Kamis, 13 Januari 2011

Is Ford Working On A New GT?

By Ray Wert

Is Ford Working On A New GT?

Is Ford Working On A New GT?Five years ago Ford killed the GT, the mid-engine two-seater 550 HP "halo" supercar inspired by the automaker's classic GT40 racers of the1960s. Now we're told they might be working on a successor. Is Ford building a new GT?

The Camilo Pardo-designed GT was Ford's first true attempt at competing with Chevrolet's Corvette — an aspirational "halo" car that could serve as a test bed for new technologies and engineering.

Is Ford Working On A New GT?And what a marvel it was. The GT featured some seriously trick tech and engineering including superplastic-formed aluminum body panels, roll-bonded floor panels, a friction stir welded center tunnel, a "ship-in-a-bottle" gas tank, a capless fuel filler system, one-piece door panels, and an aluminum engine cover with a one-piece carbon-fiber inner panel.

Sadly, the GT would see only a two year production run from 2005 to 2006.

But now former Jalopnik intern, Automobile magazine's Eric Tingwall, was told from Derrick Kuzak, Ford's head of Global Product Development, that he was unwilling to talk about whether or not the automaker's working on a successor to the low-volume GT halo car.

"Well I think there are certain things that we don't want to talk about in terms of four-year product plans, if that's okay," Kuzak carefully stated.

While that's clearly not a confirmation — it's not even close — it's also not a denial. The automaker clearly needs it. Since 2006, Ford's struggled with the question of what buyers can aspire to buy once the Ford and Lincoln brand have them in the dealership and happy with its products through multiple vehicle purchases.

Is Ford Working On A New GT?

Lincoln doesn't have anything with even a modicum of performance and it's hard to call the Mustang an "aspirational" car — even if tuners have proven there's a lot of performance capability in Ford's truck-axled muscle car.

So, is Ford working on a new GT? It'd be ridiculous to think that they're not at least examining the possibility of one. In fact, our bet from what our sources tell us? Think electric.

[via Automobile]

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