Just over 12 months ago, Ford revealed the Mustang GTD, transforming the famous muscle car into a bona fide road-legal racing car, setting its sights on the Porsche 911 GT3 RS. Ahead of its timed lap at the Nürburgring, the team had a twofold mission: beat the Europeans on their own turf – and circle the ‘Ring in under seven minutes. The latter has been achieved, with a 6-minute 57.685-second lap time set by Dirk Müller. However, the GTD crossed the start/finish line 13 seconds adrift of the GT3 RS’s lap time.

But don't dismiss the Ford just yet. What makes the Mustang GTD sub-seven-minute lap impressive is that the track conditions were far from perfect. Ford came close to abandoning the effort but opted to make the most of the mixed conditions.

In doing so, the Mustang GTD has posted the fastest lap by an American car to date. Better conditions should see the time fall further, and the GTD will return to the Green Hell in 2025.

The onboard footage of the 12.94-mile trip around Germany’s Eifel region makes for fascinating viewing. The GTD looks at home on every one of the Nordschliefe’s 154 corners. Only in lower-speed bends does it appear to become unsettled – but that is to be expected with 815bhp and 664lb-ft (900Nm) going to the rear wheels.

So, how did the Mustang manage such an impressive lap? Ford didn’t just strap a supercharger to the 5.2-litre V8 and call it a day. Learning from the GT3 race car, the engineers went beyond what is allowed in the racing rulebook by fitting semi-active suspension.

Just like in the Aston Martin One-77, the inboard springs and dampers are visible. In the car’s Track Mode, ride height is reduced by 40mm. The huge rear wing provides high downforce levels when required, but an F1-style drag reduction system can alter its angle and allow the car to reach its 202mph top speed.

The Mustang punches well above its weight with this lap time, showing impressive pace in imperfect conditions. It’s in the right performance window to compete with its European track-focused rivals – but with a price tag reportedly in the region of £300,000, so it should. Nevertheless, the question still remains: is a sub-seven-minute lap time enough to sway those who missed out on a Porsche 911 GT3 allocation? When the Mustang GTD returns and goes even faster, it just might.