Raj Nair: PH Meets (briefly)

Ford's vice pres of Global Development on that incredible GT and why a V8 wasn't considered

At 9:30 in the morning on the first press day in Detroit, Ford had already stolen the show with the new GT. To the extent we heard a couple of hard-bitten journalists asking each other if there was any point hanging around to see anything else.

Nair brings experience of old GT to this car

Details of motor show concepts tend to leak out ahead of time - either intentionally or accidentally - but we really did know nothing about the GT until it roared onto the stage of the Joe Lewis arena, and through the inevitable clouds of dry ice. We'd barely had a chance to take it all in before Ford CEO Mark Fields had flashed his million dollar smile and confirmed that it's being built, and we'll see it next year.

There then followed the sort of mad scramble you'd expect to see if a cash lorry overturned and starting leaking high-denomination banknotes on a windy day, with several hundred journos basically rushing the stage for a closer look. We can report that the official pictures don't really do the GT justice, especially the scale of the huge aero channels that are set into the rear flanks, bridged by backwards swept wing elements. Up close, it's stunning.

PH nabbed a quick word with Raj Nair, Ford's VP for product development, who confirmed that the GT is aimed squarely at the existing supercar hierarchy. "458 Speciale, McLaren 650S, Lamborghini Aventador - probably the first two being the priorities, but yes... If we're going to be in this segment it's a given that we're going to perform well," he says. "That's what we did before [with the GT], but the fundamental here was really to show innovation through performance, and to create a platform for that."

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Nair confirms that the new GT was created around the Ecoboost V6 from first principles - the V8 was never considered. "We always wanted to showcase Ecoboost technology - not just horsepower, but efficiency. And not just fuel efficiency but horsepower per pound. That was more important than just putting any powertrain into it, the focus was always on showcasing the technology."

The GT's major aero has obviously been designed for high-speed work, which often signals a manufacturer targeting Nordschleife time. And while Nair was predictably reticent about quoting target laps, his eyes definitely lit up when we broached the subject.

"The track times at a lot of tracks are benchmarks, but you're right - the aerodynamics of this vehicle were born in the wind tunnel, it started there and went from there... all things you want to deliver lap times."

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We'll have to wait and see how quick it turns out to be, although the combination of the relatively light V6 engine and mostly carbon construction suggests the power-to-weight ratio will be even healthier than the quoted 600hp output initially sounds. So will it be quicker than a Ferrari 458 Speciale?

"It's too early to talk about lap times or numbers," Nair says, "but we have very high aspirations for the vehicle. Very high."

It's fair to say that, even on the briefest acquaintance, we do too.