So basically you're saying the new GT program to the old is like a NASA space program compared to the Wright brother's first flight?Time to dispel some myths. TLDR; most of what you've read is bullshit, it primarily mattered whether you owned an 05/06 and if you really drove it, or you were a big partner with FMC.
Myth - Social media was a big factor in whether or not you received a Ford GT.
This is completely and totally wrong. You can argue it if you like, but you will be wrong. By far, the single biggest group of people that were awarded cars were previous generation Ford GT owners. It was just under 70%. So right off the bat, out of 750 initial allocations, 500+ of them went to people on the basis of their ownership of the 2005/2006 Ford GT.
The vast majority of these people have ZERO social media presence. None. Zip. Zilch. Nada. I know this, because I know a very, very large percentage of them personally. Most of them are what you'd expect - guys that are 50-70 years old, that have a Ford GT, many of them were the original buyers of their GT, many of them have multiple Ford GTs, and many more of them have a large amount of Fords in general including the GT, various Mustangs, trucks, whatever. Serious consideration was given to what kind of usage and how many miles you've driven the car during your ownership.
So regardless of what other nonsense you read, the truth of the matter is the single biggest factor for getting allocated a new GT was based on your ownership of the 05/06. You can jumble together these criteria:
Obviously with 4,038 cars built in 05/06, maybe 70% of that number of total owners (duplicates and totals), there was going to be deserving owners who missed out on round 1. People with patience will get their chance.
- Do you own a 2005/2006 Ford GT?
- Were you the original owner?
- If not, how long have you owned it?
- What have you done with it while you owned it?
- How many miles do you have on it?
Beyond owning a 2005/2006 GT, just under 90% of the 750 cars went to people that own Fords. There is a sprinkling in there of people who had bonkers collections of Mustangs or other Vintage Fords, but moreso they definitely gave allocations to major supplier partners or fleet customers, and a relatively small amount of major dealers. As an example when I say "fleet customer," I've spent quite a bit of time talking to a guy whose company has bought over 100,000 vehicles from Ford. Probably a good idea they sold him one.
For the past two years I've been enlisted by Ford to assist with their 24 Hours of Le Mans hospitality program, which everyone with an allocation was invited to, so I've had more interaction with people getting these cars than anyone outside the literal team that takes their orders.
So if you ran it down, it would be something like:
It cracks me up when I read people shit like Facebook mattered. Yeah, no it didn't. Social media mattered for about 1% of the allocations, and that's just the allocations so far. And including someone like Andy Frisella is debatable because he likely would have got one with or without social media because he already owned (and beat) multiple GTs. The future cars will go much deeper into the well of the enthusiasts.
- Ford GT Owners
- Major Fleet Customers
- Suppliers
- Dealers
- Various other important corporate partners
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- Social Media related people
Do yourself a favor and ask yourself to name a dozen people who got Ford GTs on the basis of social media. It's going to be a challenge.
There was a lot of butthurt over Shmee getting a car, but the UK got virtually no Ford GTs in 2005/2006. There were 101 total European cars officially sold those years, and the UK total was in the 20s I think. It just wasn't the same scenario as the U.S market because the pool was way smaller, so they obviously stretched their criteria out a little. Every time I turned around at Le Mans last year, he was milling about, so I figured then he was a done deal.
As far as the amount produced, I've been to Multimatic Niche Vehicles three times; once to visit, and twice to watch my car get built. I know Larry Holt, the technical brains at Multimatic, and literal ****ing GENIUS, very well. Everyone, and I mean everyone, enlists him to make their good toys work. Red Bull F1, Ford, Aston Martin, Chevrolet, literally half the field at Le Mans...you name it, they do it. Every Ferrari GTE car runs his shit. And you will see details about them building shit far more insane than the GT in the not too distant future.
The GT cannot be produced at a high rate. It's a literal hand built car in the same way a Vulcan is. Every panel is produced by hand, formed in the 10 atmosphere autoclave at MM. The GT is a really impressive car on the exterior, but it is truly astonishing apart. There is nothing else like it. They are knocking out so much billet and CF stuff on this car it's ridiculous. Feels more like a race shop than a production facility.
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