The Ford GT is an American mid-engine two-seater sports car. Ford Motor Company produced the
Ford GT for the 2005 to 2006 model years. The designers drew inspiration from Ford's
GT40 racing cars of the 1960s.
Development
The Ford GT began as a concept car designed in anticipation of the automaker's centennial
year and as part of its drive to showcase and revive its "heritage" names such as Mustang
and Thunderbird. At the 1995 Detroit Auto Show, the Ford GT90 concept was shown. At
the 2002 auto show, Ford unveiled a new GT40 Concept car. Camilo Pardo, the head of Ford's
"Living Legends" studio, is credited as the chief designer of the GT and worked under
the guidance of J Mays. Carroll Shelby was brought in by Ford to help develop the Ford
GT; which included performance testing of the prototype car. While the project was still
secret, it was called Petunia. The GT is similar in outward appearance to
the original Ford GT40 cars, but bigger, wider, and most importantly 3 in taller than the
original 40 in; as a result, a potential name for the car was the GT43. Although the
cars are visually related, structurally, there is no similarity between the modern GT and
the 1960s GT40 that inspired it. Three production prototype cars were shown in 2003 as part
of Ford's centenary, and delivery of the production Ford GT began in the fall of 2004.
A British company, Safir Engineering, who built continuation GT40s in the 1980s, owned
the "GT40" trademark at that time. When they completed production, they sold the excess
parts, tooling, design, and trademark to a small Ohio company called Safir GT40 Spares.
This company licensed the use of the "GT40" trademark to Ford for the initial 2002 show
car. When Ford decided to make the production vehicle, negotiations between the two firms
failed. The production cars do not wear the GT40 badge.
Production and sales
The GT was produced in model years 2005 and 2006, with the first customers taking delivery
in August 2004. The GT began assembly at Mayflower Vehicle Systems in Norwalk, Ohio and was painted
by Saleen in their Saleen Special Vehicles facility in Troy, Michigan. The GT is powered
by an engine built at Ford's Romeo Engine Plant in Romeo, Michigan. Installation of
the engine and manual transmission along with interior finishing was handled in the SVT
building at Ford's Wixom, Michigan plant. Of the 4,500 GTs originally planned, approximately
100 were to be exported to Europe, starting in late 2005. An additional 200 were destined
for sale in Canada. Production ended in 2006 without reaching the planned lot. Approximately
550 were built in 2004, nearly 1,900 in 2005, and just over 1,600 in 2006, for a grand total
of 4,038. The final 11 car bodies manufactured by Mayflower Vehicle Systems were disassembled,
and the frames and body panels were sold as service parts.
As with many exotic vehicles, when the Ford GT was first released, the demand outpaced
supply, and the cars initially sold for premium prices. The first private sale of Ford's new
mid-engine sports car was completed on August 4, 2004, when former Microsoft executive Jon
Shirley took delivery of his Midnight Blue 2005 Ford GT. Shirley earned the right to
purchase the first production Ford GT at a charity auction at the Pebble Beach Concours
d'Elegance Auction after bidding over $557,000. A few other early cars sold for as much as
a US$100,000 premium over the suggested retail price of $139,995. Optional equipment available
included a McIntosh sound system, racing stripes, painted brake calipers, and forged alloy wheels
adding an additional $13,500 to the MSRP. The production run of 4,038 GTs ended the
2006 model year on September 21, 2006, short of the originally planned 4,500. The Wixom
Assembly Plant has stopped production of all models as of May 31, 2007. Sales of the GT
continued into 2007, from cars held in storage and in dealer inventories. During the GT's
lifetime, the car was featured on the cover of the video game Gran Turismo 4.
The GT won Top Gear's Gas Guzzler of the Year award in 2005.
A modified roadster version of the GT, the Ford GTX1, was displayed at the 2005 SEMA
Auto Show. Performance and engineering
The Ford GT features many new and unique technologies, including superplastic-formed frame, aluminum
body panels, roll-bonded floor panels, a friction stir welded center tunnel, a "ship-in-a-bottle"
gas tank, a capless fuel filler system, one-piece door panels, and an aluminum engine cover
with a one-piece carbon-fiber inner panel. Brakes are four-piston aluminum Brembo calipers
with cross-drilled and vented rotors at all four corners. When the rear canopy is opened,
the rear suspension components and engine are visible.
The mid-mounted 5.4 L Modular V8 engine is all-aluminum with a Lysholm twin screw-type
supercharger. It features a forged rotating assembly housed in an aluminum block designed
specifically for the GT program. A dry sump oiling system is employed, allowing the engine
to sit low in the car's frame. The DOHC 4-valve heads are a revision of the 2000 Ford Mustang
SVT Cobra R cylinder heads. The camshafts have unique specifications, with more lift
and duration than those found in the Shelby GT500 or 2003–2004 Ford Mustang SVT Cobra.
Power output is 550 hp at 6500 rpm and generates 500 lb·ft of torque at 3750 rpm. A Ricardo
six-speed manual transmission is fitted featuring a helical limited-slip differential.
Performance 0–60 mph: 3.5 seconds, 3.7 seconds, 3.8
seconds 0–100 mph: 7.4 seconds
0–150 mph: 16.9 seconds Standing 1/4 mile: 11.2 seconds @ 131.2 mph,
11.7 seconds @ 126.2 mph, 11.88 seconds @ 124.31 mph Top speed: electronically limited to 205 mph
Fuel consumption The United States Environmental Protection
Agency mileage estimate for the GT is 12 mpg-US in city driving, and 19 mpg-US in highway
cruising, for a combined 14 mpg-US. Racing
The Ford GT has been campaigned in various racing venues. These include:
A highly modified GT was raced in 2006 and 2007 in Super GT's GT300 class in Japan powered
by a 3.5 L Ford Zetec-R engine produced by Cosworth in the mid-1990s for Formula One.
A Swiss team Matech Concepts had three Ford GT GT3s in the FIA GT3 European Championship.
The Ford GT Matech team won the title in 2008. Atlanta-based Robertson Racing runs a Doran-built
Ford GT-R in the American Le Mans Series GT class. The team made its first 24 Hours of
Le Mans appearance in 2011, scoring 3rd in the GTE Am Class.
Black Swan Racing ran a Falken Tires-sponsored Ford GT-R in the GT2 class in the American
Le Mans Series during the 2008 season. Ford GT1
The Ford GT1 is a racing version developed by Matech Concepts to comply with FIA GT1
rules. The official race debut of the Ford GT1 coincided with the kick-off of the 2009
FIA GT Championship season in Silverstone. For the 2010 FIA GT1 World Championship season
four cars will be fielded by two teams: Matech Competition and Marc VDS Racing Team. Three
GT1 Fords competed in the 2010 24 Hours of Le Mans race, with two retiring early on.
The third car retired later in the race. For the 2011 FIA GT1 World Championship season,
Matech left the series which left Marc VDS running the four cars during the season, two
under the Marc VDS Racing Team name and the other two cars under the name of Belgian Racing.
Ford GT3 The Ford GT was also homologated for the FIA
GT3 rules by Matech Concepts. The Ford GT GT3 is involved in numerous championships
including the FIA GT3 European Championship, FIA GT1 World Championship, Blancpain Endurance
Series, and others. The GT3 version is slower than the GT1 version and features different
bodywork. References
External links Motor Trend GT Report
Ford GT Images, Videos, Data, and News Updates Ford GT Matech racing team