Top Car

78 TOPCAR.CO.ZA|January 2016knowing that we were going racing.’Yet there’s more , beca use when askedwhat he thinks is the most innovativeaspect of the new car, Pericak repl ies that hecan’t tell us untilit’s taken to the circuit inanger. Seriously? What else is the GThiding? Something Ford feels gives it acompetitive advantage, that’s for sure – andprobably something to do with th e torsionbar and spring suspension combo. Sincetorsion bars and springs usually do thesame job, Pericak does admit that part ofthe system’s smarts is the ab ility to use bothtogether or lock the springs out, radicallyaltering the effective spring rate, on the fly.‘It allows us to really change the characterof this car. It’s really unique, and reallyperforming extremely well.’ Then he adds, ‘This is thearea where I’ve got to watch what I say.’The most innovative aspect he can talk about? ‘Howwe’ve beenable to lightweigh t the vehicle, and do it in away that is extremely ba lanced.’ Yes, ‘lightweight’ is a verbnow, that’s how crucial it is. Asfor how innovative, ch eck outthe cabin. All of the carbon onthe inside is part of thestructural tub, including thedashboard – a developmentinterior designer AmkoLeenarts believes is an industryfirst. Doing this meant thefundamental bones of thecockpit had to be signed offalmost immediately beca use thetub’s design had to be fixed inorder to allow the engineeringwork to commence.‘We had a really good design‘It’s not likeanythingyou’ve everdriven before.It’s the mostwell-balancedcar I’vebeenin –ever’philosophy from day one,’ Leenarts says , looking whatyou’d swear was relieved, ‘which was ab out ge tting it aslightweigh t as possi ble, celebrating negative spac es,getting in a simplicity that was easy to read.’ Fo r instance?Fixed seat s, the dashtop‘wing’ that hides the wiri ng andechoes the exterior’s flying buttresses, and the graphicsused in the digital instrument cluster, which arespecifically designed for peripheral viewing; ‘We don’twant anything distra cting when you are driving that car.’200mm of steering wheel reach adjustment and moveablepedals serve to make the driver comfortable, in place ofheavier seat adjustment mechanisms. ‘Everything thatwe’ve done is to take weight out of the car,’ Pericakreinforc es. ‘If we didn ’t need it, we didn ’t put it in there.’But wait a minute –is this starting to feel likeNürburgring syndrome at its worst? Could the new FordGT be so focused on delivering a decent racingperformance that the ro ad car is in dang er of becomingunenjoyable? Even undr ivea ble? Not according to Pericak:‘I’ve got quite a few hours logged already and when youdrive the vehicle it’s not like anything you’ve ever driven``````Beneath Vader’svest lies a 3.5-litretwin-turbo V6, perhapspackin g 522kW