It’s been ten years since the Ford GT super car went on sale. And it’s been just about the same amount of time since they stopped selling them, since production was cut in 2005 after just over 4,000 of them had been made. The GT was made as a kind of heritage gift for Ford’s centennial celebration, and it made sense to use the car that Henry Ford II personally commissioned out of rage that was used to beat Ferrari on world circuits as the inspiration.
Now, there is a typhoon of rumors flying around Dearborn that Ford has something up their sleeve, since it’s close to the 50th anniversary of the 1966 1-2-3 finish for the GT40 at LeMans. Given the recent turmoil at Ferrari, that would be a twisted knife and a little salt added for taste, just the way Ford would have it. Here’s the clues that show something serious is going on:
1. A GTE-spec Mustang was in the works for some time, that was supposed to be run by Dan Gurney’s All American Racers, but that plan has since been nixed. With the Mustang’s 50th anniversary upon us and the new generation’s debut occurring, axing a pro-Mustang race program is something to take note of.
2. Discussions have been flying about Ford returning to LeMans racing with a P2 engine program. Ford Racing’s Jaime Allison has spoken positively about domestic and global engine supply, but after that Allison is tending to take the “neither confirm nor deny” route when questioned. Hmm. There are a couple of teams, like Ganassi Racing, that could take on that kind of program easily, so if Ford has a chassis or even a whole car ready…
3. Ford has been meeting with GTE constructors over the 2016 rules for competition and builds. If Ford was really just providing an engine and support to teams, one would think that they would leave the meetings to the teams, wouldn’t they? When asked flat-out about a Ford GT project for the 24 Hours of LeMans, Allison danced around the issue with the grace and poise of a senator under investigation. Denial works better than veils, and if it isn’t a no, there’s a chance there is a yes involved.
Pay close attention to Ford Racing next year. Either by P2 or a reincarnated GT, this will be interesting.
Lets hope this rumor is true ! In my opinion Ford killing off the GT in 2007 was a major mistake and poor timing because ;
Fact is .. the GT continued winning races in all the Euro GT series in privateers hands well after Ford ceased production and support/development of the cars
Fact is the GT was better than anything the Euro’s could come up with at the time
Fact is .. its still a viable competitor for the likes of the 458 – MP4/12C – Gallarado – R8 – that pathetic excuse of a Vette C7 – and even the Porsche GT2 despite being 7 years out of date
Fact is .. the GT is still somewhat competitive in the Euro GT series despite zero development / factory support
So given an engine tweak here .. a suspension upgrade there – a flappy paddle shifty thingy to keep the rubes and pundits happy – a little bit of smoothing over of the aerodynamics and ..
All bets are the ‘ new ‘ GT will be having all its competitors for lunch … on the road as well as on the track !
Kick some ____ Ford ! Show the General what a Buck Private he’s become – Teach FCA a lesson or two about American ingenuity – give the Germans and the Japanese a reminder as to why we won the war(s)
Here’s hoping Ford actually follow thru on this !