It was in France, in the mid-1960s, that the great American supercar came to life. A low-slung, muscular racing car built to win on the legendary Le Mans race circuit, the Ford GT project was spearheaded by no less a powerhouse than company Chairman and CEO Henry Ford II. His goal was to change performance car history. And he did. The Ford GT race car beat the world's best in endurance racing, placing 1-2-3 at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1966 and winning the next three consecutive years.
Today, the all-new 2005 Ford GT supercar comes to life in the form of three production road cars that honor the classic race cars in design and engineering ingenuity. Ford's "Centennial Supercar" builds on the company's product-led transformation and will be the flagship of Ford Division's 2004 "Year of the Car" that will include the launches of the Ford Five Hundred sedan, Freestyle crossover and legendary Mustang - and then the Ford Futura mid-size sedan in 2005.
"The Ford GT is our Centennial Supercar because it reaches into great moments from our past, while casting a light into the future," said Chris Theodore, vice president, Ford Advance Product Creation. "As we celebrate our centennial, the Ford GT represents many of the technologies, processes and people that will help drive our next 100 years."
Ford's GT40 concept car was created to celebrate that great era in history and look forward to the great years to come. Unveiled at the 2002 North American International Auto Show, the GT40 concept became an instant sensation. And just 45 days after the vehicle was unveiled, Ford stunned the world again, officially announcing that a production version was in the works.
"The Ford GT is the ultimate Living Legend," explains J Mays, Ford vice president of design. "It's a true supercar with appeal equal to that of the greatest sports cars in the world but with the addition of a heritage no one can match. Essential elements of the original - including the stunning low profile and mid-mounted American V-8 engine - continue in this latest interpretation of the classic."
Although the new production car and the original race car both share the mystique of the Ford GT name, they do not share a single dimension. The new car is more than 18 inches longer and stands nearly 4 inches taller. Its new lines draw upon and refine the best features of Ford GT history and express the car's identity through modern proportion and surface development.
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