RE: Ford GT

Wednesday 3rd December 2003

Ford GT

Simon Rockman stumbled across a GT40 in Canada recently


Ford built the original GT40 to win Le Mans and to spite Enzo Ferrari.  Ford was a long way into the process of buying Ferrari when Enzo Ferrari pulled out and the top men at Ford were none to happy about it. 

Now the new $150,000 Ford GT retro supercar aims to take on the Ferrari Enzo. At least that’s what the man from Ford told me. With a 360 like  price (although expect it to cost £140,000 here) the Ford value proposition is that it will be as fast as an Enzo. This means a top speed of around 200mph (although not necessarily over 200mph) and a 0-60 time of 3.8 seconds. Aerodynamics have moved on a lot in the last forty years as is evidenced by a huge diffuser, aerodynamic treatment around the wing mirrors and a tiny Gurney flap.

What the new car does brilliantly is evoke the spirit of the car which stormed Le Mans in 1966. It is however quite a bit bigger - about 18 inches - and now has rear bumpers, albeit cleverly designed.

The original GT40 was built under Ford’s direction by Lola and a similar approach has been adopted for the new model. The GT is produced similarly with Saleen – the US supercar manufacturer.

The interior is more Audi TT than anything else with fantastic attention to detail and wonderfully tactile switches. The car is aimed at Fat Cats so the seating is more accomodating than those in a true race car. Unfortunately a detail in the seats which was not carried over the decades was the GT40’s eyelet vents in the seats. Ford found metal got too hot and plastic wouldn’t hold the colour so instead they are echoed in the design.

Another major change the Fat Cat customers have influenced is the lack of sills. Racing drivers might be lithe enough to jump in and out of a tub, but it’s not something you want to do pulling up outside a swish restaurant. The Ford GT has low sills, with the rigidity of the aluminium spaceframe borne Lotus-like down the centre. This is used as part of the interior design. Similarly the aluminium decoration on the door forms part of the structural rigidity. The classic doors cut into the roof and provide something for you to bang your head against when you get out. It’s not a mistake you make twice. Lugs in the roof of the car locate the top of the door and keep it true at speed.

The development budget didn’t stretch to both a paddle and a standard gearshift, and so in keeping with the retro nature the traditional solution won out. It’s the aspect of the car which is undergoing the most stringent development at the moment.

Ford is looking to sell very many more Ford GTs than Ferrari does 360s, the target for the first model year is 2200 cars with a final run of 4500 cars. Even then it’s not a particularly profitable operation, it’s being run for halo effect rather than sheer profit.

It's something which may irk another member of the Ford family which has to sell DB9s at a profit...

The car I looked at was at the US Grand Prix for a photo shoot with Ralph Firman. Unfortunately the back of the pits was the nearest it came to a track, and in a atmosphere of Formula 1 V10s and the amazingly rorty safety cars the Ford GT sounded a little too civilized. It doesn’t quite pull of the Enzo basher either, but at a third of the price that’s not surprising. Nor does the marketing man’s claim that the Enzo is it’s target sound particularly credible, however with so many reviewers and potential customers telling him it’s so much better than a 360 you can understand why hyperbole got the better of him.

Author
Discussion

Bodo

Original Poster:

12,368 posts

265 months

Wednesday 3rd December 2003
quotequote all
Nice rear bumper. Just like the original

Podie

46,630 posts

274 months

Wednesday 3rd December 2003
quotequote all
Bodo said:
Nice rear bumper. Just like the original


The joys of legislation..

XM5ER

5,087 posts

247 months

Wednesday 3rd December 2003
quotequote all
Bodo said:
Nice rear bumper. Just like the original


But is it necessary for the UK market?

WildfireS3

9,774 posts

251 months

Wednesday 3rd December 2003
quotequote all
I want one!!

dazren

22,612 posts

260 months

Wednesday 3rd December 2003
quotequote all
£140k over here? I thought it was going to be about £100k.

At £140k I'd pick a Ruf Turbo R, or a 360 Stradale.

DAZ

simonrockman

6,843 posts

254 months

Wednesday 3rd December 2003
quotequote all
I wrote that a while ago and have since found out that I misunderstood the marketing chap. Euro prices have't been set, it will be a reflection of the sub $150k and nothing like the £140k I though.

Sorry.

Simon

Newromancer

703 posts

261 months

Wednesday 3rd December 2003
quotequote all
In the last Top Gear show, hasn't Jeremy stummbled something about that he put his name on the preorder list?

An event, which he claims to be reason enough, for the car to be considert to be cool.

Well, if you ask me, it's still uncool.

Why?

Because in 50 years from now on, everybody will have forgoten this stupid retrocar ( or, if, it will only be remembered as 'stupid-retro-car'. )
When people talk about the GT40 they will talk about the car from the 50's that won LeMans.

Alien

131 posts

249 months

Wednesday 3rd December 2003
quotequote all
They should have built the GT90 instead.

FourWheelDrift

88,375 posts

283 months

Wednesday 3rd December 2003
quotequote all
Alien said:
They should have built the GT90 instead.


stop it, your killing me

Alien

131 posts

249 months

Wednesday 3rd December 2003
quotequote all
Well, I liked it

Don't get me wrong, I like the new GT as well as the next guy, but I think a progressive design would have been better. Even if they'd used some design cues from the GT40, but in a new design.

If you look at a '60s Ferrari and compare to the new ones, there are virtually no common design elements. But if you look at all of them model by model, you can see the continuity. Ford on the other hand have no history of building supercars between the GT40 and now. So they had a bit of a dilemma - do we build something like the GT90 which is cutting edge ( ), or just remake something which everyone liked the first time we did it forty years ago? I can see their reasoning for going with the safe route but I rather wish they hadn't.

>> Edited for spellin by Alien on Wednesday 3rd December 16:26

>> Edited by Alien on Wednesday 3rd December 16:28

mike s

2,919 posts

248 months

Wednesday 3rd December 2003
quotequote all
dazren said:
£140k over here? I thought it was going to be about £100k.

At £140k I'd pick a 360 Stradale.

DAZ


Ah, But you wouldn't get the stripe

cotty

39,389 posts

283 months

Wednesday 3rd December 2003
quotequote all
FourWheelDrift said:

Alien said:
They should have built the GT90 instead.



stop it, your killing me


Well I like the GT90
www.geocities.com/hockey_sucks/GT90.html

Newromancer

703 posts

261 months

Wednesday 3rd December 2003
quotequote all
Alien said:
They should have built the GT90 instead.


Me too.

The GT90 was something new.

And I liked the way it looked, something between a Stealth-Fighter and a Space-Shuttle. It was cool in a whole new way. ( Even if they over done it with the blue inside. )

( Well, I like the GT 40 too .. but the Original, the thing now, s just a bloody retro car ... sorry, but that is my opinion, you don't have to share it.)

Simonrockman

6,843 posts

254 months

Wednesday 3rd December 2003
quotequote all
Alien said:

If you look at a '60s Ferrari and compare to the new ones, there are virtually no common design elements.


612

Alien

131 posts

249 months

Wednesday 3rd December 2003
quotequote all
Simonrockman said:

Alien said:

If you look at a '60s Ferrari and compare to the new ones, there are virtually no common design elements.



612


True, that one reaches a little further back.

Batty'BUG'Matty

12,268 posts

249 months

Wednesday 3rd December 2003
quotequote all
its like thunderbird toys etc,
each time it gets more 'gimmicy' and less special.
one word of advice.
quit while you're still ahead!!

DennisTheMenace

15,603 posts

267 months

Wednesday 3rd December 2003
quotequote all
WildfireS3 said:
I want one!!


and me how big's the boot could i get all of my tools in ???

McNab

1,627 posts

273 months

Thursday 4th December 2003
quotequote all
Put it this way:

If Jaguar (Ford) built a sanitised E-Type and priced it at £50,000 would anybody buy one?

farmer

1,287 posts

273 months

Thursday 4th December 2003
quotequote all
McNab said:
Put it this way:

If Jaguar (Ford) built a sanitised E-Type and priced it at £50,000 would anybody buy one?


Yes but I hope they don't . this 40 will be a fantastic car , but like most here I wish they had been more imaginative

GavinPearson

5,715 posts

250 months

Thursday 4th December 2003
quotequote all
Saw one the other day driving around. It looked considerably better in the flesh than on a magazine cover. I'd happily "put up" with owning one.

Worst part would be exercising self restraint to avoid speeding.