Ford has been toying with the prospect of recreating the GT40 legend almost since the original model went out of production in the late 1960s. The idea had several false starts throughout the 1990s, including the overly angular GT90 concept car. But just as with the original GT40, the current Ford GT comes from a desire to beat the world's best sports carmaker, Ferrari, at its own game.
During the 1960s, the game was winning the 24 Hours of Le Mans, and Henry Ford II wanted to prove that Ford could take on Ferrari at Le Mans and win. He succeeded in 1966 when the GT40 swept the podium, putting an end to Ferrari's domination of the world's most respected race circuit. The GT40 went on to win Le Mans in 1967, 1968 and 1969, forever establishing the car's -- and Ford's -- place in the annals of racing history. Fast-forward 40 years and we again see Ford attempting to trump Ferrari's dominance, only this time the focus is on street performance, specifically the performance benchmark set by the F430.
Like the F430, the Ford GT is a two-seat sports car that features a super-rigid aluminum chassis, a midengine V8 and an advanced, fully independent suspension system. Wrapped around these high-tech components is a classic shell that looks as if it just drove out of the winner's circle at the 1966 24 Hours of Le Mans. In fact, one of the biggest challenges the Ford GT team faced was to develop and combine all of the latest technology in chassis, suspension and engine design while retaining the car's classic body lines. The team succeeded, but only because the current model is much larger overall than the original version. That's not a bad thing, as the original's cabin was cramped and awkward while the new model offers plenty of legroom and hiproom. Headroom is adequate for those up to 6 feet 2 inches tall, but taller folks, particularly those who are long in the torso, will find their noggins uncomfortably close to the GT's roof when seated. Technically, the area immediately above the driver's and passenger's head isn't the roof, but an extension of each door that wraps well into the roof panel -- just as it did in the original version. This makes getting in and out of the Ford car a tricky process.
Overall, however, the GT's 550 horsepower and incredibly stable driving dynamics make it one of the most capable cars ever produced. Factor in the car's price, which undercuts similar Italian machinery by tens of thousands of dollars, and you've got a reborn 2006 Ford GT that would make Henry Ford II very proud indeed.
