Ford Mustang GTD approved for Australia, with a catch

The fastest Ford Mustang ever made could soon be making an appearance Down Under.

While Ford’s local arm has no plans to bring the Mustang GTD to Australia – priced from around A$500,000 – the Federal Government’s Department of Infrastructure has opened a pathway for the track-oriented model to be personally imported.

The Mustang GTD is powered by a 5.2-litre supercharged V8 making 608kW and 900Nm, driving the rear wheels through an eight-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission – providing a near 50:50 weight distribution for improved handling dynamics.

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But despite Ford confirming the track-focused model won't be sold through the company's Australian arm, the Mustang GTD can now be brought in after being added to the Specialist and Enthusiast Vehicles Register, which allows the personal importation of rare and high-performance vehicles.

While there are several exemptions, typically vehicles that are less than 25 years old cannot be brought into Australia as a personal import, sometimes referred to as a ‘grey’ import.

It’s believed fewer than 2000 vehicles will be manufactured for Ford by Multimatic in Canada – the same company responsible for producing the second-generation Ford GT supercar, as well as GT3- and GT4-spec Mustang race cars.

However, Ford has banned buyers of the Mustang GTD from selling their vehicles within two years of taking delivery, in an attempt to stop speculators from immediately ‘flipping’ the cars for profit.

CarExpert understands one Australian collector has secured a factory allocation of the GTD, and was likely the driving force behind the approval.

Even if the vehicle was able to meet local registration requirements, Ford currently only manufactures the Mustang GTD in left-hand drive – meaning the vehicle is likely to remain an unregistered, track-only vehicle in most Australian states and territories.

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