Thursday 21st May 2015

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!

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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!

Photos: S Baldauf/SB-Medien

[anonymous-user]

Looks extremely mean!

[Axionknight]

Oooocha, look at that! It looks mean as fk.

[iloveboost]

Such a gorgeous looking car, but why bother to disguise a test mule? If the production model is going to look exactly like the show car, what's the point?

[Chapppers]

iloveboost said:

Such a gorgeous looking car, but why bother to disguise a test mule? If the production model is going to look exactly like the show car, what's the point?

In what way is this at all disguised?

[Dr Interceptor]

iloveboost said:

Such a gorgeous looking car, but why bother to disguise a test mule? If the production model is going to look exactly like the show car, what's the point?

I don't think this is wearing any disguise... this is more like "why bother to paint and fit all the production trims to a test mule"

It's nekkid.

[drivin_me_nuts]

I like this. Its contours lend itself to the most spectacular paint jobs. Please ford, have a clause that threatens concrete overcoats to anyone who wraps this fridge white.

[Dion20vt]

reminds me of...

[Fetchez la vache]

iloveboost said:

Such a gorgeous looking car, but why bother to disguise a test mule?

Quite, it has cunningly been disguised as a Fiesta 1.1 pop...

[Mannginger]

Stunning looking thing, well done Ford!

[PhantomPH]

I'm sure I read somewhere that this was rumoured to cost £300k when it eventually goes on sale. That's a serious chunk of cash - when you consider the last Ford GT was less than half that. Mind you, like almost all cars at the minute, the previous gen GT prices have gone through the roof in the last year or two, so....

[Lowtimer]

I do like the look of it. In those colours it looks more like a future weapons system than a car.

[mikebradford]

Looks brilliant, and that they have eaten any excess fat out of it.

At 300k i think it sits in a great position between usual supercars and hypercars
I imagine they will sell a lot of these

[Dr Interceptor]

Ford (and we) are very lucky that Henry Ford and Carroll Shelby went Enzo beating back in the 60s - otherwise cars like this would never be built.

Think what would happen if GM started testing a £300k Supercar, and the prospect of it being available with a Vauxhall badge on.

[PhantomPH]

Wonder if they will do an RHD version this time around....

[Quickmoose]

I think it looks a mess personally.
Good see something a smidge different, but in this case, just tooo much going on.

[castex]

Wow, Ford does it again. What a company!

[budgie smuggler]

Fook me it looks mean, the back of it looks like a T-101.

[djdest]

Reminds me of...

[Arbs]

Isn't fords thing now that every car they make will be available in every market? So does that mean a RHD version, fingers crossed! At £300k I think it's unbelievable value. I'd have one over an Aventador I think!

[roadie]

That looks immense! However, if they are serious about the aero they will certainly give it a functioning diffuser.