An on-track battle
For older people, we remember the battles between Ford and Ferrari in the 24 Hours of Le Mans, Daytona and the 12 Hours of Sebring. An American decided to beat the red cars of the commendatore Ferrari. From there, Carroll Shelby's famous Cobras and fabulous GT40s were born, the latter dominating endurance races. After a tryout year in 1964, the Fords
tried to distinguish themselves in 1965: alone, the Cobra Daytonas beat the Ferrari 250GTs. Although in prototypes, Ferrari saved its face with a victory from the private car of the NART team owned by Luigi Chinetti, a Ferrari importer.
The brilliant 1966 victory followed soon after, as well as the 1967 to 1969 triumphs. Ferrari having retired from endurance races in 1968, Porsche had became the adversary. The credit for the 1968 and 1969 victories go to John Wyer's team, who officially took over from Ford, with cars painted light blue and orange. They were the colours of the Gulf oil company, which was the main sponsor of the British team.
A replica worthy of the past
For many years now, Ford's engineers wanted to recreate a Ford GT40. In 2002, Bill Ford gave them the green light, in condition that it would have
to be ready for the family company's centennial birthday. It has been done. We'll call it a modern replica, so it's a civilized car.
While the GT and GT40 share the same form, their dimensions have changed. The new model is longer by 46 centimeters and about 10 cm higher. The GT crosses Ford's family resemblance to the racy lines of the past model. The car's hull is made of aluminium, and there are also a few carbon fibre elements. Its dimensions are more generous, which allow better ergonomics, but you always have to slide in and be careful not to bang your head on the tops of the doors that cut into the roof as you climb out.
Like other sports cars in its category, there are air scoops on the underbody of the car to increase downforce, and the integrated decklid spoiler is formed like a duck's tail. The GT has 18-inch wheels in front and 19-inch wheels in back to put power to pavement. Goodyear developed Eagle F1 tires specifically for the GT.
Limited headroom
The dashboard wraps around the driver. You have to look around a few times to spot where all the readouts are; only the tach is easy to find. Otherwise, you'll find air conditioning and a radio, but who cares about the latter in a car this entertaining? The ventilated seats are well profiled and assure good support and excellent comfort. However, visibility out back is very limited and requires much attention when passing. You have to get to know your car before cutting through urban traffic. As for the trunk, it's rather minimalist; a small soft bag for an overnighter...
For older people, we remember the battles between Ford and Ferrari in the 24 Hours of Le Mans, Daytona and the 12 Hours of Sebring. An American decided to beat the red cars of the commendatore Ferrari. From there, Carroll Shelby's famous Cobras and fabulous GT40s were born, the latter dominating endurance races. After a tryout year in 1964, the Fords
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The brilliant 1966 victory followed soon after, as well as the 1967 to 1969 triumphs. Ferrari having retired from endurance races in 1968, Porsche had became the adversary. The credit for the 1968 and 1969 victories go to John Wyer's team, who officially took over from Ford, with cars painted light blue and orange. They were the colours of the Gulf oil company, which was the main sponsor of the British team.
A replica worthy of the past
For many years now, Ford's engineers wanted to recreate a Ford GT40. In 2002, Bill Ford gave them the green light, in condition that it would have
 |
While the GT and GT40 share the same form, their dimensions have changed. The new model is longer by 46 centimeters and about 10 cm higher. The GT crosses Ford's family resemblance to the racy lines of the past model. The car's hull is made of aluminium, and there are also a few carbon fibre elements. Its dimensions are more generous, which allow better ergonomics, but you always have to slide in and be careful not to bang your head on the tops of the doors that cut into the roof as you climb out.
Like other sports cars in its category, there are air scoops on the underbody of the car to increase downforce, and the integrated decklid spoiler is formed like a duck's tail. The GT has 18-inch wheels in front and 19-inch wheels in back to put power to pavement. Goodyear developed Eagle F1 tires specifically for the GT.
Limited headroom
 |