New Ford GT on the cards for 2016 – report
Ford is reportedly working on a new mid-engine Ford GT supercar to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the GT40's victory at Le Mans.
Back in 1966, Ford launched an audacious assault on the 24 Hours of Le Mans race after being jilted by Ferrari in takeover negotiations. The GT40 won at its first attempt and also in following three years.
Unnamed sources have told Motor Trend that the company is planning a mid-engine supercar, which will be launched in 2016, as a follow-up to both 2004's retro GT (above) and the original GT40. The, as yet unnamed vehicle, is apparently being developed by a skunkworks team in France.
The new GT will be available for both road and track, but it's not clear at the moment what will power the new super Ford.
One candidate is the company's 3.5-litre twin-turbo EcoBoost V6. In the Ford Taurus SHO, this engine generates 272kW of power and 475Nm of torque. A racing version of this motor, with around 450kW, powered the car that won this year's 12 Hours of Sebring race.
This engine, the magazine speculates, is most likely to end up in the race car that brings Ford back to Le Mans. Unlike the original GT40, the new GT will not be competing for outright honours in the highest class. Instead it will be slotted in the LM GTE Pro division with the likes of the Aston Martin V8 Vantage GT2, Corvette C7.R, Ferrari 458 GT2 and Porsche 911 RSR.
As for road, it's possible that the EcoBoost V6 could be used, but a V8 engine may be employed instead because it just, well, seems more appropriate. Unfortunately a revival of the supercharged 5.4-litre V8 that powered the 2004 GT seems to be out of the question. In stock tune that engine developed 410kW of power and 678Nm of torque, although some tuners have turned the wick up all the way to 1490kW (2000hp).
If a V8 is deemed necessary, a version of Ford's Coyote V8 may be used.
Before you start ringing your bank to remortgage the house, the ship may have been scuttled before it even had the chance to sail. Another source told Motor Trend that the money initially set aside from the GT project has been reallocated to Ford's remaining luxury brand, Lincoln.
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