The history of Ford GT40 is a stuff of automotive legend. Born as a result of Ford's failed attempt to acquire Ferrari in the sixties, the GT40 was conceived with the sole intention of beating Ferrari at its own game - winning the Le Mans endurance races. And beat Ferrari it did so convincingly that the GT40 is now widely regarded as the best racing car of it's time and one of the best ever in the history of motorsport.
The legend is now back! Ford stole the limelight in Detroit when it took the wraps off the latest iteration of its halo, mid-engined, rear wheel drive supercar, the GT, amidst the glitz and grandeur of the 2015 North American International Auto Show.
Slated to get into production sometime in 2016, the GT marks the return of Ford to the unforgiving yet lucrative supercar segment. 2016 also marks the 50th anniversary of the height of GT40's dominance when the iconic car bearing the blue oval logo finished a crushing 1-2-3 in the 1966 edition of the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
Unlike the previous model that retained the GT40's retro shape and lines, the new GT is less of an ode to the original and more chic and contemporary. Aerodynamics has played a significant role in the way in which each panel, curve, vent and slope have been designed in the GT but the car still has a lot of cues influenced by the gorgeous GT40. The shape of the headlights, for instance, are straight off the original but the terrific detailing in them look stunning. That's not all. The nostrils in the hood, the circular hollowed-out taillights and the dual exhausts are from the past too, each modernized to varying levels. That apart, the wraparound windshield, the aircraft-inspired fuselage, the pair of flying buttresses that connect to the fuselage and tons of carbon fiber all around ensures that the GT would still stand out in the company of Ferraris, Lamborghinis and Porsches.
Entry to the two-seat cockpit is through a pair of upward-swinging doors that aids ingress and egress apart from being visual stunners. A F1-inspired steering wheel integrated with all necessary controls results in a stalk-free steering column. The rest of the cabin follows a similar minimalist approach, shaving off precious kilograms. But, what really stands out inside is the fully digital and customizable instrument cluster that not just looks great but also helps the driver with tons of information.
Powering the new GT is not a V8 as you might expect. Instead, the most powerful 'EcoBoost' engine ever produced by Ford - a 3.5-liter, twin turbocharged, V6 unit producing more than 600 horsepower and mated to a 7-speed, dual clutch transmission sits between the front and the rear wheels of the GT. The car also boasts advanced active aerodynamics like an adjustable ride height and a fully-deployable rear spoiler, racing-inspired pushrod suspension and a host of innovations in the materials used for its construction.
When the all-new Ford GT goes on sale, it is expected to be limited to just a few thousand units, making it a more exclusive showpiece of the brand's engineering prowess. Now Ford, tell us how do we get to drive one?
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