Ford Motor Co. used its kickoff Thursday evening of the Detroit Auto Show to express its commitment to the event that for decades has made Detroit a destination, unveiling two special-edition Mustangs.
The vehicles include teasing an Ecoboost Mustang variant modified by RTR, a company owned by off-road racer Vaughn Gittin Jr., and the first 2025 Mustang GTD special edition, dubbed the "Spirit of America." That model pays homage to the 1964 Mustang debut to honor "the American spirit of ingenuity and courage in the face of challenge," according to a news release. It's perhaps a fitting mantra for the start of the auto show that has returned to its traditional timing in January for the first time since 2019 after organizers moved it around the calendar to revitalize the shrinking exhibition.
"I see so many manufacturers who've wavered for their support, but you could see it here," Ford CEO Jim Farley told reporters after the unveilings. "We have the train station. We have the new Dearborn campus. We're committed to Detroit. We want to be a big part of the show. It's a big consumer event, and it's the largest charity event in southeast Michigan, where I live. And we want to support the auto show because it is so important for so many different aspects, and even for our employees and our dealers, to celebrate them and have them understand what we do."
The 2025 Detroit Auto Show which opens on Saturday to consumers and runs through Jan. 20 has some kind of presence from more than 22 brands and interactive rides for Jeeps, Ford Broncos, and EVs. Ford, however, is the only automaker scheduled to unveil a new vehicle. The industry has increasingly looked beyond auto shows to generate buzz for their new products thanks to the internet, a competitive spotlight at the shows, and the expense of unveiling vehicles at such events.
The January timing also faces competition with this week's CES consumer electronics trade show in Las Vegas, where Honda Motor Co. Ltd. showed two EV prototypes, VinFast Auto Ltd. debuted two vehicles, BMW AG exhibited a new panoramic display and a few Chinese automakers brought concepts and models.
In a presentation that took up the southwest wall of Huntington Place's Hall A and had Ford employees hooting and cheering, Ford highlighted the new additions to its 2025 lineup. That included a special Detroit Lions Edition F-150 pickup truck that had Jared Goff — quarterback of the NFL franchise owned by Sheila Ford Hamp, sister of Ford Executive Chairman Bill Ford — making an appearance and throwing a few footballs into the crowd.
"I'm getting a lot of rest," Goff said on the floor about his break after the team secured the No. 1 seed in the National Football Conference playoffs with its victory Sunday over the Minnesota Vikings. "I'm seeing some of these beautiful cars. I'm taking a lot of naps."
Farley recognized the challenges ahead for the Blue Oval this year in the form of increasing competition and pocketbook-sensitive buyers. He declined to comment on how Ford is planning to respond to the potential for President-elect Donald Trump to remove the up to $7,500 tax credit on plug-in vehicles but said: "The main message here was affordability.
"What we're really doing is pushing affordability, but we're going to do it our own way," he continued. "We didn't have a sedan silhouette when we came out with an affordable vehicle. We had a pickup truck, and still I think there's only one competitor for the Maverick. So, that's rewarded us and encouraged us to continue to go after the affordable segments in our own way and not do generic products."
Maverick sales grew 39% year-over-year in 2024, and Ford debuted a refreshed version of the vehicle that starts at $26,395 for 2025. But pricey, performance-oriented Mustangs — a nameplate whose deliveries were down almost 10% last year — were what made news at the auto show.
The Spirit of America special edition is based on the new 2025 Mustang GTD that delivers 815 horsepower, 664 pound-feet of torque, and a top speed of 202 miles per hour — the most of any street-legal Mustang ever. Pricing for the new trim wasn't shared, but the GTD starts at about $325,000. Deliveries will begin late in the first quarter or in the second quarter of this year.
The vehicle, which is built at Ford's Flat Rock Assembly Plant and then finished at Multimatic in Markham, Ontario, features a Performance White body with twin racing stripes running the length of the body in Race Red and Lightning Blue, mimicking the red, white and blue tribar that debuted in 1964. The design also matches the overalls that Craig Breedlove, a structural engineering tech in the aerospace industry who bought a $500 jet engine from a Korean War fighter plane, wore when he became the first person to break the 500- and 600-mile-per-hour barriers on land in the 1960s. He called his vehicles the "Spirit of America."
"Mustang GTD Spirit of America is designed from the ground up for pure speed and agility," Greg Goodall, chief program engineer for Mustang GTD, said during the presentation. "Every element is born on the track and bread to race."
The company also showed the Mustang RTR, the second high-performance, factory-built Mustang in 60 years to come from a collaboration with an outside partner. The RTR variant, which stands for "ready to rock," combines Ford's EcoBoost engine instead of a V-8 with Mustang Dark Horse hardware, RTR styling, and lessons from Formula Drift Championships. The demonstration car features Hyper Lime Brembo brake calipers and a pedestal spoiler. More details will be shared in the future.
"We wanted to bring enthusiasts the most advanced, accessible, and fun Mustang EcoBoost possible," Gittin said during the presentation. "And I'm going to go ahead and say it: We nailed it."
The auto show has moved around the calendar in recent years. Plans to create a more festival-like environment scheduled for the new North American International Auto Show in June 2020, which was canceled because of the COVID-19 pandemic. A mostly outdoor event in September 2021 dubbed Motor Bella held at M1 Concourse in Pontiac sought to be a temporary fill in the gap as the pandemic prolonged.
Ford's presentation at the show comes after the Dearborn automaker opened its Michigan Central Station to the public last summer. The company acquired the distressed former train depot in 2018 to create a mobility technology hub. It moved the headquarters of its Model E electric vehicle division as well as employees in its Integrated Services software team into a few floors of the building in the fall. Ford also has said employees at its new product development center in Dearborn will begin moving into the campus before the end of the year.
"Detroit is having a moment," Farley said during prepared remarks. "The competition is strong from China, Silicon Valley, and everywhere else. But Detroit and Ford will not cede our future to anyone."
The auto show finally returned to Detroit's downtown convention center in September 2022 and 2023. Organizers ultimately decided to move the show to January 2025 to avoid battling with back-to-school activity, the start of football season, and other fall distractions.
On the Mustang GTD Spirit of America, exposed carbon fiber appears on the front splitter, as well as on the rear diffuser and spoiler. That spoiler includes Race Red end plates and a “MUSTANG” wordmark on the underside. Owners have a choice of Race Red or exposed carbon-fiber mirror caps. Race Red calipers are standard. Additionally, the Mustang GTD Performance Package is standard.
The vehicle also features Black Onyx seats that are leather-trimmed with Dinamica inserts. A Race Red gradient stripe goes down the middle. There are Re-Entry White trimmings on the exterior and Victory Blue contrast stitching. The paddle shifters, shift ring, and instrument panel badge are available in 3D-printed titanium, as well.
Farley also acknowledged the losses experienced by California residents from wildfires this week: "Ford will do everything we can to help."