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Dearborn — The performance-focused, V8-powered Ford Mustang GT, Dark Horse and GTD monsters now have a bit of brother to play with.
Say hi there to the Mustang RTR hellion, the efficiency trim of the horse automotive’s base, Ecoboost, turbo-4-cylinder mannequin.
The RTR is the religious inheritor to the last-generation, 2020-2023 Mustang’s High Performance mannequin (HiPo for brief), certainly one of autodom’s best-kept fanatic secrets and techniques. RTR brings related efficiency, however ups the swagger by partnering with drifting champion Vaughn Gittin Jr.’s RTR Vehicles (RTR is brief for Ready to Rock), an aftermarket mod store in Concord, North Carolina.
The RTR hook-up marks solely the second time in Mustang’s 60-year historical past that Ford Motor Co. has partnered with a third-party on a high-performance, factory-built Mustang. The different was with motorsports legend Carroll Shelby in 1965, and Gittin’s outsize character and expertise are a becoming sequel to Shelby’s legacy.
Like Shelby, whose vehicles got here with signature double stripes, RTR manufacturers the brand new Mustang mannequin with its signature, lit, LED grille nostrils. The Mustang RTR’s left nostril is purposeful, sucking in air to feed the turbocharged beast inside.
“With Mustang RTR, we’re producing the most badass, factory-built, turbocharged Mustang ever,” Gittin stated. “When I launched RTR in 2009 at 29, I had no plan beyond making Mustangs cool and exciting for the next generation. The 2026 Mustang RTR does just that.”
The Detroit News acquired a sneak peek of the RTR at Ford’s Dearborn company headquarters forward of its introduction Wednesday evening in Los Angeles. Gittin is predicted to demo the Mustang RTR’s capabilities on the Formula Drift Pro season finals in Long Beach on Saturday. You could possibly odor the smoke from melting tires all the best way in Detroit.
Mustang RTR borrows a number of design options from large brother GT, starting with a GT-styled grille anchored by a singular, Tarnished Dark Anodized model of the Mustang brand. Other GT-inspired goodies embrace quad tailpipes with active-valve exhaust roar, rear wing, and a big single sprint display that homes each the 12.4-inch instrument and 13.2-inch infotainment shows.
You’ll additionally acknowledge Junior by its distinctive graphics package deal on the hood ‘n’ hips, and bigger Brembo brake calipers
But the actual RTR magic is beneath the horse’s pores and skin.
The Mustang RTR comes customary with an Electronic Drift Brake function for, naturally, hoonigan conduct popularized by Gittin Jr. and his Formula Drift Pro friends. RTR provides to the recipe a so-called steering gear that enables elevated steering enter to assist the drifting expertise. Like the last-gen HiPo, RTR provides upgraded shocks, springs, and sticky summer season tires (Goodyear Eagle F1s) — then ups the ante by importing the rear subframe and beefier stabilizer bars from large brother Dark Horse.
Mustang RTR additionally boasts a Ford first — a so-called anti-lag turbo function. Derived from Ford Racing expertise on observe, anti-lag retains the turbocharger spooled for higher throttle response whereas carving corners, drifting or partaking generally misbehavior.
2026 Ford Mustang RTR debut
2026 Ford Mustang RTR debut
“This is Formula Drift championship-winning know-how, Mustang EcoBoost balance and affordability, and the race-proven performance technology from Mustang Dark Horse,” stated Mustang Chief Engineer Laurie Transou. “With the RTR Package, this Mustang is truly ready to rock.”
According to Mustang Brand Manager Ryan Shaughnessy, Gittin — the Formula Drift champion in 2010 and 2020 — was significantly eager on together with the steering gear, anti-lag and suspension calibration options on the RTR to present it a singular character.
Curiously, RTR doesn’t come customary with a horsepower increase over the common 2.3-liter Mustang EcoBoost’s 315 horsepower and 250 pound-feet of torque But clients can hit up their vendor after buy for a Ford Performance Parts Installation improve to a stonkin’ 350 ponies and 400 pound-feet of torque. The latter determine is simply 15 pound-feet shy of the GT’s mighty V-8.
Also an choice are magneride shocks to enhance dealing with, although stickier, track-focused tires usually are not (but) accessible.
Sadly, a handbook transmission just isn’t an choice.
Though the RTR advantages from quite a few GT hand-me-downs, the six-speed handbook just isn’t certainly one of them. Ford’s ubiquitous 10-speed automated transmission is customary, and clients can get their stick kicks by shoving it in MANUAL mode and rowing the gears with the steering wheel-mounted paddle shifters. With half the cylinders, the two.3-liter 4-cylidner up entrance saves 200 kilos over the V8-powered GT, making the automotive extra nimble on nook turn-in.
Slip into the Mustang RTR, and the door sills glow with a MUSTANG RTR graphic. Seats are adorned with yellow stitching to enhance yellow seatbelts. Seat choices run from customary fabric to heated/cooled ActiveX thrones to heated/cooled premium leather-based. Recaro seats are additionally accessible. Customers can select from 10 Mustang colours, together with a brand new Avalanche Gray for RTR.
Push the START button and a cool RTR animation runs throughout the massive digital screens, ending within the coupe drifting into the gap.
The RTR Package can be accessible for order within the second quarter of 2026 on the bottom Mustang EcoBoost with the High package deal and the Mustang EcoBoost Premium. Expect the RTR to begin at over $40k in comparison with the usual, $34k Mustang Ecoboost when it hits dealerships subsequent summer season. Option-laden fashions ought to push $50k, lower than the $66k beginning value for the V8-powered Dark Horse Mustang.
Henry Payne is auto critic for The Detroit News. Find him at [email protected] or @HenryEPayne.
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