Why Didn't They - - - ----
Discussion
Whilst looking through a pile of old mags I came across this article:-
So why didn't they build it????
>
>
>
>
Remember seeing a silver/gold GT70 doing the Pontypool Hillclimb in 1971 or 72' Probably have some Photo's of it somewhere. It looked really nice in the flesh.
So why not build it?
So why didn't they build it????
>
>
>
>
Remember seeing a silver/gold GT70 doing the Pontypool Hillclimb in 1971 or 72' Probably have some Photo's of it somewhere. It looked really nice in the flesh.
So why not build it?
Cost - Duh? - surely it would have appealed to a different buyer to the Escort & Crapi tintop shopping trolleys, after the GT40's racing success you would have thought the GT70 would have been a 'No Brainer' & sold by the bucketful - Oh well Ford missed the opportunity, and as they say the rest is History - Shame
Thanks for the replies guys
Thanks for the replies guys
Some of us asked the right questions of the right people, at the time the GT70 was extant.
The reason for the final cancellation of the GT70 project was that its design was fundamentally flawed at first, and sober analysis by the engineers at Ford's AVO division produced a positive host of things which would have had to be changed/eliminated/re-assessed before it was technically viable.
And even then, the likely selling cost would have frightened off most of Ford's very (conservative) dealers ....
Incidentally, the biggest component cost was the ZF transaxle, which was the same as that being used on GT40 production types, and (later) on cars like the Maserati Merak, and the Lancia 037 ....
Oh., and by the way, the GT70 was not designed to beat the Stratos - it actually pre-dated the Stratos by a couple of years. The GT70 was announced in December 1970, the prototype Stratos was not completed until late 1971, and competitive types did not go rallying until 1973. It was designed to match/beat the Alpine-Renault A110 and the Porsche 911s of the period.
The reason for the final cancellation of the GT70 project was that its design was fundamentally flawed at first, and sober analysis by the engineers at Ford's AVO division produced a positive host of things which would have had to be changed/eliminated/re-assessed before it was technically viable.
And even then, the likely selling cost would have frightened off most of Ford's very (conservative) dealers ....
Incidentally, the biggest component cost was the ZF transaxle, which was the same as that being used on GT40 production types, and (later) on cars like the Maserati Merak, and the Lancia 037 ....
Oh., and by the way, the GT70 was not designed to beat the Stratos - it actually pre-dated the Stratos by a couple of years. The GT70 was announced in December 1970, the prototype Stratos was not completed until late 1971, and competitive types did not go rallying until 1973. It was designed to match/beat the Alpine-Renault A110 and the Porsche 911s of the period.
Edited by AAGR on Monday 11th December 17:27
.... and perhaps the clinching reason was that the analysts thought the selling price would have to be between £2,500 and £3,000 - in 1971 the Escort RS1600 cost £1,495 - which would have meant that it would have been the most expensive car in Ford-UK's price lists.
Game Over, as they say ....
Game Over, as they say ....
AAGR said:
.... and perhaps the clinching reason was that the analysts thought the selling price would have to be between £2,500 and £3,000 - in 1971 the Escort RS1600 cost £1,495 - which would have meant that it would have been the most expensive car in Ford-UK's price lists.
Game Over, as they say ....
Well maybe, but they still went ahead and made the RS200 which had the same problem IIRC! (Or perhaps they just didn't think that one through). Game Over, as they say ....
Mr Tidy said:
AAGR said:
.... and perhaps the clinching reason was that the analysts thought the selling price would have to be between £2,500 and £3,000 - in 1971 the Escort RS1600 cost £1,495 - which would have meant that it would have been the most expensive car in Ford-UK's price lists.
Game Over, as they say ....
Well maybe, but they still went ahead and made the RS200 which had the same problem IIRC! (Or perhaps they just didn't think that one through). Game Over, as they say ....
AAGR said:
.... and perhaps the clinching reason was that the analysts thought the selling price would have to be between £2,500 and £3,000 - in 1971 the Escort RS1600 cost £1,495 - which would have meant that it would have been the most expensive car in Ford-UK's price lists.
Game Over, as they say ....
Which highlights the point quite nicely:Game Over, as they say ....
Why would Ford continue developing the GT70 for rallying, when they could run escorts for half the cost or less, and achieve the same results?
AAGR said:
Mr Tidy said:
AAGR said:
.... and perhaps the clinching reason was that the analysts thought the selling price would have to be between £2,500 and £3,000 - in 1971 the Escort RS1600 cost £1,495 - which would have meant that it would have been the most expensive car in Ford-UK's price lists.
Game Over, as they say ....
Well maybe, but they still went ahead and made the RS200 which had the same problem IIRC! (Or perhaps they just didn't think that one through). Game Over, as they say ....
AAGR said:
Quite agree, and at £50,000 (for the RS200) Ford knew they would have difficulty in selling. But 1984/85 was at the height of the Group B hysteria, and they felt they just had to be there with a competitive vehicle. Incidently, although it took three years, each and every car was sold, with no discounting taking place ....
Is that right - I thought they almost gave them away in the end, mostly because they weren't eligible for anything by then!Mr Tidy said:
AAGR said:
Quite agree, and at £50,000 (for the RS200) Ford knew they would have difficulty in selling. But 1984/85 was at the height of the Group B hysteria, and they felt they just had to be there with a competitive vehicle. Incidently, although it took three years, each and every car was sold, with no discounting taking place ....
Is that right - I thought they almost gave them away in the end, mostly because they weren't eligible for anything by then!Mr Tidy said:
AAGR said:
Quite agree, and at £50,000 (for the RS200) Ford knew they would have difficulty in selling. But 1984/85 was at the height of the Group B hysteria, and they felt they just had to be there with a competitive vehicle. Incidently, although it took three years, each and every car was sold, with no discounting taking place ....
Is that right - I thought they almost gave them away in the end, mostly because they weren't eligible for anything by then!I was in awe.
Mr Tidy said:
AAGR said:
Quite agree, and at £50,000 (for the RS200) Ford knew they would have difficulty in selling. But 1984/85 was at the height of the Group B hysteria, and they felt they just had to be there with a competitive vehicle. Incidently, although it took three years, each and every car was sold, with no discounting taking place ....
Is that right - I thought they almost gave them away in the end, mostly because they weren't eligible for anything by then!I remember being up at Boreham in the late 80's and there were quite a few RS200's there in one "shed" including some Evo versions. I had a go in one as well around the perimeter road. Sadly it had a limiter at just over 4000 rpm installed which spoilt it somewhat! good steering and handling though.
Gassing Station | Classic Cars and Yesterday's Heroes | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff