For most Mustang fans, the Mustang GTD Spirit of America edition is little more than a poster car. It’s a limited-edition version of an already limited, six-figure stallion that captures the essence of Ford’s made-in-America Le Mans ambitions for those with pockets deep enough to celebrate that performance push in supercar style.

But what if there was a way to capture that, well, spirit — complete with patriotic style, muscular stance, and track-ready presence — at a fraction of the cost? That’s exactly what Long McArthur Ford in Salina, Kansas, set out to do with its latest build: a 2025 Mustang Dark Horse reimagined as a GTD Spirit of America tribute.

Wrapped in a red, white, and blue livery inspired by the Mustang GTD Spirit of America edition, Long McArthur Ford’s 2025 Ford Mustang Dark Horse Spirit of America 810 also features aggressive aero and upgraded performance. (Photo Credit: Long McArthur Ford)

The Dark Horse Spirit of America 810 isn’t pretending to be the GTD. It doesn’t have the rear transaxle, the carbon fiber bodywork, or the trick pushrod suspension. But it does strike many of the same styling cues. It looks like something Ford could have built as an affordable GTD that’s still packing plenty of patriotic performance. At just under $99,000, it offers a more attainable path to the red, white, and blue GTD style.

The foundation is a 2025 Mustang Dark Horse, which is already a serious performer straight from the factory, with a 500-horsepower Gen 4 Coyote 5.0-liter, huge brakes, and a tuned suspension. However, the crew at Long McArthur didn’t stop at the basics. The car’s exterior was completely transformed with a wrap that mimics the GTD Spirit of America’s tri-color livery.

With 810 horsepower on tap courtesy of a ROUSH Performance Phase 2 supercharger upgrade, this reimagined Dark Horse delivers near-GTD-level output and puts it to the ground with sticky Michelin Pilot rubber wrapped around Mustang GTD replica wheels. (Photo Credit: Long McArthur Ford)

Patriotic Performance

More than just a red, white, and blue sticker package, the upgrades extend under the hood where Long McArthur turned up the heat courtesy of a ROUSH Performance TVS 2650 supercharger system. That output puts this tribute within striking distance of the GTD’s factory 815 horsepower output.

“…In the Spirit of America, we all like our power, and with that comes the first thing that we do to this and that is add the ROUSH Phase 2 supercharger,” Tim Bartz, Internet Sales Manager at Long McArthur Ford, said. “This gives us 810 horsepower and gives us 630 lb-ft of torque, so we’re within 5 horsepower of the GTD and only 34 lb-ft of torque away from the performance of the GTD, pretty impressive.”

To keep that power in check, the car also benefits from GTD-style wheels wrapped in sticky summer tires (see sidebar below). Meanwhile, its aggressive rear wing echoes the sort of performance-honed aero upgrades on the Mustang GTD.

While the GTD is a full-blown supercar intended for all-out track performance in a streetable package, Long McArthur’s GTD-style Dark Horse is being sold directly off the showroom floor, not through an exclusive allocation process, which makes it more attainable — and it’s about $229,000 cheaper!

Long McArthur’s Dark Horse Spirit of America 810 doesn’t try to out-engineer the GTD, but it does make that patriotic GTD style and horsepower available to more fans of Ford’s latest pony car.