| | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
A successor to the Ford GT may be in the works, but execs aren’t talking 
Shortly after two Ford GTs appeared at LeMans, rumors started circulating that the American company was contemplating bringing the GT back to fill in one of the gaps in the American supercar lineup. Now those rumors are picking up some speed thanks to an interview with some of Ford’s head honchos. During an intimate dinner at the Detroit Auto Show, Automobile Magazine got the opportunity to pose a question to Derrick Kuzak, head of global product development, that would be followed by a few moments of awkward silence and a wishy washy answer: “Is Ford interested in a successor to the GT?” In real life, a to-the-point question typically gets a straight answer, but unfortunately that is not how it works in the auto world - or the political world but that’s another issue altogether. After a few moments of thought-gathering and answer-processing, Kuzak’s response was, "Well I think there are certain things that we don’t want to talk about in terms of four-year product plans, if that’s okay." Ford president and CEO, Alan Mulally, then tried to lighten the mood with a response of his own: “All I know is, if the ground is wet, they don’t let me drive it,” said Mulally. “That vehicle levitates.” While not exactly a confirmation, these awkward and thought-provoking responses lead us to believe that something is definitely cooking in Ford’s kitchen, and we’re famished. We’ll take a double serving of the old supercar with a more original design than that of the 2005 Ford GT and spice it up with that same GT spirit, please! 2011 Ford GT by Elite Autos
Time and again, we’ve scoured the forums looking for the next supercar to drool over. Whether it’s a completely new one or one that just got out of the tuning shops, we never miss an opportunity to see what new bad boy lies out there, primed and ready to unleash its wrath on the streets of the world. Good thing too because we’ve found this matte black Ford GT that has been given some pretty serious tune-up work. “Peakcompletions” from L4P took their Ford GT – an already amazing car in its own right – over to Shelby at Elite Autos to have some tweaks and upgrades done to it. The result is nothing short of awe-inspiring. For starters, the car was given a custom Heffner SC/TT package that produces 1,400 rwhp. If that’s not enough, the car was given a matte satin black paint finish, a glossy carbon interior, a dry carbon exterior, matte red brakes, a double din radio, a back-up camera, and even more carbon fiber on the interior. Suffice to say, this tuned-up Ford GT is one car we wish we had inside our garage. It’s gorgeous inside, outside, and every other angle we can think of. The tangled web weaved when a tuner wrecks a Ford GT
Have you ever imagined what would happen if you ever got the opportunity to leave your car in the hands of an experienced tuner? Well, this American customer got this exact chance and the final product was even less than horrendously inappropriate. After having been turned down by many tuners unable to make the requested modifications to his Ford GT, Texas sports car tuner Ray Hofman was finally able to get a yes from Bill Knobloch over at Discovery Automotive in California. After sending his classic Gulf baby blue and orange heritage liveried Ford to California to have these modifications made right before a Ford GT rally event, Hofman was later asked by Knobloch for a copy of his insurance car as he was about to take the car for a "get to know each other" drive. Later, Hofman received an email from Knobloch stating that he had been in a minor accident while he was "driving like a little old lady." Oh yeah. Hit the jump for the rest of the story. Full story Successor for the Ford GT in the works?
Yesterday we reported that Matech had brought two Ford GTs to the LeMans and had also prepared a documentary covering the whole comeback. Today, rumors are circulating that Ford is preparing another version of the sports car. Coincidence? We think not. In fact, we think it’s more a strategy than anything else. What better way to to bring back an oldie but goodie than to throw it into a race in which the car succeeded many years prior? The original Ford GT was quite impressive with its 5.4L V8 engine producing 550hp and 680Nm of torque. It made the 0-60mph sprint in 3.3 seconds and hit a top speed of 205mph. With only 4,000 units produced from 2005 to 2006, it was only a matter of time before Ford would try to cash in on an old model, and we think it’s fantastic! Rumors suggest that the new GT will not be a traditional-power model. Instead, Ford will bring forth a highly fuel-efficient, or electric, low-/no-emissions "green" model. This may have been inspired by the huge success being raked in by the recently unveiled electric sports cars, such as the Porsche 918 Spyder and the SLS E-Cell. And, right about now, Ford needs a big moneymaker to compete with all of the vehicles coming out of the brands overseas. Along with the electric GT, Ford is also preparing an electric version of the Ford Focus, set to be unveiled in late 2011. Matech releases trailer of movie starring the Ford GT in Le MansBack in the 60’s, the Ford GT enjoyed unprecedented success at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, winning the overall title four times between 1966-1969. Oddly enough, after dominating Le Mans for four successive years, the Ford GT fell off the racing grid, inconspicuously absent from the famous endurance race for 41 years. That is, of course, until now. Matech went to this year’s Le Mans race fielding two Ford GTs, the first time since 1969 that a Ford GT participated in the endurance race. Despite both cars failing to see the checkered flag, their return to Le Mans still proved to be relatively successful after the two GTs, neophytes that they are, fared better and far more impressively than most of the competition And the best part of the whole experience is that Matech was there for the entire weekend to document the return of the Ford GT to Le Mans for a movie that’s being called “Reborn”. Check out the trailer of the video and tell us that you’re not getting all pumped up to see the feature-length. Video: Heffner Ford GT blows standing mile record with top speed of 266.93 mphAfter posting a pass of 249.7 mph - with 26 pounds of boost - at the Texas Mile a few weeks ago, the very same yellow Ford GT clocked a pass of 266.93 mph - with 41 pounds of boost - in Miami over the weekend. Whether or not the added boost in the car that ran in Miami contributed greatly to the higher top speed has been the point of contention regarding the Ford GT’s new record. But regardless of what’s underneath the hood of the car, you can’t help but try picking your jaws up from the gravel after watching the car do its magic. Whether its 249 or 266, that banana-colored machine has some serious power under its hood. Video: 1400 HP Ford GT becomes world’s fastest car in the standing mileDespite living in a time where world records seem to fall by the wayside faster than a New York minute, people still try to make their mark on history, working as hard as they can to be called world-record holders. This time, it was Performance Power Racing that tried to enter the record books for the world’s fastest car in the standing mile. After a series of trial runs - and some bumps and bruises along the way, Performance Power Racing finally broke through with their 1,400 horsepower Ford GT, which posted a top speed of 253.97 mph. Congratulations to PPR for a job well done! Ford GT crashes into a median along I-71 in Ohio
There goes $150,000. That car you’re looking at is a Ford GT, or at least it was one before it ended up crashing into a median along the northbound I-71 in Ohio just past the Smith Edwards Road exit. According to police reports surrounding the crash, the driver of the GT was cited for what they’re calling “failure to control the vehicle”. We don’t know what kind of punishment that’s going to come with but the good news is that the driver and his female companion didn’t sustain any serious injuries although the lady friend had to be treated for a few scrapes and bruises. We’re glad to hear that those two managed to survive a pretty big crash but we’re equally distressed looking at that Ford GT get reduced to pretty much a twisted piece of heap. Ford GT by Matech Competition
Back in the early 1960’s Bill Ford wanted to go racing at Le Mans to settle a score with Enzo Ferrari after the Italian racer suddenly backed out of a deal where the FoMoCo would absorb the Scuderia, and with it all of their competition cars. Thus is the story if the legendary Ford GT-40, which eventually won the historic race twice around the clock four times in a row from 1966 to 1969, dethroning the Italian stallion and making names for driving greats like Dan Gurney, A.J. Foyt, Pedro Rodríguez and Jacky Ickx. A modern day interpretation of the iconic Ford GT will once again represent the Blue Oval at 2010 running of the 24 hours of Le Mans thanks to the Matech Competition team. "This is great recognition for the whole team who have worked very hard on this Ford GT1 project. That our car has been considered for this 78th edition exceeds our wildest dreams. The 24 Hours of Le Mans are as much a legend as Ford’s adventure at Le Mans. Now we need to prove that both the team and the car are ready for the unique challenge that is Le Mans. We are equally pleased that our customer team, MarcVDS Racing, has also received an invitation to the race, and we look forward to providing them with our support as we do in the GT1 World Championship." While a four-peat may be difficult to do in the 21st century, the Matech Ford GT will definitely have history on its side when the green flag drops at the Circuit de la Sarthe this June. Video after the jump. Full story Video: Ferrari F430 Spider and Ford GT engage in revving duelYou’re going to have to excuse those people who think that the sounds of revving engines are nothing more than just noise. It’s not their fault that they can’t appreciate what we consider as music to our ears. After all, musical taste is subjective and for us car enthusiasts, the sound of a roaring engine is enough to put us on a catatonic state of euphoria. Take these two videos for example. The folks over at iCar decided to take two pretty powerful cars for a nice and friendly revving duel. On one video, we have a Heffner Performance-powered Ford GT and on the other corner...err...video...we have a Ferrari F430 Spider. Check both videos out and see which machine gives you more goosebumps. Ferrari F430 video after the jump Full story | Find us on Facebook | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|