Fox Body DTM Ford Mustang: The American That Terrorized German Motorsports
Though it wasn’t even sold there at the time, the Fox Body DTM Ford Mustang gave Germans fits on the track for a period of several years.
Ford has long been a vehicle manufacturer that has a reputation for taking down more heralded motorsports rivals, a tradition that dates back many decades. Most undoubtedly remember when Ford created the GT40 to end Ferrari’s dominance in endurance racing, an effort that wound up being documented in the hit film Ford v Ferrari not too long ago. However, many may not remember that The Blue Oval took it to the Germans on their home turf back in the 1980s and 1990s in the form of the Fox Body DTM Ford Mustang, too.
In this recent video from 337 Speed, we take a fascinating look back at the Fox Body DTM Ford Mustang, which had a seemingly impossible task – defeating iconic machines like the BMW E30 M3 and the Mercedes-Benz 190E on their home turf. Shortly after the Fox Body itself went on sale to the public, it was homologated for use in FIA Group A sanctioned racing events, which – in 1982 – required that at least 5,000 road-going examples of a vehicle were produced across a 12-month period to qualify.
Right off the bat, the Fox seemed to be at a bit of a disadvantage compared to its competition, thanks to its heavier curb weight. The Mustang wasn’t on sale in Germany at the time, but ABR Ringshausen Rennsport – a team connected to the Ford dealership known as Bernd Ringshausen – was able to get its hands on one and start transforming it into a proper racing machine.
That pony car racer utilized a 302 cubic-inch V8 built by Jack Roush himself, based on a four-bolt main Boss block fitted with forged internals, a hydraulic roller cam, closed chamber heads, and 9:1 compression, giving it an output of 320 horsepower. That was quite a lot of power for the era, and resulted in some early success – the Fox Body DTM Ford Mustang wound up finishing sixth in the inaugural 1984 German Production Car Championship, in fact, securing one win and three heat victories along the way.
Meanwhile, Dick Johnson managed to secure podium finishes in nine of out 10 races in the 1985 Australian Touring Car Championship, landing in second overall that year in his own Fox Body racer. In Germany’s own 1985 season, the Volvo 240 arrived with something new under its hood, however – a turbocharger – which propelled it to a Production Car Championship of its own.
The Blue Oval cornered with something similar – the Sierra RS Cosworth, which was lighter than the Fox Body DTM Ford Mustang, and equipped with an independent rear suspension rather than a solid axle, plus actual factory backing – not to mention the fact that it was sold in Europe, unlike the pony car. That wasn’t the last gasp for the Mustang, however, as in 1988, an entrepreneur named Gerd Ruch purchased one of those old racers, stuffed a 520 horsepower 5.0L V8 under its hood, and went to town.
From then until 1994, Ruch’s Mustang was the most powerful and cheapest ride in the series, a privateer effort taking on big-money rivals with factory backing. It dominated in the straights but couldn’t quite keep up in the corners when compared to its German rivals, but the potent pony car became a fan favorite for its sound and theatrics – and ultimately, was the longest-running model to ever compete in the DTM series.
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