Mustang's Bathurst preview

The Ford Mustang is being previewed at Bathurst ahead of the full-scale Supercars switch to the Detroit muscle car in 2019.

A race-prepared Mustang, built to the international GT4 rules for sports car competition, is running demonstration laps at Mount Panorama this Bathurst 1000 weekend in a Ford Australia program.

It is lapping alongside a late-model Supercar and blue oval's global competition headliner, the Ford GT GTLM Le Mans race-winner, in a special speed comparison.

“It’s great to drive it. I like it,” says Tony D’Alberto, who is driving the pristine while Mustang in addition to his duties as Fabian Couthard’s co-driver with DJR Team Penske in the Supercheap Bathurst 1000.

The Ford Mustang GT4 racer is built by Multimatic Engineering in Toronto, Canada and is currently the responsibility of Jim Griffin, the general manager of Multimatic’s Australian operation at Notting Hill in Melbourne’s southeast.

No-one is confirming a local Ford Mustang GT4 program but the car is expected to stay in Australia for the Bathurst 12-Hour next February, and could be the first of a number of cars sold Down Under.

For now, Ford Australia is cagey about its plans and involvement, despite financing the all-Ford speed comparison at Mount Panorama.

“The GT4 is in Australia for the same reason as the Ford GT, to highlight the global Ford Performance capability that is behind the Supercars Ford Performance Mustang,” says company spokesman, Martin Gunsberg.

“Whilst it is legal to run in the 12 Hour and the GT championship, it is here to highlight the global Ford Performance capability. The GT4 is owned by Multimatic.”

The Mustang is believed to have a local owner, although final details of the purchase have not been completed and no-one will talk about the buyer. The suggested $US240,000 pricetag of the racer does not include import costs nor taxes.

But Ford Australia is keen on the car and Multimatic is looking to cash-in on the demonstration at Bathurst.

“GT4 is a customer racing program, however, this car was not built for a specific customer but is an example of a turn-key, race-ready vehicle,” says Gunsberg.

“This vehicle is… a demonstrator of the GT4 program for potential Australian customers. GT4s are available through Multimatic. This is the only GT4 in Australia, he said”

So, does GT racing provide a potential payback for Ford?

“Yes, GT racing demonstrates the capability of Ford Motor Company and that Ford Performance vehicles are capable of competing in the most contested categories globally. [But] Right now our focus is on Supercars in Australia,” Gunsberg stated.