RE: The Long Read: Ford GT meets 911 GT3 RS

[PunterCam]

The Ford is just about the most exciting supercar on sale.. I'm not sure what a drive next to a 911 proves.. The 911 could be faster, more entertaining, and all the rest, but it's never going to get close to the GT. It's an actual race car, not a pretend race car.

Interesting read nonetheless. Personally I find the current Porsche lineup pretty horrible - ugly cars with none of the character of the older ones. Even a brief drive of a 996 after a 991 is quite an eye opener.

[ArnageWRC]

How many of the GT's have Ford actually sold??
One of the conditions of entry to the WEC/ Le Mans was road going versions......there seems to be a bit of ill feeling that Ford have pulled a fast one.

[anonymous-user]

Harry_mac said:

Given the Porsche already won this test, Id wager the GT2 RS would leave the ford in a bloody mess...

...the kind of beating where the assailant kicks the victim in the head afterwards. The ford does look absolutely spectacular though, even in that 'orrible yellow.

[anonymous-user]

PunterCam said:

The 911 could be faster, more entertaining, and all the rest, but it's never going to get close to the GT. It's an actual race car, not a pretend race car.

[jcl]

So the GT is a race car for the road with a minimal interior but somehow is 100kg heavier than a 720S...

How do McLaren do it?

[anonymous-user]

I really enjoyed the article, and the GT sounds absolutely amazing!

[Daisy Duke]

ArnageWRC said:

How many of the GT's have Ford actually sold??
One of the conditions of entry to the WEC/ Le Mans was road going versions......there seems to be a bit of ill feeling that Ford have pulled a fast one.

Depends what you mean by 'sold' - the first two years of production (approx 500) has been allocated, but most have not been able to actually place their order yet. As of the end of September, 53 customer cars had been delivered and a few more so far this month.

[isaldiri]

jcl said:

So the GT is a race car for the road with a minimal interior but somehow is 100kg heavier than a 720S...

How do McLaren do it?

Agreed the weight of the Ford is a real puzzle. It's only marginally bigger than the 720 and in all cf construction with 2 less cylinders and presumably far less sound insulation and interior trim. I read somewhere the hydraulic systems used are pretty heavy but Mclaren too have a presumably even heavier hydraulic suspension system as well.

Still think the Ford is a pretty unique offering though. The RS, 675, Speciale etc are all track focused road cars at the end of the day and very good at what they do. The FGT however is a proper race car for the road and not just in the way marketing BS that all the manufacturers usually claim would have one believe. Even if it's road manners somewhat compromised as a result I suspect in small doses the car would still be very special to drive and at least would offer something very different from the rest of the market.

[Mr-B]

Bendrix said:

Vee12V said:

Started reading, couldn't be bother to continue after a few paragraphs.

I know the feeling.

+1

Usual excessive wordy guff from the CACKmeister. Must obviously be paid by the word. Why use 5 words when 20 is more than sufficient.

[gofasterrosssco]

Daisy Duke said:

gofasterrosssco said:

gigglebug said:

It's surprising to see that the GT's front splitter is appreciably higher from the ground than the RS's in all the photo's which may be either a good or a bad thing depending on your point of view. I'm guessing that the drop into Track or V-Max might be too low for road use but it does look a little too high as it is, purely from a cosmetic standpoint at least.

The GT has in-car adjustable ride height IIRC, so presumably it was set to road spec for these shots..

The NFGT has two ride height positions 119 and 69.8mm, it's not adjustable.

Well, it is adjustable - between two settings!

[AlasdairB10]

Pant-wettingly palpable, pulsating quality laid out with the candidness of an unfolded picnic blanket. A half mast carbon fibre beam given an unrefined shove.

A dab off oppo and I was off...

Most hilarious review ever.

[Ho Lee Kau]

I did not read the whole article, but in any case I go for GT3RS, it offers much better overall driving experience.

[ItsJustARide]

Loved the writing. More like that please.

[Bencolem]

Please, please, please, pretty please keep Nic Cackett as far away from Pistonheads as possible. No more. Please.

[drpep]

911 in a different league. The Ford GT can fk right off. No thanks. And the price difference... yeah. Lets not even go there.

[anonymous-user]

jcl said:

So the GT is a race car for the road with a minimal interior but somehow is 100kg heavier than a 720S...

How do McLaren do it?

It's called "Detail Design" and it requires a 100% approach, something that Mclaren are famed for, given their F1 background. i.e. every single part, no matter how small, is Function and Mass optimised within a tight set of constraints. Do that, and you save 100g of every part, do that for 1000 parts (ie the whole car) and there's your 100kg mass reduction!

Ford, however, are what i would call a 75% company. "Good enough" is their byword, which makes sense coming from the volume market segment, where you have many many more compromises to make.

[AER]

Max_Torque said:

jcl said:

So the GT is a race car for the road with a minimal interior but somehow is 100kg heavier than a 720S...

How do McLaren do it?

It's called "Detail Design" and it requires a 100% approach, something that Mclaren are famed for, given their F1 background. i.e. every single part, no matter how small, is Function and Mass optimised within a tight set of constraints. Do that, and you save 100g of every part, do that for 1000 parts (ie the whole car) and there's your 100kg mass reduction!

Ford, however, are what i would call a 75% company. "Good enough" is their byword, which makes sense coming from the volume market segment, where you have many many more compromises to make.

I think it's also called design evolution. The GT is a one-off with no previous design history to go on. The 720S is the nth generation of a car that has been in development since the mid-late naughties.