Cutting Edge
Ford Performance releases the second installment of its Ford GT video series
By Steve Turner
Photos courtesy of Ford Motor Company
When it set out to build a next-gen version of the Ford GT, the team at Ford Performance knew it had a challenge ahead. How could the company bring forth a supercar that excited its customers and merged the worlds of racing and production in a way that would benefit both? That is just the subject covered in the second chapter of the company’s online documentary series launched today.
“When you’re doing the next Ford GT, you’re promising a lot,” Executive VP, Global Product Development and Chief Technical Officer, Raj Nair said. “We all loved the concept, but how are we going to have something that looks completely modern, yet unmistakably a Ford GT?”
Clearly doing so presented a lot of challenges. Moreover the focus sharpened on these efforts when Ford announced it would employ a production-based six-cylinder engine in its halo supercar.
Get a glimpse into to what went into that decision and the efforts put forth to make in all come together in Chapter 2 of The Return…
[video=youtube;-fQYuBZ-2ug]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-fQYuBZ-2ug[/video]
“I think people set their own boundaries in life,” Dave Pericak, Global Director, Ford Performance, said. “What I mean by that is, you can’t have fear, because if you’re going to be great, if you’re going to push the boundaries, you’re going to fail at times. So, if you have a fear of failure, you’re probably in the wrong job.”
Despite the daunting task, the team at Ford Performance definitely impressed on important customer. He happens to have the first production car on order and plans to drive it as often as he can.
“It was a decision on the part of the team to use (Ford GT) almost as a laboratory for what is possible for the rest of the Ford line…” Bill Ford said. “When I first saw it, I was very nervous, because I am very critical and I’m always afraid we’re not going to get it right, but when I saw it, particularly the back end, which is so different, I stopped, kind of held my breath for a second and thought ‘wow, this is spectacular.’”
Speaking of spectacular, you can watch the racing version do its thing in 360-degree glory at Silverstone in the UK right here…
[video=youtube;hmtCOVRyAlg]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hmtCOVRyAlg[/video]
Of course, if you love seeing an inside look at the creation of these amazing vehicles as much as we do, stay tuned for Chapter 3.
Lightweighting with the use of carbon fiber is a key technology to melding the worlds or racing and production Ford GT development.
Balancing the needs of a race car and a street car was definitely a challenge for the team, and Bill Ford is one customer that plans to put miles on his Ford GT street car.
