Ford's commitment to the Circuit de la Sarthe took a difficult turn at the 92nd 24 Hours of Le Mans, Round 4 of the 2025 FIA World Endurance Championship. The No. 88 Proton Competition entry — one of only two Ford Mustang LMGT3 cars on the grid that year — carried a trio of drivers spanning generations and nationalities, and its early exit made it one of the most discussed retirements of the race weekend. IXO Models has rendered it as a 1:18 scale model car in die-cast metal, preserving a moment that is as much part of the Mustang GT3's Le Mans story as any podium.
A Seventh-Generation Mustang Built for GT3 Competition
The Ford Mustang GT3 is grounded in the S650 Dark Horse platform, the seventh generation of the nameplate, developed for FIA GT3 regulations by Multimatic Motorsports. Its 5.4-litre naturally aspirated Coyote V8 — a 90-degree aluminium unit with DOHC Ti-VCT and four valves per cylinder — sits longitudinally up front, driving the rear wheels through a six-speed sequential gearbox. LMGT3 regulations peg minimum weight at 1,245 kg, mandate 18-inch wheels on Goodyear rubber, steel brake discs, and cap top speed at 300 kph.
Tertre Rouge: The Race That Ended in Hour Four
The Mustang GT3 was formally unveiled on 9 June 2023 — timed to the centenary of the 24 Hours of Le Mans — and made its competitive debut at the 2024 Daytona 24 Hours. By 2025, Proton Competition, Ford's first LMGT3 customer, arrived at Le Mans with two cars. The No. 88 paired FIA WEC rookies Stefano Gattuso and Giammarco Levorato with returning campaigner Dennis Olsen, who had shared the same race number when it claimed 3rd in LMGT3 at Le Mans 2024 — Ford's first Le Mans podium since 2018. In 2025, Levorato lost grip at Tertre Rouge in the fourth hour, and the No. 88 became the race's first retirement, ultimately classified 14th in the LMGT3 Teams Trophy with 20 points.
IXO Models at 1:18: Die-Cast Metal, Livery Detail
IXO Models produced this 1:18 scale model car in die-cast metal with plastic components, catalogued for collectors aged 14 and over. The black and white livery faithfully represents the 2025 Proton Competition No. 88 race presentation, a clear departure from the black-and-gold scheme the same car number wore in 2024. Driver names — Gattuso, Levorato, Olsen — are reproduced on the bodywork, as is the iconic Ford Mustang Running Horse pony badge, a consistent design element across Proton Competition's Mustang racing programme. A companion 1:18 model covers the sister No. 77 entry from the same Le Mans 2025 event.
In the Display Cabinet: Context and Shelf Space
At 26.5 cm in length, this resin model demands a shelf bay of at least 30 cm to sit comfortably. Its most natural pairing is the IXO No. 88 from Le Mans 2024, the podium predecessor with Dennis Olsen aboard — two consecutive seasons, the same race number, a shared driver, and two entirely different outcomes. Add the No. 77 Le Mans 2025 sister car for the complete Proton Competition 2025 story. For collectors tracking Ford's GT3 return to endurance racing from its 2024 Daytona debut onward, the No. 88 2025 entry represents a pivotal, if painful, chapter in that arc.
