RTR Vehicles has started handing over keys to the 2026 Mustang RTR Spec 5, and the first one went to artist Caleb Clark on October 19. Only 50 of these will ever exist, and that number alone makes the Spec 5 the rarest production Mustang RTR has ever built. Three cars are already assembled, with more rolling out of the North Carolina shop now that deliveries have officially begun.
The headline number is 870 horsepower, pulled from a supercharged 5.0-liter Coyote V8. But the bigger story for anyone who’s followed RTR’s catalog is the widebody kit wrapped around it. This isn’t a bolt-on flare job. It’s a fully integrated composite system that goes further than anything Ford’s own Dark Horse offers, and it marks the first time RTR has put exposed carbon fiber on a production build.
Every Spec 5 starts life as a standard S650 Mustang GT with the 401A Performance Package and Recaro sport seats, then gets torn into. RTR bolts on a 3.0-liter Stage 2 Whipple supercharger with an HD Race Intercooler System, pushing the 5.0-liter V8 to more than 870 horsepower and 660 lb-ft of torque. That’s roughly double the stock GT’s output and about 60 hp more than the track-focused Mustang GTD. Buyers get a choice between a 6-speed manual or the 10-speed automatic, with power going exclusively to the rear wheels.
RTR didn’t stop at the motor. A Tactical Performance suspension system brings 30-way-adjustable front coilovers and rear dampers, plus adjustable front and rear sway bars, letting owners dial in everything from ride height to how tail-happy the car feels. Brembo six-piston front and four-piston rear calipers handle stopping duty, backed by upgraded two-piece front rotors. The whole package sits on 20-inch RTR Aero 5 Evo forged wheels wrapped in Michelin Pilot Sport 4S rubber, 305/30s up front and meaty 315/30s out back. A Borla cat-back active exhaust, tuned personally by Vaughn Gittin Jr., handles the soundtrack.
This is where Spec 5 separates itself from every RTR Mustang before it. The composite widebody system replaces the front and rear fenders entirely, with integrated tire cooling vents built into the quarter panels, carbon fiber front splitter, rocker splitters, rear quarter splitters, and wake tower assemblies out back. New rocker panels and bumper extensions tie the flared arches together into one seamless shape, rather than looking like add-on hardware. RTR’s design team, led by creative director Lindsay Ross, built the whole system as an aerodynamic solution first and a styling statement second.
Inside, serialized dash plaques engraved with Gittin’s signature, RTR-branded Recaro leather seats, and the factory Electronic Drift Brake, co-developed with Chelsea DeNofa and Ford, round out a cabin built for owners who actually plan to use this thing sideways.
At $159,999, the Spec 5 undercuts the roughly $325,000 Mustang GTD by a wide margin while putting down more horsepower. RTR backs that price with a standard-color palette included in the base cost, premium colors for $7,500, and a paint-to-sample program running up to $15,000 for buyers chasing something fully bespoke. Every car ships with a 3-year, 36,000-mile Ford factory warranty.
RTR Vehicles Director of Marketing and Sales Josh Hipp called Spec 5 the brand’s “apex product,” and hinted the nameplate won’t stay a Mustang exclusive. Asked directly about a Bronco version, Hipp said it would be “fair to assume” one could eventually happen, though nothing’s confirmed. A Maverick-based Spec 5 isn’t out of the question either, given RTR’s track record of reworking other Blue Oval models.
With only 50 slots and three cars already built, the Spec 5 is shaping up to be the build RTR gets remembered for. If Hipp’s hints pan out, this won’t be the last Spec 5 badge we see on a Ford.
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