Top Car

January 2016 |TOPCAR.CO.ZA 79

2016’s most wanted:FORDGT

THE SHORT
answeris both.
But there are
differences, most
ofwhich showthe
sophistication of
the roadcar. Togo
racing, Fordhas to
removethe active
aerodynamics, while
GTE regulations
mandate no more
than 500bhp

(373kW)– bad news

for rivals, asthat’s

75kWlessthan

whathas already

provendurableover

24 hours winning

races in a Daytona

Prototype. Chip

GanassiRacing

ran that car, and

it will run the GTs,

too, alongsideFelix

Sabates. Theactual

roadcarengine

is an updated,

enhancedversion

ofthe racingunit.

Can the new GTtake

class honoursonits

anniversaryreturn

toLeMans? Dave

Pericak: ‘All I cansay

is this: we’regoing

tobeready torace

and Ihopeeveryone

elseis too.’

New FordGT: roadcar orracecar?

before. For me personally, I can say it’s the

most well-balanced, well-behaved car that

I’ve beenin, ever. And it’s extremely

intuitive the minute you getbehind the

wheel.’ What is it like compared to the

prev ious version – 2003 ’s mid-engined V8-

powered reimagining of the GT40? ‘They

are in two separate worlds, it’s not even a

close competition.’

Ford isn’t officially saying what that means

for outright performance yet, but the portents

are there. ‘We’re putting a V6 into a supercar,’

Pericak reiterates, ‘and we’re extremely

confident that we will be as good or better

than the rest of the supercars. And that’s a

heck of a statement to make, right?’ The original claim of

‘over 600bhp’ (447kW) is surely closer to 700 (522kW) in

reality. Target weight must be in the region of McLaren, say

1200kg dry. The aerodynamics are clearly on display. Even

with th e traction limitations of rear-whe el drive, 0-100kph

has got to be su b 3.0sec, and top speed well over 320kph.

Ford also isn’t saying how many GTs it will build, but

Pericak confirms ‘it will be a very low number’. Not just

beca use of the production limitations with carbon fibre,

but beca use Ford knows it’s important to maintain a sense

of prest ige. As for the price, he says we should lo ok to the

Aventador. Yikes! Yet he’s adamant Ford is ‘not do ing this

to try to get rich’. So why is it do ing it at all?

‘It’s the embodiment of what’s great at Ford Motor

Company. A lot of people ask why are you doing it? And I

always love to give the fun answer of “becausewe can”.

But that’s not the real answer. The real answer is we’re

doing the Ford GT beca use we want to sh owcase and

demonstrate our engineering prowess and all of the

capability that we have at Ford. Showcase it, be proud of it,

and have it be the pinnacle of performance.’

Can the GT possi bly live up tothat kind of hype? Watch

this spac e...tc

Although this is the

concep t car, Ford

says 95% of it is

locked downfor

produc tion

Shift paddle s long and

sharp enough to double as

a cheese knife. Brembos

are carbon ceramics