Don’t Listen To Richard Hammond, We Actually Did The First Real Road Trip In A Mustang GTD

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.