It is the company’s fastest, production car. The GT was one of the manufacturer’s rarest models, and it is the only center-engine car from Ford. In fact, this 2005 Ford GT was a competitor for the Ferrari 360 and Lamborghini Gallardo, but significantly superior to them in performance, although it cost less. The Ford GT was launched when Ferrari had just phased out the Enzo, and Porsche was producing the iconic Carrera GT. Thus, Ford produced a car that was more affordable than the initial models from Ferrari and Lamborghini, but on the technical characteristics and prestige only wasn’t much inferior to the most expensive exclusives like the Enzo, which cost many times more.
Such a car was with Jeremy Clarkson from Top Gear and the famous, American reviewer Doug DeMuro (which I love to watch). The first buyer of the Ford GT was Microsoft’s top manager, John Sharley. Many wanted to buy a 2005 Ford GT then and many dream about this supercar today.
Everyone knows that the 2005 GT was a reference to the GT40 racing car from the ’60s. But more than that, the release of this supercar was supposed to celebrate 100 years of the company itself. Produced this supercar in tough times for the manufacturer, but the work on the car involved staff of 140 people. Carroll Shelby himself took part in the development of the American supercar. And by the way, if you have not seen the film “Ford vs Ferrari”, I advise you to do it. Besides Shelby, talented engineer John Coletti (specialist who worked on many modifications of Mustang) worked on GT. Neil Hammettann, the man who had a hand in the creation of the Dodge Viper and Saleen S7, was also involved in the works. By the way – like Saleen and SSC Ultimate Aero, GT was not equipped with traction control system.
The concept car was shown in 2002 at the North American salon. Mass production began in the fall of 2004. Unlike other models of the company, the GT was assembled by hand in Norwalk, Ohio.
Many know that the race GT40 got its name because of the height of the body. But the new car didn’t lose the numerical designation because it became 4d taller. The fact is that in the 80s, the trademark GT40 owned a British company, which produced replicas of racing car. Later, the British sold the equipment, tools and trademark rights to the company – Safir GT40 Spares. And already this company has given permission to Ford to use this trademark during the show of his concept. But when Ford was gradually preparing its supercar for serial production, Safir GT40 company asked $40 million for the use of the iconic brand. Interestingly enough, the amount is exactly the same as the numerical index of this car. Ford decided not to pay the money and the new car was named GT.
Price and cost of the 2005 Ford GT.
At the end of 2004, you could buy a new Ford GT for $150,000. By 2012, it was still possible to own a GT for $200,000. Which is not a little, as for a supercar released in 4,038 copies. But further, despite a rather significant series, the price of these cars only grew. Today, the cost of such cars ranges from 200 to 600 thousand dollars. And it is quite a rare case, such a marked increase in value, relative to the mass supercar. For example, Ferrari 360 Modena in the U.S. today you can buy for 100 or even 80 thousand dollars. Of course, the racing history of the car from the 60s has contributed to the price increase. The reincarnation of which became the car of 2005.
Appearance and photos.
As has already been said, the novelty is higher than the iconic car on the 4d. For this reason, at one time the name GT44 was envisioned for it. The Ford GT was decorated with racing stripes along the front trunk lid, roof, and engine compartment lid. You can also see the stripes on the underside of the body, just below the side air intakes.
Look at the left headlight – do you see the number 100 in it? It’s a reminder that the American company celebrated a major jubilee.
If I remember correctly, the GT was the only, American supercar to get a carbon fiber monocoque at the time. It had aluminum subframes connected to it. Thanks to the use of these lightweight materials, the curb weight of the Ford supercar is 1,580kg. At the same time, 43% of the weight is on the front axle and 57% – on the rear axle.
The wheel rims here are forged, and just from the photo you can see the Ford GT inscription on the hubcaps covering the nuts. The front wheels have 235/45 ZR18 tires and the rear wheels have 315/40 ZR19 tires. GT’s front brake discs are 14d in diameter and the rear discs are 12.2d. The brakes on both axles are locked by four-piston calipers.
You can see from the photo how huge the engine compartment cover is here. In fact, it’s a very significant part of the body and one – it costs $35,000. But unlike the GT40 race car, the road supercar’s taillights remain stationary when the engine compartment cover is raised. It is connected with the American safety requirements concerning road cars. After all, if – when the engine compartment lid was raised, the lights would be facing down – to the asphalt – the car could not be seen in the dark.
Interior and equipment.
One of the GT’s unusual details are its doors. The fact is that the top of the door is part of the roof. A similar solution was used on the iconic Mercedes 300SL, but if in the latter the doors opened under the scheme – “gull wing”, the Ford doors open traditionally. When you open the door you can notice the plates on the sills with inscriptions Ford. The fact that this is Ford is reminded by the turn signal levers and wipers, which were borrowed from other, mass-market models of the brand.
One of the GT’s features are the seats. Note the holes in the cushion and backrest. It is a reference to the racing car. But the edges of these holes are made of plastic and it leads to discomfort, because they are hard.
Also pay attention to the location of the parking brake lever. It is on the right side of the transmission lever, closer to the passenger seat. This is an unusual location of the handbrake lever, more often on supercars it is located between the driver’s seat and the sill.
By the standards of supercars from the interior of the GT is not bad visibility.
Front trunk can be opened simply by pressing the button on the key fob, or do more difficult. Note that in the front fender, on the left side there is a keyhole. It is designed just to open the trunk. The key is inserted, turned and the lever on the front fender is lifted, while pulling the trunk lid. The gas tank hatch can also be opened in the same way, but you must use the keyhole on the right side to do this.
In the front trunk you can find the towing hook, which can be screwed into the power structure of the body and pull out the car, which might have fallen off the track.
An interesting way to open the engine compartment cover. To do this, you need to pull the lever located on the headliner.
It is possible to notice five toggle switches under the dashboard. This is a reference to the stylization of the interior of the 60’s race car. In racing fashion, first and third gear are very close together.
Engine and specs for the 2005 Ford GT.
In the photo you can see the lettering on the valve covers, – Powered By Ford. The plastic air filter housing is decorated with the inscription – Ford GT. These designations show that this is an unusual car.
The 5.4L all-aluminum Modular V8 engine (3.55d bore and 4.17d stroke) has an Eaton 2300 mechanical supercharger. Charge pressure is 0.7 bar. The compression ratio of this engine is 8.4:1. The engine is equipped with a forged crankshaft and a fly-sump lubrication system.
Of course, it is rear-wheel drive and the transmission is a six-speed manual.
The maximum power output of the 2005 Ford GT is 558 horsepower and is reached at 6,500 rpm. It is a very decent power, so flagship model of the company Lamborghini – Murcielago developed 580 horsepower, and the flagship of Ferrari – 575 Maranello had 515 horsepower. More powerful were only very rare and incredibly expensive exclusives like Enzo.
Maximum power of 678Nm is reached at 4,500 rpm. From zero to 100 km Ford GT is able to accelerate in just 3.6 seconds. And for a quarter mile, it took 11.8 seconds to reach 120 miles.
The powertrain itself is a reworked SVT Mustang Cobra engine. Perhaps the fact that the upper ball joints, rear brake discs, and steering mechanism here are from Aston Martin won’t surprise you. In fact, the British company belongs to the American automobile giant. But the fact that the lower ball joints here are from Lincoln Town Car seems unusual.
From the factory, this supercar from Ford is not as crazy as the Saleen S7, or the SSC Ultimate Aero, though just the GT lends itself perfectly to tuning. At the time of release, Ford presented a car with very decent dynamic performance. But more importantly, the Americans have released a supercar that beat the European cars on their own field. And it was the car with very big and loud history. Probably because of this, even in spite of the significant series, today the price of the Ford GT can exceed half a million dollars.
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