The Ford GT Mk IV has set a new benchmark at the Nürburgring, recording a 6min 15.977sec lap of the Nordschleife on 1 April 2026 – a time that establishes it as the fastest American car ever to lap the circuit, as well as the quickest production-available machine powered solely by an internal combustion engine.
Driven by factory driver Frédéric Vervisch, the lap was completed under less-than-ideal conditions, with cold temperatures limiting top speed to around 310km/h. Even so, the result places the GT Mk IV ahead of both the Mercedes-AMG One in the road-legal category and the Chevrolet Corvette ZR1X among prototype rivals, leaving only the Porsche 919 Hybrid Evo and Volkswagen ID.R ahead in outright terms.
The GT Mk IV represents the final and most extreme iteration of the current Ford GT programme, limited to just 67 examples and developed as a track-only car without road-legal constraints. Power comes from a twin-turbocharged Ford EcoBoost V6 producing more than 800bhp, paired with a bespoke racing gearbox and Multimatic-developed Adaptive Spool Valve suspension.
Compared with the standard GT, the Mk IV adopts a longer wheelbase and a dramatically extended ‘long-tail’ body, designed to maximise aerodynamic efficiency and downforce across the Nürburgring’s high-speed sections. The result is a car conceived with a singular focus on circuit performance, drawing on Ford’s recent competition experience while echoing the philosophy of the original GT40 programme.
That lineage remains central to the car’s significance. The modern Ford GT returned the marque to Le Mans in 2016, securing a class victory on the 50th anniversary of its first overall win, while the Mk IV takes the concept further, freed from homologation requirements and developed purely as a track machine.
You can watch the full lap here:
