• Ford returns to the 24 Hours of Le Mans
• Ford Mustangs ran at the 1967 and 1997 races
  
• Proton Competition will run three Mustang GT3s at the race

The Ford GT has an impressive history at the 24 Hours of Le Mans that dates back to the 1960s, when the original GT40 famously took overall victory in the 1966 race, ending the dominance of Ferrari.

Now it’s the Mustang’s turn to step up to the plate.

The 2024 Le Mans race gets underway this weekend and Ford’s latest Mustang will be among the cars to take to Circuit de la Sarthe. A trio of Mustang GT3 race cars will be entered in the LMGT3 class by Proton Competition. The class is designed for race cars based on production models, and is the class the modern GT supercar competed in during its successful 2016 Le Mans outing.

Proton Competition is a German racing team that fields a pair of Mustang GT3s in the 2024 World Endurance Championship. The team will run the third car for the Le Mans race, the highlight on the WEC calendar.

Confirmed drivers include Ryan Hardwick, Ben Baker, and Zacharie Robichon in the number 77 car; Giorgio Roda, Dennis Olsen, and Mikkel O. Pedersen in the no. 88 car, and Christopher Mies, John Hartshorne, and Ben Tuck in the no. 44 car.

The Mustang GT3 is derived from the Mustang Dark Horse and has been developed with partners Multimatic and M-Sport. Under the hood is a 5.4-liter version of the Coyote 5.0-liter V-8.

The Mustang GT3 will compete against race cars based on the likes of the Aston Martin Vantage, Chevrolet Corvette Z06, Ferrari 296 GTB, Lamborghini Huracán, Lexus RC F, McLaren 720S, and Porsche 911.

This won’t be the Mustang’s first outing at Le Mans. There have previously been entries in 1967 and 1997.

Ford will also use the backdrop of Le Mans for the European debut of the track-focused but street-legal Mustang GTD. The version on display will be a Carbon Series model equipped with an available Performance pack.

The Mustang GTD’s appearance on the sidelines of the Le Mans race will also mark the start of the car’s application process for European buyers. The process for North American buyers ended last month, with Ford confirming it received more than 7,500 applications. The automaker has yet to say how many examples of the car it plans to build.