Ford GT

Development

The first Ford GT prototype, "Workhorse 1", Shelby American Museum, Las Vegas, Nevada

The Ford GT began life 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 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, the original designer of the Shelby GT 500, 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, but bigger, wider, and most importantly 3 in (76 mm) taller than the original 40 in (100 cm) overall height; 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 to the public in 2003 as part of Ford's centenary, and delivery of the production version called simply the Ford GT began in the fall of 2004.

As the Ford GT was built as part of the company's 100th anniversary celebration, the left headlight cluster was designed to read "100".^[3]

A British company, Safir Engineering, who built continuation GT40 cars in the 1980s, owned the "GT40" trademark at that time. When production of the continuation cars ended, they sold the excess parts, tooling, design, and trademark to a small Ohio based 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 put the GT40 concept to production stage, negotiations between the two firms failed, thus the production cars do not wear the GT40 badge and are simply called the GT.

The GT was produced for the 2005 and 2006 model years. The car began assembly at Mayflower Vehicle Systems in Norwalk, Ohio and was painted by Saleen at 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 cars were destined for sale in Canada. Production ended in September 2006 without reaching the planned production target. Approximately 550 cars were built in 2004, nearly 1,900 in 2005, and just over 1,600 in 2006, for a grand total of 4,038 cars. The final 11 car bodies manufactured by Mayflower Vehicle Systems were disassembled, and the frames and body panels were sold as service parts. The Wixom Assembly Plant has stopped production of all models as of May 31, 2007.^[4] Sales of the GT continued into 2007, from cars held in storage and in dealer inventories.

Ford GT Tungsten Limited Edition (Monaco)

When the Ford GT was first announced, 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.^[5] Shirley earned the right to purchase the first production Ford GT (chassis #10) at a charity auction at the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance Auction after bidding over $557,000.^[6]

A few other early cars sold for as much as a US$100,000 premium over the suggested retail price of $139,995 (Ford increased the MSRP to $149,995 on July 1, 2005).^[7] Optional equipment available included a McIntosh sound system, racing stripes, painted brake calipers, and forged alloy wheels adding $13,500 to the MSRP.^[8]

During the GT's production run, the car was featured on the cover of the video game Gran Turismo 4, and was also featured in Need for Speed: ProStreet, as well as being made into physical form in the Transformers: Alternators toyline, which featured realistic cars turning into Cybertronians; the Ford GT mold was used for the characters Mirage and Rodimus.

The GT won Top Gear's Gas Guzzler of the Year award in 2005. One of the show's presenters, Jeremy Clarkson, owned a GT and despite initially reserving high acclaim for the vehicle, ultimately requested a refund from Ford due to extensive problems with the car's aftermarket alarm system.

Performance and engineering

The center tunnel of the Ford GT is made from two aluminum extrusions friction stir welded to a bent aluminum sheet and houses the fuel tank

The Ford GT features many technologies unique at its time including superplastic-formed frame, aluminum body panels, roll-bonded floor panels, a friction stir welded center tunnel, covered by a magnesium center console, 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 longitudinally-mounted Rear mid-engine, rear-wheel-drive layout Modular 5.4 L; 330.1 cu in (5,409 cc) V8 is all-aluminum alloy with an Eaton 2300 Lysholm screw-type supercharger. It features a forged rotating assembly housed in an aluminum block designed specifically for the car. A dry sump oiling system is employed, allowing the engine to sit low in the car's frame. The DOHC 4 valves per cylinder heads are a revision of the 2000 Ford Mustang SVT Cobra R cylinder heads (with slightly increased wall casting thickness in the exhaust port). The camshafts have unique specifications, with more lift and duration than those found in the Shelby GT500. Power output is 550 hp (410 kW; 558 PS) at 6,500 rpm and 500 lb⋅ft (678 N⋅m) of torque at 4,500 rpm.^[9][10] A Ricardo 6-speed manual transmission is fitted featuring a helical limited-slip differential. Car and Driver tested the GT in January 2004 and recorded a 0-60 mph (0-97 km/h) time of 3.3 seconds.

Performance:

Ford GT Engine

• Top speed: 205 mph (330 km/h)
• Quarter-mile (400m): 11.8 seconds
• 0–62 mph (0–100 km/h): 3.8 seconds
• 0–124 mph (0–200 km/h): 12.3 seconds
• 0–186 mph (0–300 km/h): 44.3 seconds

Fuel consumption

The United States Environmental Protection Agency mileage estimate for the GT is 12 mpg_‑US (20 L/100 km; 14 mpg_‑imp) in city driving, and 19 mpg_‑US (12 L/100 km; 23 mpg_‑imp) in highway cruising, for a combined 14 mpg_‑US (17 L/100 km; 17 mpg_‑imp).^[11]

Ford GT1

A Ford GT1 in the FIA GT1 World Championship (Match Concepts, 2009)

The Ford GT1 is a racing version of the Ford GT 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 were fielded by two teams: Matech Competition and Marc VDS Racing Team. Three cars competed in the 2010 24 Hours of Le Mans race, with two (the number 70 car run by the Marc VDS Racing Team and the number 61 car run by Matech Concepts) 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

Ford GT 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 (producing around 500 instead of 600 HP) and features different bodywork.

2016 Ford GT Race Program

Ford GT (LM GTE)

Ford GT GTE-Pro, which competed at the 24 Hours of Le Mans from 2016
Category	Weathertech SportsCar GTLM and World Endurance Championship LMGTE Pro
Constructor	Ford Performance
Technical specifications
Chassis	Carbon-fibre monocoque with safety roll cage
Suspension (front)	Unequal length double wishbone with pushrod-actuated torsion bars and Multimatic DSSV dampers
Suspension (rear)	As front
Length	4,763 mm (188 in; 16 ft)
Width	2,045 mm (81 in; 7 ft)
Height	1,030 mm (41 in; 3 ft)
Wheelbase	2,710 mm (107 in; 9 ft)
Engine	Ford EcoBoost 3.5 L (214 cu in) V6 90° twin turbocharged, mid-engined, longitudinally-mounted
Transmission	Ricardo 6-speed sequential semi-automatic paddle shift. Limited slip ramp/plate differential
Battery	Braille AGM 13 volts
Power	Over 500 PS (368 kW)
Weight	1,200 kg (2,646 lb) excluding driver, fluids and fuel; 1,310 kg (2,888 lb) including driver, fluids and fuel
Fuel	VP Racing Fuels MS100 RON unleaded 80% + Ethanol E20 20% (IMSA SportsCar)/Shell V-Power LM24 98 RON unleaded (WEC and Le Mans 24 Hours (2016-2017))/Total Excellium LM24 98 RON unleaded 80% + Ethanol E20 (WEC and Le Mans 24 Hours (2018-present))
Lubricants	Castrol EDGE SUPERCAR
Brakes	Six pot front Brembo calipers. Four pot rear Brembo calipers. Vented Brembo discs
Tyres	Michelin Pilot Sport BBS wheels
Competition history
Notable entrants	Ford Chip Ganassi Team USA (IMSA SC) Ford Chip Ganassi Team UK joint venture with Multimatic Motorsports (FIA WEC)
Notable drivers	Joey Hand Dirk Müller Sébastien Bourdais Ryan Briscoe Richard Westbrook Stefan Mücke Scott Dixon Olivier Pla Billy Johnson Andy Priaulx Harry Tincknell Marino Franchitti Tony Kanaan Pipo Derani
Debut	2016 24 Hours of Daytona (IMSA) 2016 6 Hours of Silverstone (WEC)
Races Wins 32 (IMSA) 21 (WEC) 10 (IMSA) 6 (WEC)
Constructors' Championships	0
Drivers' Championships	0

On 12 June 2015, at Le Mans, it was announced that Ford will return to the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2016 with a factory-supported, four-car effort operating as Ford Chip Ganassi Racing.^[26] The Ford Chip Ganassi Racing cars campaigned in both the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship and the FIA World Endurance Championship.^[27] The car debuted at the 2016 24 Hours of Daytona on January 30–31 finishing seventh and ninth in class.^[28]

On June 19, 2016 the Number 68 Ford GT of Ford Chip Ganassi Racing finished 1st at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in the LMGTE Pro class; the victory marked 50 years after Ford won the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1966, where they came in 1st, 2nd and 3rd with the GT40.^[29][30] In the 2016 6 Hours of Fuji and the 6 Hours of Shanghai, both the Ford GT's finished 1-2 at both races, the 67 winning both and the 66 coming second in both.

In the opening WEC race at Silverstone, the #67 Ford GT took victory.^[31] 2 races later on June 19, 2017 the Number 67 Ford GT of Ford Chip Ganassi Racing finished runner up at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in the LMGTE Pro class; this time 50 years after the 2nd Le Mans Race win in 1967.^[32]