Reborn to Run: 2005 Ford GT
On the track, the GT's acceleration is awe-inspiring; few--if any--sports cars in the world will be able to outgun it. With a target curb weight of roughly 3300 pounds, six well-spaced gear ratios, and the traction provided by its mid-engine layout (traction control won't be offered), the GT should be able to sprint from 0 to 60 mph in a scalding 3.7 seconds or even less--quicker than the Viper. True to its Le Mans heritage, the GT will have serious legs, too: Top speed should approach 200 miles per hour.
The GT engine is as flexible as a Cirque du Soleil performer, happily pulling hard from low revs and charging to its 6500-rpm redline with a smooth bellow. Maybe too smooth: Though it sounds racy when wound out on the racetrack, during more sedate driving the GT's V-8 is short on aural entertainment (an act the Ferrari 360 performs to perfection). "The production car will have a little more sizzle in its exhaust," says Chris Theodore, vice president of advance product creation and one of the originators of the GT project.
Underbody tunnels help eliminate aerodynamic lift.
The GT's Ricardo-sourced six-speed feels reassuringly solid at full tilt on the track, but around town it's a bit clunky. Hannemann promises further refinements to the linkage before production. The twin-plate clutch handles all 500 pound-feet of torque with surprisingly light pedal effort--in fact, it's almost too light. The clutch disengages so quickly it often catches your right foot still on the throttle, causing a brief blip of revs during upshifts. Again, Hannemann says that's on the list of planned adjustments.
No improvements are needed for the steering; it's spectacular. Positive on-center feel, quick off-center responsiveness, excellent feedback, effort just slightly on the light side--it's a treat to conduct the GT with such a fine baton. And, man, does the GT follow your lead. The wide stance, beefy Goodyear F1 Eagles (18 inches up front, 19 in back), and all-aluminum double-wishbone suspension combine to deliver an astounding hold on the earth. We won't make any final pronouncements until we receive a production car for testing, but based on our track drive we'd say the GT should deliver more than 1.0 g of cornering grip. The GT is benign and predictable at its handling limits, too--it slides progressively if pushed to do so and generally is much easier to drive hard than the Ferrari 360 (which was also on hand for back-to-back comparisons). Even in high-g turns, the GT powers through with commendably little body roll.
The brakes will splatter your eyeballs on the windshield. All four corners wear monstrous Brembo cross-drilled and vented discs with four-piston calipers; a four-channel anti-lock system is also standard. Not once during our track drives did the binders even hint of fade.
The mid-mounted V-8 (top) breathes supercharged air to deliver 500 horsepower. Aluminum sculpture: a rear-suspension support (left).
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