Ford GT: Can The GT Take On Modern Competition?
evo India|June 2017

The Ford GT has waged a successful war against the motoring establishment on track, but the new road-going version faces a much tougher battle.

Steve Sutcliffe
Ford GT: Can The GT Take On Modern Competition?

It would be all too easy to introduce Ford’s new supercar with endless references to yesteryear, because we all know where the story for the Ford GT began… Henry Ford tries to buy a Ferrari with which to compete at Le Mans in the 1960s, Enzo rudely rebuffs him, Henry builds his own version of a Ferrari to do the job. It’s called the GT40 and with it he humbles Ferrari. The end.

Except there’s an intriguing new story doing the rounds about the birth of the latest Ford GT, and it only recently came to light at the car’s launch in the US. Initially Ford wasn’t going to build a new GT at all, it seems. Instead it wanted to return to Le Mans with a Mustang, and to then create a road car off the back of the racing project to market the Mustang globally.

For one whole year, it transpires, Ford tried and failed to come up with an über-racing Mustang to take on the 911s, Corvettes, Ferraris and Astons that compete at Le Mans each year. At the same time it tried to craft a roadgoing version to coincide with the Le Mans project to celebrate the company’s 50th anniversary of its victory at the famous 24-hour race.

And then something called Project Silver happened. After a year Ford reached the painful realisation that the car they’d been attempting to engineer had begun to bear no resemblance whatsoever to a road-going Mustang. Which meant the marketing would never work. So the idea of going back to Le Mans with a Mustang was canned and replaced with a top-secret skunk works project – Project Silver – to build an all-new GT to take endurance racing, plus a corresponding road car to go with it. And thus, at the end of 2013, the idea for an all new Ford GT was born.

Denne historien er fra June 2017-utgaven av evo India.

Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.

Denne historien er fra June 2017-utgaven av evo India.

Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.

FLERE HISTORIER FRA EVO INDIASe alt
evo India

FAST STEAD

This Skoda Octavia RS 230 is fast enough to blow your mind but not its engine

time-read
3 mins  |
August 2021
Ford Fusion
evo India

Ford Fusion

Practical, great engine and dynamics, but weird styling ensured buyers stayed well away

time-read
2 mins  |
August 2021
evo India

Mahindra Bolero Neo

Armed with an iconic badge, a fresh face and a mechanically locking differential, the Bolero Neo could just be the compact SUV you’ve been looking for

time-read
5 mins  |
August 2021
evo India

RISING FROM THE ASHES

The third generation Suzuki Hayabusa is one of the fastest production motorcycles in the world, and a bike that truly deserves to be ridden flat out at the High Speed Track at NATRAX

time-read
7 mins  |
August 2021
BIJOY KUMAR Y
evo India

BIJOY KUMAR Y

Bijoy is quite looking forward to what the recent space launches could mean

time-read
3 mins  |
August 2021
evo India

DOA: HSV HRT 427

This racing-inspired 7-litre Holden Monaro garnered more than enough interest for its limited production run to sell out. But sadly the sums didn’t add up

time-read
2 mins  |
August 2021
evo India

Mini Cooper S Convertible

Mini gives the Convertible a more modern front end, more technology on the inside and a very bright paint scheme

time-read
5 mins  |
August 2021
evo India

VW Taigun GT

Good news! With two GT variants, Volkswagen are set to make the 1.5 TSI motor even more accessible to us enthusiasts

time-read
8 mins  |
August 2021
THE DOCTOR CHECKS OUT
evo India

THE DOCTOR CHECKS OUT

As Rossi decides to hang up his boots after 26 seasons, we take a look back at his journey through MotoGP

time-read
2 mins  |
August 2021
“IF THE RATING IS DONE, NATRAX COULD BE ONE OF THE TOP THREE PROVING GROUNDS IN THE WORLD”
evo India

“IF THE RATING IS DONE, NATRAX COULD BE ONE OF THE TOP THREE PROVING GROUNDS IN THE WORLD”

Speaking to Dr N Karuppaiah, additional director and centre head, NATRAX

time-read
4 mins  |
August 2021