RE: Ford confirms last-ever wave of GT Mk IV
RE: Ford confirms last-ever wave of GT Mk IV
Friday 15th August

Ford confirms last-ever wave of GT Mk IV

Nearly 10 years since the first Ecoboost GT, the last examples are being built - with a few still available


It was quite the motor show, Detroit 2015. Well, for Ford at least. As well as a Mustang GT350R, complete with carbon wheels and an 8,200rpm V8, there was a new F-150 Raptor, plus, out of nowhere, a totally new, carbon chassis’d GT supercar. It was hard to know where to look first. The Ecoboost GT was a real show stopper, completely unheard of before Detroit and unavoidable throughout. It then went on to claim that famous Le Mans victory, spawned a whole host of special editions, and culminated in the spectacular GT Mk IV track car announced a couple of years back with Multimatic. It was an unapologetically raw, unforgettable supercar, the GT. 

But all good things must come to an end, and the final V6-engined GTs are now being made. They’re the last versions of the MkIV, so they’ll look as incredible as the golden wonder seen here, wrapping up a 67-unit production run. Interestingly, too, there are some still available to buy, which is almost unheard of in this realm of exotica.

‘An extremely limited number of the mid-engine machines are available and can still be built to the specific requests of buyers at this time’, says today’s announcement, ‘but experience tells us that won’t last long.’ So you know what to do if the Euromillions comes in tonight… 

As a reminder, the MkIV is no mere motorsport-inspired special; Ford even suggests that a non-pro driver can lap one of these as fast as a full-time racer in the GT LM racer. So it’s pretty serious. It can generate up to 3g of lateral grip, and makes more than a tonne of downforce at 150mph. It has Multimatic Adaptive Spool Valve dampers that can be adjusted on the fly, and more than 800hp from a Roush-fettled, 3.8-litre version of the Ecoboost V6 (which is 3.5 litres in standard trim). ‘The Ford GT Mk IV finds itself perfectly placed as a collector car that will be too thrilling to be kept in the garage’, so they say. 

Those existing customers and any new ones will be very much encouraged to drive the MkIV, too, thanks to something called Multimatic On Track. They’re private track days with technical support and tuition from Ford Performance and Multimatic Motorsport pros. The car can then be whisked away after the day and prepped for the next one. Which certainly doesn’t sound like a bad way to spend your free time, especially given the calibre of race tracks available in North America. Look how at home a MkIV is on Laguna Seca…

Ford says enquiries will be taken about the final GTs until October 15th, after which it’s not quite clear what happens. Given the apparently insatiable appetite for this sort of thing in the upper echelons of car obsessives, it’s hard to imagine the remaining MkIVs hanging around for much longer. Because we’ll surely be waiting a while for anything quite like this from Ford again - or a motor show presence like Detroit 10 years ago...


Author
Discussion

nismo48

Original Poster:

5,525 posts

224 months

Friday 15th August
quotequote all
If I could I think I'd rather like owning this..

Vsix and Vtec

1,025 posts

35 months

Friday 15th August
quotequote all
Wow, thats quite a striking thing to behold! Im willing to bet it looks even more impressive in the metal (carbon fibre?). Having been to Le Mans and seen it race with Chip Ganassi Racing, im fortunate enough to have heard first hand, the earlier versions of this beast howl through the circuit at full chat. Wonderful stuff. I'll be sad to see it go.

GTRene

19,624 posts

241 months

Friday 15th August
quotequote all
Sorry, well attempt, but still does not much to me, give me a nice Ford GT any day of the week.


tumble dryer

2,215 posts

144 months

Friday 15th August
quotequote all
GTRene said:
Sorry, well attempt, but still does not much to me, give me a nice Ford GT any day of the week.

That's just fking perfect. bowcloud9

CH80

221 posts

14 months

Saturday 16th August
quotequote all
Having dropped a "Ecobooost" V6 into a car that has the "Ford GT" badge on it, which once upon a time came with a 7ltr thunder cracker of a V8, no wonder they still have "some" left to sell after 10 years of production....

NDA

23,492 posts

242 months

Saturday 16th August
quotequote all
GTRene said:
give me a nice Ford GT any day of the week.
Yep. I had one for many years - a beautiful looking car and fun to drive too.

The latest iterations do very little for me.

biggbn

27,956 posts

237 months

Saturday 16th August
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This is stunning. Wow. For me every iteration of the 'gt40' has been a 10.

MikeDB1

282 posts

91 months

Saturday 16th August
quotequote all
GTRene said:
Sorry, well attempt, but still does not much to me, give me a nice Ford GT any day of the week.

They say beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Well to me that is one of the most beautiful cars on the planet. Perfect colour and everything. And I assume it's road legal unlike the thing at the top which surely isn't with that wing ?

Jon_S_Rally

4,006 posts

105 months

Sunday 17th August
quotequote all
CH80 said:
Having dropped a "Ecobooost" V6 into a car that has the "Ford GT" badge on it, which once upon a time came with a 7ltr thunder cracker of a V8, no wonder they still have "some" left to sell after 10 years of production....
While I love the older GTs, the V6 is an integral part of the story of the outgoing model. It was chosen deliberately, partly to push the EcoBoost brand of course, but also to allow the incredibly sculpted body which was part of the function-over-form, "we want to smash everyone at Le Mans" concept behind the car. That single-minded approach to the project is a big part of the appeal and, in my view at least, harks back to those very 7-litre cars you mentioned, which were designed with very much the same brief in mind.

asci.white

486 posts

90 months

Tuesday 19th August
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I had one overtake me on the M20 this morning. It did look the part and even made a nice noise.

W i d e body

4,864 posts

96 months

Tuesday 19th August
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I had no idea they are still making these after all this time .

They made some to win Le Mans , in slight controversy with BoP ,should have just stopped there Ford .confused

trails

5,555 posts

166 months

Tuesday 19th August
quotequote all
CH80 said:
Having dropped a "Ecobooost" V6 into a car that has the "Ford GT" badge on it, which once upon a time came with a 7ltr thunder cracker of a V8, no wonder they still have "some" left to sell after 10 years of production....
Tell me you didn't read the article and have never heard the V6 running, without telling me...blah-blah-blah.

unsprung

6,033 posts

141 months

Tuesday 19th August
quotequote all
MikeDB1 said:
GTRene said:
Sorry, well attempt, but still does not much to me, give me a nice Ford GT any day of the week.

They say beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Well to me that is one of the most beautiful cars on the planet. Perfect colour and everything. And I assume it's road legal unlike the thing at the top which surely isn't with that wing ?
Chalk and cheese really.

There's no question, to my mind, that the first-generation Ford GT is more visually appealing: classical shape, sultry lines and all that. It was also reasonably priced (for a super car) at launch. Low six figures USD.

The second generation (V6, pointy shapes) ended production years ago. It certainly looks a thrill and has the benefit of 21st-century engineering. Obviously more clinical or left-brained than the first gen. RRP was roughly three times more.

The subject of this thread isn't a continuation of the preceding; it's a rethink. The Mk IV is a leap forward with exotic materials and racing intent. Only a tiny number will have been assembled. None qualify for street use in the US.

Seven-figure price tag. Definitely cool, but altogether a different experience. Arguably moot.


CLK-GTR

1,569 posts

262 months

Tuesday 19th August
quotequote all
I thought they'd stopped buildng these years ago....

The closer these look to LM spec the better, so this is right up there. I hope they can match the epic LM car noise too because the base car is a bit underwhelming.



How have Ford failed to properly market the fact they build both this AND the Mustang GTD? Porsche only have to dream of the letters R and S and the motoring press is fawning over them for months.