ZOSicK
October 24th, 2003, 01:20 AM
http://www.thecarconnection.com/images/gallery/7405_image.jpg
Corvettes are pedestrian by comparison. Dodge's Viper is a little too plebeian, too. When it comes to American-bred supercars, Ford's new GT smotes these lesser icons and becomes the new graven image all you gearheads should be worshipping, whether or not you can afford the stiff estimated sticker of $135,000-$150,000.
That's the current price of glory, in case you're saving up.
Conceptual history
The GT, as has been well storied, was conceived as a 2002 concept vehicle to shake the gloom off Ford's reputation as the company turned the 100-year mark. After piling up more than $6 billion in losses in the past two years, the company needed some feel-good news - and what feels better than 500 hp? And what better to wrap it in than a sensual reincarnation of Ford's most famous race car from the Sixties, the Ferrari-slaying, Le Mans-winning Ford GT40? They probably ordered the rubber stamp to approve the production version before the concept hit the show floor.
Of course, the new GT is a little bigger, a little wider than its namesake and inspiration. And the name isn't GT40, either - Ford refused to pay an private owner for the rights to use the GT40 name (which would be inappropriate anyway: the GT40 was named in part for its 40-inch height, and the new GT checks in at 44.3 inches high). But the powerplant is a tried-and-true American V-8, jolted to life with supercharging and wedged into a chassis so capable you may forget Ford's two-decade affair with the Fox platform out of sheer kindness.
While the numbers on the financial side have ranged from tachycardia to mild arrhythmia, the centennial GT's numbers are astonishing and appropriate. Ford says their final-stage prototypes are leaving a 3.8-second gap between 0 and 60 mph; top speed is estimated at more than 190 mph.
Sixties inspiration
What's especially striking about the new GT is the very close resemblance to the original GT40. There are hundreds of detail differences that aficionados will detect - the high-intensity headlights styled to incorporate "100," the shape of the front air intakes - but simply parking the two cars next to each other sets up a striking historic reverb. Today's GT translates those unbelievable proportions into modern NHTSA-ruled reality and so convincingly recaptures the sex appeal of the 1960s car, it makes a Ferrari 360 brought for comparison look like a Hyundai Tiburon.
The shape practically was predetermined, but Ford tasked its engineers to work Formula 1-style miracles in underbody aero tuning. The original GT40 was notoriously wind-happy at speed, and to cure the devils, engineers removed several hundred pounds of lift by working the car's shape from the beltline down.
The body itself is crafted panel-on-frame, with its aluminum space frame cloaked in superplastic-formed aluminum heated until the sheets become floppy. The fenders, hood and doors are made of these sheets, and aluminum constitutes many other parts, from the struts connecting the backbone to the rear end to the door handles in the cockpit (both of which are actually from the same casting). It's suspended on double wishbones front and rear, with coils and shocks and anti-roll bars.
The cockpit deftly blends modern necessity with the Sixties-retro shapes that have graced Ford's 427 and Forty Niner concepts. The central tunnel is cloaked in aluminum. A small-diameter steering wheel is tightly packaged with an airbag, and the instruments wear aluminum bezels. Granted, it's more Speed Racer than Le Mans, circa '67, but that's likely to play well with occupants who have the wallet to sling at thrilling toys like this one.
Have we forgotten anything? Oh right, the engine. It's a version of Ford's modular V-8, sized at 5.4 liters and outfitted with four valves per cylinder, a Lysholm screw-type compressor (a first for supplier Eaton) and two fuel injectors per cylinder. Slung between the rear wheels and behind the seats, the big V-8 is no longer brightly chromed as was the V-10 in the recent concept car, but the engine bay is neatly arranged to show off the car's crown jewel.
The V-8 is teamed with an aluminum six-speed gearbox developed by Britain's Ricardo; the tranny is equipped with a Torsen-style limited slip developed by Fuji; the brakes are four-piston Brembos, vented and crossdrilled. Shod with Goodyear Eagle F1 Supercar tires (235-series 18-inchers in front, 315/40ZR-19s in back) and blessed with a sound weight distribution of 47/53 percent, the new GT on paper bristles with the energy of a downed power line.
California dreamin'
On California's Route 1, cutting through late-lifting fog clinging to Pebble Beach and surging uphill to the vintage races at Laguna Seca, the GT casts itself among other instant classics with initials like ZR-1 and SRT-10 - along with some Italian names and numbers.
Sliding into the cockpit is easy, thanks to doors cut into the roof that make for decent six-footer headroom. The seats themselves tip too far forward, though, and are nonadjustable Sparco carbon-fiber buckets, which means only fore-aft movement.
Firing the engine up, it's more difficult to engage the GT in smooth driving than Ford would like. As of our drive in August, the tranny still was in need of last-minute tuning. The big ball shifter feels good in your hand, and the throw of the shifter is reasonably short. Still, the stout gearbox's twin-disc clutch transmits lots of noise through the tunnel and the clutch has a very high take-off point.
The supercharged V-8 rumbles and whines with the push of the start button, but the exhaust note is one of the few sources of controversy in our small driving pack. Some found it pleasing enough, others compared its aural mismatch to the sound of the V-10 Viper - not muscly enough. Ford product VP Chris Theodore promises that the engine note will be addressed before the real production cars start rolling out early next year.
Steering is the most pleasant surprise on our run to Napenthe, Orson Welles' getaway turned granola cluster on the coast, and around the track at Laguna. It winds in and unwinds naturally, better than the sample Ferrari 360 provided by Ford's team, and feels precise, with great feedback. It's one of the great reasons the GT inspires confidence with the first push of its start button. Unlike some of the other supercars we've driven, which always seemed ready to bite you should you make the slightest mistake - enter a corner early, brake a little late - the GT seemed surprisingly forgiving and always beckoning, as if to suggest it can do a little more, just a little more. It flew through the hairpins on Highway 1 and at Laguna effortlessly, and even when entering the track's corkscrew a little hot, it was easy to regain full control.
Forget body roll. Despite the extra height over the original GT40, the new car stays firmly hunkered down. The brakes are among the new car's nicest features. In fact, it'd be an interesting comparison between the old car and new. They're smooth and predictable, not at all grabby. But when you wanted maximum stopping power, you were happy to be strapped in. Anyone who drives without a belt is likely to blast through the windshield the first time they execute a panic stop.
And then there's the tremendous sense of speed. It's not only the supercar envelope that bears opening - acceleration to 100 mph is breathtaking, and several times on the front straight we found ourselves pushing 150 mph. It's the combination of sensual delights, from sliding into the low, low driver seat to fully grasping what this GT is capable of long before those who simply watch it roll by in awe.
Ford could merely have shod a GT body on lesser mechanicals. After all, you can't apply conventional criticisms to a supercar that's risen from the dust of history. Who would complain if it merely looked like a GT40 and didn't drive as much like one? Well, aside from journalists?
It's as impractical as it is improbable. And yet the 2005 Ford GT is stunning and inspirational. Priced "substantially below" $150,000, almost all the cars will go to owners in the U.S. beginning next spring.
http://www.thecarconnection.com/images/gallery/7406_image.jpg
2005 Ford GT
Base Price: $135,000 (est.)
Engine: Supercharged 5.4-liter V-8, 500 hp/500 lb-ft
Transmission: Six-speed manual, rear-wheel drive
Length x width x height: 182.8 x 76.9 x 44.3 in
Wheelbase: 106.7 in
Curb weight: N/A
EPA City/Hwy: N/A
Safety equipment: Front airbags, anti-lock brakes, electronic brake force distribution
Major standard equipment: A/C, power windows and locks, AM/FM/CD player, rear window defroster
Warranty: Three years/36,000 miles
Corvettes are pedestrian by comparison. Dodge's Viper is a little too plebeian, too. When it comes to American-bred supercars, Ford's new GT smotes these lesser icons and becomes the new graven image all you gearheads should be worshipping, whether or not you can afford the stiff estimated sticker of $135,000-$150,000.
That's the current price of glory, in case you're saving up.
Conceptual history
The GT, as has been well storied, was conceived as a 2002 concept vehicle to shake the gloom off Ford's reputation as the company turned the 100-year mark. After piling up more than $6 billion in losses in the past two years, the company needed some feel-good news - and what feels better than 500 hp? And what better to wrap it in than a sensual reincarnation of Ford's most famous race car from the Sixties, the Ferrari-slaying, Le Mans-winning Ford GT40? They probably ordered the rubber stamp to approve the production version before the concept hit the show floor.
Of course, the new GT is a little bigger, a little wider than its namesake and inspiration. And the name isn't GT40, either - Ford refused to pay an private owner for the rights to use the GT40 name (which would be inappropriate anyway: the GT40 was named in part for its 40-inch height, and the new GT checks in at 44.3 inches high). But the powerplant is a tried-and-true American V-8, jolted to life with supercharging and wedged into a chassis so capable you may forget Ford's two-decade affair with the Fox platform out of sheer kindness.
While the numbers on the financial side have ranged from tachycardia to mild arrhythmia, the centennial GT's numbers are astonishing and appropriate. Ford says their final-stage prototypes are leaving a 3.8-second gap between 0 and 60 mph; top speed is estimated at more than 190 mph.
Sixties inspiration
What's especially striking about the new GT is the very close resemblance to the original GT40. There are hundreds of detail differences that aficionados will detect - the high-intensity headlights styled to incorporate "100," the shape of the front air intakes - but simply parking the two cars next to each other sets up a striking historic reverb. Today's GT translates those unbelievable proportions into modern NHTSA-ruled reality and so convincingly recaptures the sex appeal of the 1960s car, it makes a Ferrari 360 brought for comparison look like a Hyundai Tiburon.
The shape practically was predetermined, but Ford tasked its engineers to work Formula 1-style miracles in underbody aero tuning. The original GT40 was notoriously wind-happy at speed, and to cure the devils, engineers removed several hundred pounds of lift by working the car's shape from the beltline down.
The body itself is crafted panel-on-frame, with its aluminum space frame cloaked in superplastic-formed aluminum heated until the sheets become floppy. The fenders, hood and doors are made of these sheets, and aluminum constitutes many other parts, from the struts connecting the backbone to the rear end to the door handles in the cockpit (both of which are actually from the same casting). It's suspended on double wishbones front and rear, with coils and shocks and anti-roll bars.
The cockpit deftly blends modern necessity with the Sixties-retro shapes that have graced Ford's 427 and Forty Niner concepts. The central tunnel is cloaked in aluminum. A small-diameter steering wheel is tightly packaged with an airbag, and the instruments wear aluminum bezels. Granted, it's more Speed Racer than Le Mans, circa '67, but that's likely to play well with occupants who have the wallet to sling at thrilling toys like this one.
Have we forgotten anything? Oh right, the engine. It's a version of Ford's modular V-8, sized at 5.4 liters and outfitted with four valves per cylinder, a Lysholm screw-type compressor (a first for supplier Eaton) and two fuel injectors per cylinder. Slung between the rear wheels and behind the seats, the big V-8 is no longer brightly chromed as was the V-10 in the recent concept car, but the engine bay is neatly arranged to show off the car's crown jewel.
The V-8 is teamed with an aluminum six-speed gearbox developed by Britain's Ricardo; the tranny is equipped with a Torsen-style limited slip developed by Fuji; the brakes are four-piston Brembos, vented and crossdrilled. Shod with Goodyear Eagle F1 Supercar tires (235-series 18-inchers in front, 315/40ZR-19s in back) and blessed with a sound weight distribution of 47/53 percent, the new GT on paper bristles with the energy of a downed power line.
California dreamin'
On California's Route 1, cutting through late-lifting fog clinging to Pebble Beach and surging uphill to the vintage races at Laguna Seca, the GT casts itself among other instant classics with initials like ZR-1 and SRT-10 - along with some Italian names and numbers.
Sliding into the cockpit is easy, thanks to doors cut into the roof that make for decent six-footer headroom. The seats themselves tip too far forward, though, and are nonadjustable Sparco carbon-fiber buckets, which means only fore-aft movement.
Firing the engine up, it's more difficult to engage the GT in smooth driving than Ford would like. As of our drive in August, the tranny still was in need of last-minute tuning. The big ball shifter feels good in your hand, and the throw of the shifter is reasonably short. Still, the stout gearbox's twin-disc clutch transmits lots of noise through the tunnel and the clutch has a very high take-off point.
The supercharged V-8 rumbles and whines with the push of the start button, but the exhaust note is one of the few sources of controversy in our small driving pack. Some found it pleasing enough, others compared its aural mismatch to the sound of the V-10 Viper - not muscly enough. Ford product VP Chris Theodore promises that the engine note will be addressed before the real production cars start rolling out early next year.
Steering is the most pleasant surprise on our run to Napenthe, Orson Welles' getaway turned granola cluster on the coast, and around the track at Laguna. It winds in and unwinds naturally, better than the sample Ferrari 360 provided by Ford's team, and feels precise, with great feedback. It's one of the great reasons the GT inspires confidence with the first push of its start button. Unlike some of the other supercars we've driven, which always seemed ready to bite you should you make the slightest mistake - enter a corner early, brake a little late - the GT seemed surprisingly forgiving and always beckoning, as if to suggest it can do a little more, just a little more. It flew through the hairpins on Highway 1 and at Laguna effortlessly, and even when entering the track's corkscrew a little hot, it was easy to regain full control.
Forget body roll. Despite the extra height over the original GT40, the new car stays firmly hunkered down. The brakes are among the new car's nicest features. In fact, it'd be an interesting comparison between the old car and new. They're smooth and predictable, not at all grabby. But when you wanted maximum stopping power, you were happy to be strapped in. Anyone who drives without a belt is likely to blast through the windshield the first time they execute a panic stop.
And then there's the tremendous sense of speed. It's not only the supercar envelope that bears opening - acceleration to 100 mph is breathtaking, and several times on the front straight we found ourselves pushing 150 mph. It's the combination of sensual delights, from sliding into the low, low driver seat to fully grasping what this GT is capable of long before those who simply watch it roll by in awe.
Ford could merely have shod a GT body on lesser mechanicals. After all, you can't apply conventional criticisms to a supercar that's risen from the dust of history. Who would complain if it merely looked like a GT40 and didn't drive as much like one? Well, aside from journalists?
It's as impractical as it is improbable. And yet the 2005 Ford GT is stunning and inspirational. Priced "substantially below" $150,000, almost all the cars will go to owners in the U.S. beginning next spring.
http://www.thecarconnection.com/images/gallery/7406_image.jpg
2005 Ford GT
Base Price: $135,000 (est.)
Engine: Supercharged 5.4-liter V-8, 500 hp/500 lb-ft
Transmission: Six-speed manual, rear-wheel drive
Length x width x height: 182.8 x 76.9 x 44.3 in
Wheelbase: 106.7 in
Curb weight: N/A
EPA City/Hwy: N/A
Safety equipment: Front airbags, anti-lock brakes, electronic brake force distribution
Major standard equipment: A/C, power windows and locks, AM/FM/CD player, rear window defroster
Warranty: Three years/36,000 miles