Here’s Why The Ford Mustang GTD Doesn’t Need Clearance Lamps

Deliveries of the all-new 2025 Ford Mustang GTD just began in late June, shortly after the most track-capable pony car ever became one of very few production cars to lap Germany’s Nurburgring in less than seven minutes. That extra-special (and extra-expensive) pony car is chock full of unique and impressive features that enable it to cover tracks at a blazing pace, of course, including a rear wing that’s shared with the Mustang GT3 race car. However, though it should technically sport clearance lamps given its massive width, there’s a reason why it doesn’t.

According to The Drive, the Ford Mustang GTD is indeed wide enough that it should be required to come equipped with the same sort of clearance lights present on the Ford F-150 Raptor – 81.8 inches, while Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) 108 requires clearance lamps and marker lights for models that are 80 inches or wider, a rule that’s intended to ensure that those wider vehicles are visible to others on the roadway.

Obviously, Ford didn’t want to slap those sorts of lights on the Mustang GTD, though they do arguably look pretty cool on the F-150 Raptor and have become a signature design element for it and others, like the Bronco Raptor. Turns out, there was a bit of a “loophole” that allowed The Blue Oval to get around that rule, however – it isn’t considered to be a dual-purpose vehicle, like those larger trucks and SUVs, which are able to be purchased and registered as work vehicles.

“It is not a work vehicle. It’s not like a big truck or lorry or something else. You’re not going to tow anything with it. You’re not,” said Mustang GTD Design Manager Anthony Colard. “Any vehicle you can put a sticker on saying ‘not for hire,’ then enters that category (referring to dual-purpose vehicles) where you need to have the lights.”