It broke cover for the first time at the November IMSA Sanctioned Test at Daytona International Speedway, and today, Ford Racing has shared more details about the changes made to the Ford Mustang GT3’s new Evo kit that will make its race debut in 2026.
Details of an Evo kit for the Mustang GT3 were first revealed by RACER in September during the WEC Lone Star Le Mans at COTA. Three months later, Ford Racing Global Sports Car manager Alex Allmandinger discussed the changes made to the package, which has been in the works even when the original version of the Mustang GT3 was preparing to make its debut.
“The evolution of the Mustang GT3 will competitively launch this season with 24 hours at Daytona International Speedway, but this package upgrade has been in development since the moment the Mustang GT3 first hit the track,” he said.
“The process is not a total revamp of the car, because we respect the 60-plus years of rich Mustang racing heritage that came before the GT3 model. Rather, we have taken key learnings across every Mustang GT3 program around the globe over the last two years to fine tune the platform. In collaboration with our partners, we leveraged key insights to evolve the vehicle while strictly maintaining the Mustang’s unmistakable spirit.
“In our pursuit of delivering the most competitive car to our customers, we’ve identified three areas of the Mustang GT3 to optimize: Aerodynamics, kinematics and braking. All updates are focused on keeping us at the cutting-edge, regardless of the type of track or level of competition.”
The aerodynamic enhancements were the ones most visible when the new car was rolled out at Daytona, mainly the addition of dive planes to the front bumper to improve downforce; Ford has also revised the splitter and rear diffuser.
“The dive planes are the most obvious changes and the only apparent modification from the topside. The double dive planes offer a significant amount of front-end downforce while making it less sensitive to changes in ride height,” Allmandinger noted.
“This package has been in development since 2023, as we’ve logged countless hours in the wind tunnel and track days across the world – from Portimão and Laguna Seca to Watkins Glen International. We’ve refined the Mustang GT3 with every lap to a product we are proud to release competitively at Daytona.
“As a customer-focused platform, drivability is a key performance metric. Whether you’re a Bronze, Silver or Pro rated driver, we strive to empower all drivers with the ability to extract the maximum performance from the Mustang GT3. Creating stability and consistency will help encourage a sense of comfort whether teams are competing on tight courses like WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca or high-speed ones like Circuit de la Sarthe.”
Beneath the surface, the front and rear suspension kinematics have been updated to create a more stable platform, and to deliver more tire performance and more benefit from the new aero package.
“To pair with the new aerodynamics package, we’ve made corresponding updates to the Mustang GT3’s kinematics. This includes updates to both the front and the rear, changing the dynamic behavior of the car,” Allmandinger said. “We’ve now seen the Mustang GT3 race on various circuits around the globe, on several different tire compounds, and this has furthered our understanding of where the car operates and what we need to do to extract the most out of the different tire compounds.
“Braking is where we found an area where we can continually improve, rounding out a balanced performance package for our customers.”
Brembo brakes have been introduced, replacing previous supplier Alcon, and aligning the Mustang GT3’s brake supplier with that of the Dark Horse R and Mustang GT4 models.
“Throughout our testing, Brembo has consistently demonstrated the durability and performance we demand. In endurance racing, component reliability is non-negotiable – especially as we compete at Le Mans and Spa, and we defend our class victories at Daytona and the 24 Hours of Nürburgring,” Allmandinger said. “We have also seen gains in braking efficiency and peak deceleration. These improvements will be crucial for sprint formats, ranging from our campaigns in DTM and SRO-sanctioned GT World Challenge sprint races to our home race, where we look to defend our victory on the streets of Detroit.”
Ford Multimatic Motorsports and Myers Riley Motorsports tested the updated Mustang GT3 at Daytona last month and will debut the new package during the 64th Rolex 24 At Daytona on Jan. 24-25, along with fellow Ford customer team Gradient Racing.
“Our recent tests at Sebring and Daytona were the capstone of a rigorous development journey for the evolution of Mustang GT3,” said Allmandinger. “They represent the relentless pursuit of performance through data-driven refinement and driver feedback. From drivability to performance, the gains we saw were a direct result of the Ford Racing team’s commitment to excellence.
“As we head into the off-season, the Mustang GT3 isn’t resting — it’s being sharpened. We’re refining every component to ensure that when it returns to the grid next year, it’s unbridled, unleashed, and ready to win.”