Ahead of the 2025 Detroit Auto Show, Ford and Vaughn Gittin Jr. teased a new Ford Mustang Ecoboost based Mustang RTR. It includes several novel tricks.
Admittedly, Ford kept details light. But the night before the 2025 Detroit Auto Show, we got a chance to see Vaughn Gittin Jr. drift around Cobo Hall (now called Huntington Place) in an all-new, ecoboost powered Ford Mustang RTR. We know it will get power from Ford’s Turbocharged 2.3-liter inline-four-cylinder engine dubbed Ecoboost. We know it includes a few Ford Mustang Dark Horse chassis pieces. And we know that it will get anti-lag.
In 2023, Ford introduced the seventh-generation Ford Mustang, built on the S650 chassis. Ford added a lot of cool tech to that Mustang. Of the many tricks, such as remote engine revving and Fox body era mimicking digital instrument cluster, I personally liked the drift brake feature the most. And, yes—of course—the Mustang RTR Ecoboost will have that too.
Something tells me this special edition Mustang will bump up the power from stock. But even the base Turbocharged 2.3-liter produces 315 horsepower and 350 lb.-ft of torque. And I proved that it’s than enough to slide the Mustang around with vigor.
From the images Ford provided, you also see neon green Brembo brake calipers clamping down on massive rotors in the front and back. It also appears a bit lower to the ground than a stock Ecoboost.
From there, Gittin Jr. added his signature styling elements to the car, lighting on the front grill, a unique wheel design, and RTR logos all around. When I spoke with him, Gittin Jr. used the word accessible many times. I take that to mean this will enter the market at a lower price point than other Mustang RTRs, but only time will tell.
When will we learn more?
Speaking of time, all the parties involved also kept quiet about when we would learn more. Gittin Jr. was confident we’ll learn more before the end of 2025, but couldn’t get more specific than that. He mentioned that work on this particular car began 18 months ago, which leads me to think we’ll see an official reveal this summer.
Another point Gittin Jr. made was about the improved front to rear weight balance of the Ecoboost car, when compared with a Mustang 5.0. That’s an excellent point. Taking weight off the front end of the car makes it much easier to turn in and adjust precisely. And it holds true with my experience driving the Ecoboost.
In fact, one of the best handling, most enjoyable to drive on Mustangs I ever experienced was the S550 generation, 2020 Ford Mustang High Performance car. Light, nimble, responsive. You got neutral chassis balance and predictable responses to your inputs. Sure, the blasts down the straights didn’t sound quite as good, but otherwise, it was a joy.
Based on my conversation with the man himself, I’m quite excited to learn more about this factory built, Mustang RTR Ecoboost. He seems genuinely pumped about it. And now I am too.
