Arghh…
Mini-arrow-taillight level wrong,
Sorry. The infamous bass-ackwards ordering of the comments section strikes again.
Beau’s signature shade of vivid purple-pink called Beauberry.
My jealousy meter is pegged. May I someday be successful enough to have a signature color for my fleet. It would be somewhere near Acid Lime with an iridescent flake added.
Sweet road trip.
Yeah, but Hammond published first.
But was it peer reviewed?
You mean, like, at a urinal?
I would never listen to a guy that doesn’t eat ice cream because he thinks it’s gay
Hell, as someone who is gay and in the bear community, ice cream in a cone is more for straight people because they don’t have big beards like we do. Ice cream can really get all over a beard if you’re not careful.
I just think if Hammond can’t lick an ice cream cone without thinking about licking on someone’s dong, that’s a Hammond thing, not a gay/straight thing
I don’t think that’s what “beard” means.
And I thought “straight people” have “beards.”
I am so confused. No, not in that way.
Beard, in this case, means facial hair. The traditional meaning.
A bear means a gay man who is relatively large and has plenty of hair – though, naturally, the hair level varies based on the person. My own beard is at nearly chest length now but I need to trim it.
Because the bears tend to find each other’s dens, the majority of the gay men I know have beards – some of us have very big ones – while most of the clean-shaven people I know are straight. I honestly often assume a guy is gay if he has a beard now, just because that’s how my friend group has shaken out.
I called the IBS to confirm, and they kept ranting irritably about bowels. I think I called the wrong group…
Imagine being baller enough to have an OEM make you a special color named after you. How neat!
But the same thing puts an asterisk after the car being customer-delivered. One way or another, Beau is a prominent Ford dealer. That means someone else’ll get to claim the first Mustang GTD road trip by someone fully independent of Fomoco, again assuming Hamster was driving a press car.
It was his personal car though, so I think it counts.
I guess. But still, I bet when he calls Dearborn they pick up on the first ring…
Does the GTD have the same instrument cluster display as the S650 Mustangs? Can you have Fox Body gauges in your GTD?
Almost looked like the color behind the needle on what I think was the tach was matching Beauberry? Is that a thing? That’s freaking awesome if so!
I really like the GTD. I’ll probably never even see one in person, let alone own one, but it’s very cool.
Bonus points for metallic highlighter pink too.
A Mustang GTD weighs at least 1400lbs more than a Mustang GT3 race car.
I’d hope that it’d be more comfortable given all that extra stuff.