Ford GT out testing

Looks like Ford is going to make good on its promise of building the GT - even the mule looks stunning too!

Is there something of a supercar rebellion going on? First we have Lamborghini sticking it to the hybrid hypercars by punting the distinctly old-school Aventador SV round the 'ring in a comparable time to the high-tech wondercars.

And without any sort of electrical assistance or gimmickry. And now these spy shots of the new Ford GT out in the wild have landed on our desk, the car in its drab prototype bodywork looking somehow even more stunning than it did with shiny paint on a motor show podium.

What do the ancestors of both these cars share in common? Famously both were responses to their makers being spurned by Enzo Ferrari, il commendatore's legacy seemingly not confined to cars bearing his Prancing Horse. Soap opera perhaps but all part of the fun.

Like the Aventador SV, the Ford GT is a modern twist on the old-fashioned supercar, shock and awe derived from stunning looks and a conventional internal combustion engine. In this case a 600hp twin-turbo Ecoboost V6 combined with pushrod suspension, serious aero and an emphasis on weight saving. And if you thought that formula had run its course just look at the thing.

Seeing a car at a glitzy show unveiling is one thing. The real test of styling is when you see it out on the public road and in daylight; if anything the GT looks even more wild and dramatic in this context. Mis-matched panels and drab paint can't disguise how incredibly exciting the GT looks too. Sure, there's a retro nod to the GT40 in the front. But the skeletal rear bodywork, flying buttresses and huge aero and cooling channels integrated into the styling look incredibly bold and absolutely fabulous. The exposed exhausts and gearbox under the rear valance look good too - we hope Ford resists the temptation to hide that behind some sort of diffuser or trim. Visible evidence of its mechanical foundations288 GTO style floats our boat!

Supercars in camo wraps are, admittedly, a bit passe and footballer. But the mis-matched olive and grey of this prototype even looks cool, giving the GT a pleasingly sinister tone reminiscent of an Apache gunship. Nowt wrong with that!

Consider our excitement raised another notch. Hybrids? Who needs 'em!