The Ford GT is an American mid-engined supercar. The first concept of the future model called GT90 was shown at the 1995 Detroit Motor Show.
In 2003, Ford demonstrated three working prototypes to coincide with the company's 100th anniversary. Serial production of the Ford GT started in the fall of 2004.
The exterior of the new Ford GT was inspired by the classic GT40 from the sixties. Camilo Pardo, the lead designer of the project, was very careful with the original image of the old GT and made only minor corrections.
Design and technical side of the project
The Ford GT of today has gotten bigger. It is slightly wider, longer and 76mm taller than its predecessor. The overall length of the novelty is 4,640 mm (the size of the wheelbase is 2,710), the width is 1,950, and the height is 1,130.
At the same time, the proportions and outlines of the body of the Ford GT remained recognizable to fans of the Ford brand. Not everyone could immediately distinguish the new GT from the old GT40. On the other hand, in a constructive sense, the novelty has gone far from its historical predecessor.
Double body Ford GT is made of modern composite materials. And the space frame with a large central tunnel, in which Ford engineers hid the gas tank, is made of aluminum.
The new car received a racing independent suspension with special push rods (as on F1 cars), horizontal shock absorbers and springs.
At the same time, in the design of the Ford GT, a number of technical solutions were borrowed from ordinary cars. For example, the steering column came from the Ford Focus, and the airbags from the Mondeo model.
About the engine and gearbox
The key element of the new Ford GT is its powerful and high-torque engine. The coupe is powered by a 5.4-liter supercharged V8 that produces 550 “horses” and a maximum torque of 680 Nm, which is transmitted to the wheels of the rear axle through a 6-speed manual transmission.
In places up to hundreds of Ford GT accelerates in 3.9 seconds, and the top speed reaches 346 km / h. True, on commercial vehicles a limiter is set at around 330 kilometers per hour.
Modern interior with hints of nostalgia
The interior of the car turned out to match the magnificent exterior and solid technical “stuffing”. On the massive dashboard of the Ford GT, there is a large speedometer with an equally large tachometer, as well as four arrow indicators.
On the central tunnel, not far from the driver's seat, there was a free place for a fire extinguisher, which is a direct reference to the GT40. Also in the cabin of the Ford GT are hard perforated sports seats, climate control and a high-quality audio system.
Interesting fact
The first lucky person to receive a modern version of the Ford GT was John Sherley, a top manager at Microsoft. For his dark blue "handsome" he had to pay more than 557 thousand dollars at auction.
However, a few early examples of the model sold for $100,000, although the Ford GT had a base price of $139,995 in the US (up from $149,995 on July 1, 2005).
In total, there were 4,038 copies of the Ford GT released, although it was originally planned to assemble 4,500 cars. The production of the model was completely discontinued on May 31, 2007.
In Russia, single copies of the Ford GT are sold for 7-7.5 million rubles.
Ford GT 1000
The tuners of the famous American studio Hennessey built a tuning version of the Ford GT supercar, which received the prefix 1000 to the name, meaning the power of the upgraded 5.4-liter engine.
The motor was equipped with two turbines, a modified fuel system and a stainless steel exhaust. As a result, the Ford GT 1000 accelerates from standstill to hundreds in 2.8 seconds, and its official top speed is 390 km/h.
However, at the Texas Mile event in 2012, such a Ford GT 1000 was able to accelerate to an impressive 423.7 kilometers per hour.
Today - a ba-a-shoy story about a car with a great, long and happy fate.
The Americans regularly tried to enter their cars in European races. As a rule, such attempts ended mediocre and quickly curtailed. Even more so - America and Europe automobile in the 50-60s lived on different planets: huge and clumsy American cars were delivered to Europe in scanty quantities, and, accordingly, there was little advertising return from European races. Moreover, after the Second War, the Americans felt like the masters of the world (well ... almost. For in this they were greatly hindered by the country that won that war - a huge and terrible Russian bear with a balalaika). So they turned up their noses, considering the whole world, except for themselves, as second-class people. All the Big Three had their own productions in Europe, but only Ford worked under its own brand (already since 1904! And now: if not for European factories, but for models - their American "daddy" recently covered himself with a copper basin), the rest bashfully covered themselves with fig leaves of local stamps. At GM, these were Vauxhall in England and Opel in Germany, Chrysler was "friends" with the French Simca ... These departments did not bring great profits, and therefore the overseas owners treated them rather indifferently: how in the mid-seventies the oil crisis hit - chose to either shed the burden or follow in Ford's footsteps by launching a "global model". Ford, back in the mid-sixties, began the unification of the lineup of all its overseas divisions. Prior to that, "English" "Fords" and "German" had little in common.
In the early 1960s, Ford decided to rejuvenate the company's image. The best way was chosen to participate and win in motor racing in general and in the 24-hour race at Le Mans in particular.
Under a gentlemen's agreement between the three American auto giants, they all refused to participate in motorsport, and Ford, of course, had no experience in this matter. But there were funds.
In the early sixties, the then president of Ford, by a strange coincidence, was also called by the same name as the company. Maybe because the grandson of the old Henry Ford?)) Henry Ford Number Two burned with a passionate love for European racing. And he decided to buy (a purely American mentality: "buy ready-made, and do not create your own") from Enzo Ferrari a company named after this same Ferrari. If you buy - so the best: Ferrari then had no equal on the racetracks of both the Old World and the New. Commendatore also showed mutual interest, but in May 1963, when the companies were a few steps away from signing the contract, when all the details, down to new logos, had already been agreed, Ferrari backed off. Being a man of pride, he did not want "anyone to poke his American nose into his work on his masterpieces." Enzo of course wanted to remain the full master of his company's sports division and was outraged when he found out he wouldn't be allowed to race in the Indianapolis 500, for that matter.
Henry Ford flew into a rage. Moreover, the company spent several million dollars on the process of negotiations and studying the assets of Ferrari, one of the official reasons for the refusal was the insufficient amount offered by the Americans. More precisely, Ferrari lacked another five million from Ford. "That's not how things are done," said the true businessman Ford, determined to teach the Italian a lesson in good manners.
Yes, not just a lesson, but a public flogging, punishing him not just anywhere, but in the 24-hour Le Mans race itself, where Ferrari have always been considered unconditional favorites. The Americans began to look for a firm, preferably a European one, that would have a sufficiently rich experience of performing at the highest level.
Ferrari breaks the deal, and Henry Ford II, in anger, sends his racing division in search of a company that can fool Ferrari around the finger in the world of endurance racing.
In fact, Ford had already partnered with Carroll Shelby and his AC Cars company on the production of the Cobra sports car, but in the end it was not Ford's strategic plan to share momentary success with Shelby. In 1963, the decision was made to build a mid-engined two-seater coupe, which, unlike the Cobra, was capable of winning absolute victories.
Negotiations begin with John Cooper, who headed the company of the same name, with Colin Chapman, the owner of Lotus, and Eric Broadley, who owned the company Lola. All three were distinguished by the fact that they were not only the owners of their companies, but also were the leading designers in them. Cooper never built serious sports prototypes - only dead and small, albeit nimble cars, therefore they refused his services. Lotus was already a partner of Ford in the Indy 500 project. Chapman politely sent the Fords (although not as rudely as Enzo Ferrari shortly before), asking for a deliberately exorbitant price. Yes, and he was not going to change the name, saying that if the car created by Lotus, then it will also be called Lotus. But Broadley agreed to "privately" help the Americans. Moreover, he already had a practically finished prototype with a Ford V-8 - a mid-engined Lola Mk 6, which showed itself quite well in Le Mans 1963. 
The agreement with Eric Broadley included a one-year collaboration and the sale of two Lola Mk 6 chassis. Ford also hired ex-Aston Martin team manager John Wyer to the development team. Ford Motor Co. engineer Roy Lunn was sent to England; he designed the mid-engined Mustang Roadster Concept Car, aka the Mustang I, with a 1.7L V4 engine. Despite the Mustang I's small engine, Lunn was the only Dearborn engineer with little experience in mid-engined cars. They immediately established a new company, Ford Advanced Vehicles (FAV), which was entrusted with the development and production of cars. Broadley headed the design bureau, the Englishman Len Bailey was assigned the chassis, and John Wyer became the team's sports manager.
The first chassis appeared on March 16, 1964. The first "Ford GT", the GT/101, was introduced in England on April 1 and shown in New York soon after. Bailey strictly repeated the design of the Lola Mk 6 chassis, with the only difference being that aluminum was replaced with steel for greater strength. Broadley was dissatisfied with the increased mass, but Ford considered this measure necessary in order to reliably carry the heavy and powerful engines proposed for the new car. The all-aluminum, dry-sump Ford Fairlane powertrain also migrated from the Lola. According to the good old American tradition, this V8 had a single camshaft in the head of the block. It was decided to use it until a two-shaft engine was prepared. Fairlane with a working volume of 4.2 liters developed a modest 350 hp. With. Aggregated with a 4-speed Colotti gearbox. The most powerful computers were used to develop independent suspension. The body was made of fiberglass, and the doorway, for the convenience of landing in the cab, also grabs part of the roof. The same power plant was used in the single-seat Lotus 29. The car was given a new name - the Ford GT40. One could guess a lot why this figure came from, but in reality everything turned out to be elementary - 40 meant the height of the car in inches (only 1016 millimeters!). The first two Ford GTs were ready on time for test runs at Le Mans in April 1964. But it was a tough day for Ford when one car crashed on the Mulsanne straight and the other was badly damaged. The body created too much lift, and at high speed the car tried to take off. Another problem found in tests is engine overheating. In England, the Lola changed the shape of the nose of the car and solved the problem of overheating, but the modified cars still showed low reliability and none of the three Ford GT40s that started the race made it to the finish line. Part of the gatherings were written off to the Colotti box, and it was quickly replaced with a 5-speed ZF. The weakness of the Fairlane engines also took its toll, giving way to the bulkier 4.7-liter cast-iron V8s that Shelby fitted to his Cobras. They were more powerful and high-torque and were only slightly heavier. 
1964-65 went to work out the design. The car was fast, but it lacked reliability: so at Le Mans 64 all three cars got off, although the crew of Richie Ginter and Masten Gregory led to the first pit stop. In February 1965, Ken Miles and Lloyd Rabi led the GT40 to victory in Dayton.
Ford approached the next stage much more responsibly. Carol Shelby himself was appointed head of the team, and the changes were not long in coming. The first thing he did was increase the engine capacity from 4.2 liters to an impressive 7 liters. In addition, reliability issues have been fixed.
The time of glory came to the car in 1966, only three years after entering the GT major league. It all started with the triumph of the 24 Hours of Daytona, where the Ford GT40 completely occupied the prize podium. Then came the 12-hour Sebring, ending with the already predictable trio of Fords on the podium. 
GT40 Mk II won the 24 Hours of Daytona in 1966 driven by Ken Miles and Lloyd Rabi
The crown of triumph was the long-awaited Le Mans. The race started on Saturday afternoon, and by sundown, a few hours later, the Ford GT40s were out of reach, even for Ferrari. By dawn the next day, the breakaway was so humiliating that orders were issued from the pits to slow down for safety reasons. Luckily for the team, all three cars made it to the finish line safe and sound, marking the phenomenal success of the Ford GT40.
According to the rules of competition in the GT class, it was assumed that 100 copies of the GT40 should be produced. Of this hundred, 31 vehicles have been adapted for use on public roads. Later, in the late 60s, Ford released a number of "civilian" Mark IIIs with derated up to 310 hp. With. engines (they can be distinguished by four headlights)
The first version was called Mk I - this is the original Ford GT40. Early prototypes were equipped with 4.2 L (260 cu in) engines; production examples had the 4.7 L (289 cu in) also used in the Ford Mustang. 
Behind this picture - just the same Ferrari and Porsche - the era is leaving and the era is coming.
Ford GT40 (MkI)" 1966
Several prototypes had a roadster body. Very handsome, by the way. 
The Mk II used a 7.0 L (427 cd) Ford Galaxie engine redesigned by Holman Moody. 
The Mk III was a road version with a 4.7L engine, an enlarged trunk (there was now room for not one toothbrush, but two!), "loose" suspension and a steering wheel on the left. Only seven of these machines were made. The most famous Mk III is the GT40 M3 1105, a blue car delivered in 1968 to Austria for Herbert von Karajan. Customers did not like the road version - most preferred to buy a "combat" Mk I, a little "combed" for public roads. 
Ford GT40 (MkIII)" 1967–69
They tried to solve problems with aerodynamics by developing a new body, reminiscent of the Ferrari 250 GT "Breadvan" "1962, called the J-car. 
Alas, Ken Miles died during the tests of this car, two months before that, by a strong-willed decision, he gave victory in the coveted Le Mans to teammate Bruce McLaren.
By 1967, in response to accusations of building an "English car for American money", the company had prepared an almost completely redesigned body, the development of the "J-car", designated Mk IV, providing pilots with an aluminum monocoque made using the latest technology. However, Ferrari also did not sit still. The new modification gave the GT40 a real fight, but in the end, Ford were able to snatch victory, overtaking second place Ferrari by four laps. The Mk IV was entirely developed in the US, and Ford proved that it no longer needed European help to win at Le Mans. Of course, this car simply would not exist if the Europeans had not been working on this project for four years.
Setting a new lap record, Dan Gurney and A. J. Voith Mk IV averaged 218 km/h in a 24-hour period to win Ford's second Le Mans victory. The Mk IV only started two races (Sebring 1967 and Le Mans 1967) but won both.
1967 Le Mans race Carroll Shelby with his GT Mk IV winning car.
Ford GT40 (MkIV)" 1967
Having realized it, the FIA changed the regulations, cutting the maximum engine capacity in Le Mans to 5 liters, but this did not save Ferrari! The Ford GT40 achieved another triumph in 1968. As for 1969, this season was one of the most exciting in the history of racing. The gap between first and second place was only two seconds. And this is after 24 hours of a grueling marathon! The Ford GT40 was the winner for the fourth time in a row. Its power by that time reached 425 “horses”, and the maximum speed on the Mulsanne straight was 349 km / h.
Changes in the regulations that followed soon excluded the participation of the Mk IV in competitions (although it could be improved). One way or another, their racing program for 1968 and 1969. Ford assigned the Gulf Oil team, led by John Ware. He used modified versions of the original GT40s with V8 engines bored out to 5 liters.
Through his efforts, in 1968, Ford gets its third Le Mans victory, won by drivers Pedro Rodriguez and Lucien Bianchi in a GT40 in Gulf livery.
Two Ford GT40s from Team Gulf at Le Mans, 1968.
Surprisingly, the same car (GT40P chassis serial number 1075) won Le Mans the following year, 1969. This time the pilots were Jacques X and Jackie Oliver. In this second year, the car showed an average speed of 208.2 km / h and covered 4999 km in 24 hours.
Ford GT40 is a car with a happy fate: after the end of the most successful sports career, the car became a cult one - its copies of varying degrees of authenticity are still being built by two dozen firms around the world - from Australia to Canada and South Africa. Ford itself paid tribute to its supercar by presenting a modern interpretation of the great car in 2002. The Ford GT40 has become one of the most successful sports cars in the history of world motorsport, and therefore already in 1995, Ford management began to consider the prospects for a second generation of this car. First came the concept of the Ford GT90, and in 2001 it was decided to start developing a rear-engined Ford GT sports car, the first prototype of which was ready a year later. And in 2003, for the 100th anniversary of Ford, three pre-production copies of the Ford GT were made.
As with the Ford GT40, its successor was also a product of US-British cooperation. The six-speed manual gearbox was developed by the English company Ricardo, Lotus Cars engineers took an active part in setting up the chassis, the engine was a 5.4-liter compressor eight with a capacity of 550 hp. (678 N m), hand-assembled by the masters of Roush, the final assembly of the chassis, body, wheels and wiring was carried out by the Saleen tuning studio, and the car was completely brought to mind at the Ford plant in the city of Wyksom. Serial production of the Ford GT started in June 2004 - nine sports cars were produced per day. The car exchanged the first hundred in 3.8 seconds and had a top speed of 330 km/h (electronically limited). But the Ford GT could also go faster - for example, at the Nardo test site, it accelerated to 340.93 km / h.
In two years, 4,038 Ford GTs were produced, most of which were sold in North America, while only 101 cars made it to Europe. Is this not the best recognition of the merits of the car!? The first and so far the only case when the revived model does not cause me traditional rejection and grumbling, they say - earlier I got up from one thought, and now you can’t even lift the “fake” with a crane and “cannot be compared with the original”. Sometimes I even get lost: which one do you like better? - the new GT, having retained the excellent shape of the first, has become a little larger, much more comfortable and safer. And just as fast. 
Ford GT" 2004–06
In preparing the post, materials were used from the sites topcar-auto.ru, drive2.ru, auto.mail.ru, academic.ru, autowp.ru
What are the fastest, legendary supercars, cars that have made a huge contribution to history? Most will immediately think of Ferrari, the Italian cars were unbeatable at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, and this fact haunted Ford. The son of the founder of the company, Ford, wanted to get an Italian company so that the victories at Le Mans would be praised first of all. The American offered Enzo Ferrari $ 18 million, but it seems that the offer was not very interesting for Enzo, then Ford decided, no matter what, to “beat” Ferrari by 
races in Le Mans, the competition there lasts the whole day, so not only speed is important, but also the reliability of the car. The car that was destined to become a legend was named GT40, GT means Gran Turismo, and the number 40 indicates the height of the body in inches. In the year of its debut - 1965, the American car won the 2000 km race at Daytona, a year later the Americans entered their GT40 at Le Mans and won, the GT40 won the Le Mans gold four years in a row - that's why this car is so many 
it means for Ford that the car not only won, but also wiped Ferrari's nose, very few are capable of this.
The concept successor to the Ford GT40 was first shown back in 1995 in Detroit - it was a GT90 concept sports car, and in 2003 Ford prepared three pre-production supercars for testing, one year later production of the new Ford GT40 began. 
Microsoft top manager John Charley was the first to buy the GT40, the price of the first Ford GT40 was $560,000. Super Ford was assembled for three years, during which time 4038 cars were created. American tuning companies have often improved the already high dynamic performance of the car. So the Hennesey company, by installing two turbines, brought the power of the car to 1100hp, they called their product GT1000. GT 1000 gains one hundred kilometers per hour in 2.8s, the maximum speed of the GT1000 according to official data is 390 kilometers per hour, but according to the results of measurements by Hennesey itself, the maximum speed of the GT1000 is 423 km. Do you know what is the most 
The fastest road car is precisely the Ford GT40 prepared by the tuning company Performance Power Racing, the G-T40 under the control of the PWR owner gained speed of 456 kilometers per hour! We emphasize that this speed was developed at a distance of 1 mile, for example, in order for the Bugatti to gain its maximum speed, a segment of 10 km long will be needed. Performance Power Racing's turbocharged GT40 delivers 1,700 horsepower.
Ford GT40 Exterior Review
When developing the appearance of the new Ford GT40, it was necessary to preserve the family features of the model, the chief designer of FORD - Katilo Pardo paid great attention to this. 
Some even confuse the old and new GTI40 with each other, you can judge the work done on the design of the GT40 by the photo inserted in this Ford GT40 review. The body of the new car has become 76mm higher, you can see the dimensions of the Ford GT40 below, in the block - Technical Component. The wheelbase has been increased by 30mm, and the doors partly perform the function of the roof - pay attention to the photo. The front wheels are fitted with 245/45 R18 tires, the rear wheels are 315/40 R19.
Salon and Equipment Ford
The Ford GT 40 is a Spartan car; it resembles with its low level of equipment. 
It is noteworthy that the airbags used in the Ford GT40 were borrowed from, and the steering column switches and steering column were taken from. The seats can only be adjusted in length (longitudinal cushion adjustment) and the backrest angle can also be adjusted. Ford seats have fairly large air vents. The basic Ford equipment has air conditioning, but there are not even electric windows. The Ford engine starts in an interesting way, it’s not enough just to press the button or turn the key. To start the engine on the GT40, the first step is to turn the ignition key, then press the special button under the driver's seat, and only then, after depressing the clutch and brake, press the Start Engine button.
Technical component, Specifications Ford GT40
The Ford GT40 differs from most modern super-fast supercars in the almost complete absence of electronics, of the electronic driving assistance systems in Ford, there is only ABS, there are no stability control systems and traction control!
The Ford GT40 engine has a central engine layout, which gives it an advantage in weight distribution and optimization of weight distribution over such famous and worthy supercars as.
The 5.4-liter V8 engine is equipped with a mechanical boost - a compressor that blows into the cylinders at a pressure of 0.7 bar. The power of the FORD V8 is 550hp, the torque is 680N.M. Gearbox - mechanical six-speed, rear-wheel drive. Once again, we remind you that there are no electronics! Ford gains 200 kilometers per hour in 10.8s, 300km in 33.6s, a distance of 402m lends itself to GT40 in 11.2s, exit speed is 211km. The Ford GT40 travels a mile in 29.9s, with an exit speed of 276km.
Let's take a closer look at the technical characteristics of the Ford GT40.
Specifications:
Powerplant: V8 5.4 supercharged
Volume:5409cc
Power: 550hp
Torque: 680N.m
Total number of valves: 32v
Performance indicators:
Acceleration 0 -100km:3.9s
Top speed: 346km
Combined fuel consumption: 16.2l
Fuel tank capacity:57L
Dimensions:4645mm*1955mm*1125mm
Wheelbase:2710mm
Curb weight:1580kg
Ground clearance (clearance): 127mm
The front axle of the GT40 accounts for 43% of the mass, the remaining 57% put pressure on the rear wheels.
Price
In 2005 in the US, the price of a Ford GT40 was $150,000. The market for used GT40s in the CIS is practically non-existent, and therefore, and because the car has outstanding performance, the price of the GT40 is very high.
For the vast majority of speed fans, a car like the Ford GT40 is not affordable, street racers choose and.
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Ford Probe 1988 - 1992 - overview and specifications
