Ford Mustang GTD

THE Mustang GTD is a fascinating car - to behold, as well as to drive. This is a wide-body, Porsche 911 GT3 RS-fighting Ford that will be sold in small numbers and only in left-hand drive. No more than a handful will come to the UK.

- Robin Hornig

With a track widened by around 100mm and those massively flared wings, the GTD is over two metres wide - a good 120mm more than a normal Mustang. Yet it feels familiar very quickly, at least to anyone used to heavy-hitters such as the Mustang, Dodge Challenger and their kind.

The interior certainly contributes to that sense of familiarity. From the outside, you can barely recognise the original Mustang under its new carbon-fibre armour - even the roof, doors and bonnet are made of the material - but inside, everything is as you'd expect. There's no roll cage, and no radical bucket seats, either. Instead, you get new GTD graphics in the onboard computer and a plaque with a serial number, showing that each car has been handcrafted by racing specialists Multimatic in Canada. But that’s about it.

We open proceedings in Sport mode, even though there's a much sharper Track option available. It’s amazing how civilised the car feels and how effortlessly the GTD can be driven. The same praise the dual-purpose Porsche attracts, given its suitability for both the racetrack and the supermarket, also applies to the Mustang GTD.

If you ignore the lack of a boot, of course - a casualty of the transaxle design at the rear.