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The new 700-horsepower Ford GT debuted at the Goodwood Festival of Speed on July 4. Just 45 units will be built, each with a starting price of $1.2 million. It is lighter and faster than the street-legal
The Goodwood Festival of Speed was founded in 1993 as a lavish celebration of motorsport. The event, held at the historic Goodwood House in West Sussex, England, hosts a 1.16-mile hillclimb. Manufacturers use their experiences in Formula 1, Le Mans, and other race series to conquer the hill. They also take the opportunity of this world stage to unveil their latest creations, like the track-only Ford GT Mk II revealed today.
“The true off-the-hook performance capability of the GT hasn’t yet been fully showcased,” Multimatic Motorsports chief technical officer Larry Holt said. Multimatic is the Canadian automotive engineering firm that partnered with Ford to build the second-generation Ford GT as well as the GT race car. “The road car is obviously limited by the many global homologation requirements that it must comply with, and the race car suffers from the restriction of the dreaded Balance of Performance, resulting in it being 150 horsepower down to the road car.”
The Ford GT Mk II is powered by a 700-horsepower 3.5-liter EcoBoost engine, the official press release reads. The supercar was co-developed by Ford Performance and Multimatic using Ford’s experience with the GT race car at the FIA World Endurance Championships and IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championships.
“The GT Mk II unleashes the full performance potential of the Ford GT without any artificial performance limitations dictated by racing sanctioning bodies,” Ford chief product development and purchasing order Hau Thai-Tang said. “It’s the closest GT owners can get to the Le Mans-winning performance and exhilarating feeling of crossing the finish line in the Ford GT race car.”
Ford is touting the GT Mk II as the best of both worlds, sharing elements with the production GT supercar and the GT race car. Its large rear wing is balanced by a front racing splitter, diffuser, fender louvers and dive planes. The Mk II’s new aerodynamics add 400 percent more downforce to the over its street-legal counterpart. The race-proven suspension and Michelin Pilot Sport racing tires help to contribute to 2Gs of lateral grip. 5-way adjustable DSSV shock absorbers and a lowered ride height complement the aero improvements.
The Ford Motor Company
The Ford Motor Company
The Ford Motor Company
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The Ford Motor Company
The Ford Motor Company
The Ford Motor Company
The Ford Motor Company
The Ford Motor Company
The Ford Motor Company
The Ford Motor Company
The Ford Motor Company
The Ford Motor Company
The Ford Motor Company
The Ford Motor Company
The Ford Motor Company
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Features like the adjustable ride height and drive modes were removed save weight in the GT Mk II, contributing to a total drop of over 200 pounds.
While the GT Mk II uses the same engine that powers both the road and race cars, it adds 200 horsepower over the race car. The Mk II’s grunt is put down through a track-tuned version of the GT’s seven-speed dual-clutch transmission. Peek behind the exclusive 19-inch forged aluminium wheels and you’ll find large ceramic brakes borrowed from the street car.
A high-capacity air cooler with integrated water spray helps regulate engine temperature. The Mk II’s roof-mounted intake scoops cooling air into auxiliary engine, clutch, and transmission coolers.
The GT Mk II uses the stock GT headlamps and adds a Sparco seat. A six point racing harness, optional passenger seat, and MoTeC data recorder top off the list of new features.
Just 45 of these cars are slated for production and the price tag for this exclusivity is $1.2 million. The Mk II will be built in Markham, Ontario at the main Ford GT plant before moving on to a “specialist facility” at Multimatic to complete production.
While the GT Mk II uses the same engine that powers both the road and race cars, it adds 200 horsepower over the race carThe GT Mk II is already raring to go and will run in the Supercar class at the Goodwood FOS. Deep-pocketed fans can purchase a Mk II directly through Multimatic. More information can be found at FordGTMkII.com.
The production Ford GT made its first Goodwood appearance in 2017 and has been limited to 250 units per year. The GT race car won its first attempt at the Le Mans GTE Pro Class in 2016. This was 50 years after the original GT40 achieved its first of four consecutive Le Mans victories.
Ford ended the GT racing program at the 2019 Le Mans in the GTE Pro Class, but the GT racers will continue to race for the rest of the IMSA season.
We saw a large wing and roof scoop in Ford’s teaser image two weeks ago. These elements brought to mind the Ford GT Le Mans race car. This new model was going to be one of two things: a more potent version of the standard GT, similar to the Porsche 911 GT3 RS and Dodge Viper ACR, or a track-only version in the vein of the McLaren Senna GTR, Pagani Zonda R, and Ferrari FXX. It turned out to be the latter.
We played around with the lighting on Ford’s original image and revealed more details. What appeared to be a Sparco logo was barely visible on the driver’s seat. The headlights in the dark image more closely matched that of the production GT rather than the racer. All this was revealed in the final product.
Ford recently announced the Mustang Shelby GT500, the most powerful production vehicle ever to wear the Blue Oval. This latest iteration of the GT500 produces 760 horsepower and 625 pound-feet of torque, and Ford refers to the motor as the “most power- and torque-dense supercharged production V8 engine in the world.”
With the first announcement of the new GT, Ford also said the Mustang Shelby GT500 was making the trip to the FOS alongside the following:
Finally, a Europe-spec Ranger Raptor will show off its stuff on an off-road course.
Update notes: We added the official specs, video, and images for the Ford GT Mk II.
