- Ford created a hardcore RTR performance package for the 2026 Ecoboost Mustang.
- RTR kit brings the GT’s face and brakes, plus Dark Horse anti-roll bars and subframe.
- Output remains at 315 hp, but anti-lag from the GT race car improves response.
Ford’s 2.3-liter Ecoboost Mustang is four cylinders and one pedal short of our ideal pony car configuration, coming only with a 10-speed automatic transmission. But a new line-built performance package might give you pause for thought before you barge past the Ecoboost on the Mustang configurator on your way to order a 2026 V8 GT.
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It’s called the RTR and it’s the result of a collab between Ford and drift pro Vaughn Gittin Jr’s outfit, RTR Vehicles, who last month debuted its own $160k, 870 hp (882 PS) supercharged and V8-powered Spec 5 Mustang.
The RTR Explained
Revealed this week after an early camouflaged debut at the Detroit Auto Show in January, Ford’s less extreme RTR special edition takes the four-cylinder, automatic Mustang and turns it into a kind of cut-price Dark Horse.
Sure, it’s still an automatic-only 2.3-liter four, and its 315 hp (319 PS) and 350 lb-ft (475 Nm) outputs are unchanged. But there’s one bit of tech onboard that promises to transform the driving experience, and it comes straight out of Ford’s Le Mans program.
Anti-lag, a technology made famous in the rally world, and developed by Ford for its GT racers, keeps the Ecoboost’s turbo spinning and means less waiting around for the engine to start hauling after you’ve jumped out of the gas then climb back on it.
The Performance Package
But that’s only one side of the RTR story. Capitalizing on the Ecoboost’s inherent weight and weight distribution advantage compared with V8 Stangs, the RTR gets a ton of chassis upgrades to sharpen its bite.
Brembo brakes are borrowed from the GT – which also lends its front fascia – the Dark Horse donates its stiffer anti-roll bars, bushes and rear subframe, the optional MagneRide dampers are retuned and the steering is modded to provide more on-lock angle.
RTR badges, graphics and 19-inch wheels, plus a light-up grille and GT rear spoiler mark it out from a lowly Ecoboost airport rental on the outside.
Inside, you get lime accents on the stitching and handbrake to match the color of the monobloc brake calipers, illuminated RTR sill plates, a dash plaque, and RTR graphics on the digital display.
Related: New RTR Mustang Gives You Supercar Power For Porsche 911 Money
Between its trick turbo tech, race-tuned suspension, and swaggering RTR attitude, the Ecoboost finally has something to brag about other than price and fuel economy. And while pricing hasn’t been announced, it’s likely to undercut the $48,555 V8 GT.
The Mustang RTR might not make traditionalists give up their stick-shift GTs, but it shows that the four-cylinder automatic can be more than a compromise.
Ford
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