2024 Ford Mustang dons a racing suit for Australia's Supercars series

Ford announced six track-bound variants of the 2024 Mustang developed for a wide range of series, but that's not all the Blue Oval has up its sleeve. It unveiled a racing-ready model online that was designed to compete in Australia's popular Supercars series starting in 2023.

Introduced at the Mount Panorama track in New South Wales, the first racing version of the seventh-generation Mustang was developed by Ford Performance and homologation team Dick Johnson Racing. It complies with the Gen3 regulations that will come into effect in 2023, so it's relatively close to the street-legal model in terms of overall design. It nonetheless gains a full body kit that includes a front splitter, side skirts, a massive rear spoiler and a wide air diffuser, and it rides on 18-inch center-locking wheels wrapped by Dunlop Sport Maxx tires.

The resemblance is only skin-deep. Engineers used carbon fiber extensively to keep weight in check and stripped the production car's interior. They then added a full roll cage, a racing seat, a quick-release steering wheel and a digital instrument cluster, among other parts.

Ford hasn't released much in the way of technical specifications. It claims that power comes from a "production-based" Coyote V8 engine, though a peek under the hood reveals numerous modifications including a carbon fiber air intake system and aluminum radiator. And, the engine exhales through a new exhaust system that features a pair of cool-looking outlets that poke through the driver-side side skirt.

Australian enthusiasts will get the chance to see the Mustang in action for the first time during the 2022 Bathurst 1000. The coupe won't participate in the race; it will hit the track for a couple of demonstration laps. Its competition debut is scheduled for 2023. The list of teams that will race it include Dick Johnson Racing, Tickford Racing, Grove Racing, Blanchard Racing Team and Walkinshaw Andretti United.

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