The Right Stuff

Ford Builds a Race Car for the Road

- Angus MacKenzie

Lights flicker across the top of the steering wheel as the exhaust note builds to a full-throated bellow. Green, red, blue ... shift now! Fingertips snick the right-hand paddle, a delicate, precise motion that barely interrupts the surge of acceleration. Corner! Left foot hard on the brakes, the carbon-ceramic rotors instantly turning forward motion into heat energy. Snick, snick on the left-hand paddle, a corresponding braap-braap from the engine as the dual-clutch transmission smoothly drops two gears. Now the magic happens.

The front tires respond the split second the steering wheel is moved off center. Left, right, left ... The low-slung coupe dances through the ess-bend with impossible speed. It’s light on its feet yet preternaturally calm, a prima ballerina in carbon fiber and aluminum. Squeeze the gas, feel the precise moment the rear tires reach the limit of adhesion, and slow hand opposite lock to maintain a gentle drift on the exit of the last left-hander. Such agility … such precision! The calm, concise, constant dialogue with the chassis through your fingers and toes and the seat of your pants: This is a supercar like no other. This is a Ford like no other.

That’s right. A Ford. The 2017 Ford GT is a remarkable car, not just for what it does but also for what it is.

Ford calls the GT “a race car for the road,” and for once that’s not marketing hype. The GT was born from a fierce desire among a small cadre of enthusiasts in Dearborn to race a car at Le Mans in 2016, and—hopefully—celebrate the 50th anniversary of Ford’s epic 1-2-3 finish in the legendry 24 Hour race with another victory over Ferrari, although this time in the GTE class for production cars.