The Mustang RTR Adds Some Attitude To Ford's Cheapest Pony Car: Driven
Ford's new RTR series adds a much-needed shot of attitude to the lower end of the Mustang lineup.
As far as marketing mashups go, Ford's long-running partnership with drifter Vaughn Gittin Jr. has won the brand two Formula Drift championships and plenty of street cred among certain subsets of automotive enthusiasts. Despite that, the Blue Oval hasn't really offered much from the factory for those who prefer their cars stanced and sliding sideways.
With the introduction of the new RTR package to the Mustang lineup, that honestly hasn't changed much. Though blessed by Gittin's Ready to Rock tuning company, the modifications and upgrades in the package are extremely light, to say the least. Parked next to one of Gittin's drift monsters, there's hardly any comparison.
That said, the base EcoBoost-powered Mustang has lately been languishing on the market as simply the cheapest option. The RTR treatment gives it a tiny but much-needed shot of adrenaline.
The seventh-generation S650 Mustang has been on the market long enough now that Ford is slinging out special editions left and right, with the $325,000 GTD sitting up top as the halo and trickling down through the new Dark Horse SC, the non-boosted Dark Horse, the 5.0-powered GT, and the base EcoBoost. Though some are more "special" than others.
The RTR is a new package that, in some ways, fills the void left by the previous generation EcoBoost's High Performance Package. A car Motor1 was quite fond of. But where that added a bit more power and was available with a manual, the new RTR package is auto-only and exclusively focused on handling and style.
Bigger, 19 x 9.5-inch wheels are wrapped with 255/40 ZR 19 Goodyear Eagle F1 tires. A 3.55 Torsen limited-slip differential at the back keeps the back two tires spinning at roughly the same speed.
The Dark Horse's roll bars, adjustable camber plates, and subframe are added, and the car's stability and traction control systems are retuned for a bit more fun. You also get the requisite badges and some extra graphics, too.
That's hardly a reinvention, but at $6,5200 for the package, it also doesn't add much to the EcoBoost Mustang's base $36,245 (plus $1,995 destination) price. That said, you'll still need to pay another $1,995 if you want the racier Recaro seats, $1,750 for the adaptive MagneRide suspension, and $750 for colored calipers.
The car I drove had all those options, plus Orange Fury Metallic paint, leading to a total price of $55,850.
When Ford unveiled the seventh-generation Mustang in 2024, I was intrigued by the so-called Electronic Drift Brake. Though little more than a joystick, it was still an oddly fun thing to throw into the mix. Since then, it's increasingly felt like an afterthought, with the company never encouraging anyone to actually use it.
That definitely changes with the RTR. While Gittin Jr's crew didn't add anything extreme like extra steering angle or a hydraulic handbrake, they did get Ford to open up the envelope in the Mustang's stability control system.
Even with that system on, the RTR is eager to kill some tires. Pitch it into a turn, tug that handbrake, and the tail comes right around. And it'll keep going around if you're too slow with the steering or quick with the throttle.
After a few tries to get the feel of the car, I was easily able to do a big, smoky slide around a central cone. It was easy, the stability control adding just a touch of brake here and there to keep me moving in the right direction.
While Gittin Jr's crew didn't add anything extreme like extra steering angle or a hydraulic handbrake, they did get Ford to open up the envelope in the Mustang's stability control system.
It proved quite good on more grip-focused antics, too. Ford rented out Thunderhill West, a tight, circuitous track that doesn't have much room for speed but puts a real focus on handling. Though nearly 200 pounds heavier than a base EcoBoost, the RTR-equipped machine still felt nimble and engaging through that track's faster, flowing turns.
And, when it came time to clear the hairpin toward the end of the lap, the RTR was more than happy to kick the tail out for an easily controlled slide, something the base machine might have been a little less happy about.
And then, on the long cruise back to the hotel from the wilds of Willows, California, the RTR was just as comfortable and practical as the base EcoBoost can be, delivering an easy 25 mpg and cruising quietly along.
So the RTR is genuinely fun on the track, decent on the skidpad, and doesn't give up much of anything on the road. If there's a disappointment here, it's that Ford didn't make it even edgier, not even living up to the performance of the former EcoBoost High Performance Package or including that car's manual transmission.
The graphics and extra visual tweaks help make it look more aggressive, but from behind the wheel, it's the same sea of cheap black plastic found in the lowest-rent Mustangs. Yes, there's a flashy new splash animation on the 13.2-inch touchscreen, and a tiny plaque on the dashboard, but nothing else. There isn't even a billet aluminum handle on the Mustang's handbrake lever, which seems like a huge miss given this thing's purported drift provenance.
So, the new RTR package is hardly a home run, but it does add a dollop of performance and a drip of street cred to a trim that desperately needed it.
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