Is this 870bhp, $160k RTR Spec 5 a half-price Mustang GTD?

Ford’s bonkers new race car for the road isn’t a next-gen GT supercar, it’s a wildly modified Mustang with carbon ceramic brakes, forged magnesium wheels, inboard suspension with DSSV spool dampers, a dual-clutch Tremec gearbox, a DRS-equipped rear wing, a widebody kit with full carbon panels and a supercharged 5.2-litre V8 making 815bhp.

Yeah, the GTD is mighty impressive. However, at $325,000 it’s also mighty expensive. Luckily, drifting champ Vaughn Gittin Jr is here to save the day, because his tuning firm has just unveiled a half-price alternative.

This is the Mustang RTR Spec 5, and we like to think of it as the GTD’s drifty sibling. You see, it doesn’t have the downforce of the official Ford attempt, but it does still get a Whipple supercharger on its 5.0-litre V8 for somewhere north of 870bhp and 660lb ft of torque. Yikes. And prices start at just $159,999.

For that you get a donor seventh-gen Mustang GT equipped with the Performance Package (Torsen limited slip diff, shorter final drive etc) and Recaro seats. RTR then reworks said GT with a proper widebody kit and ducktail rear spoiler, a carbon front lip and its signature grille with LED intakes.

There are new 20in forged wheels too, plus uprated Brembo brakes and a ‘Tactical Performance Suspension System’ that lowers the ride height and introduces 30-way adjustable front coilovers and rear dampers, plus height-adjustable springs and adjustable front and rear anti-roll bars. Okay, it’s not quite the Multimatic setup of the GTD, but it’s still pretty fancy.

Oh, and you can have the Spec 5 with a six-speed manual transmission. Hurrah! There’s also an RTR by BORLA active exhaust and every car comes with the factory Electronic Drift Brake (which was actually co-developed by Gittin Jr alongside Chelsea DeNofa and Ford).

“With the pull of the lever, owners can initiate controlled drifts, execute smoky donuts, or rip precise J-turns with ease,” reads the RTR press release. Clearly not taking itself too seriously, this thing.

It’ll be rarer than the GTD though, with just 50 units being built in the 2026 model year.

“As RTR has evolved through the years, so has our design and engineering capabilities through special projects and motorsports learnings,” said Gittin Jr.

“Spec 5 doesn’t reference our peers – it’s derived from the core DNA of RTR. This Mustang embodies everything we stand for – confidence, capability, and our ‘Ready to Rock’ mindset.”