Well, at least that'd be my thought on the car.
I really can't say that I've ever driven, or even been in, a car that invokes so much raw emotion. Save for my affinity for a certain SMC-bodied Chevy, I'm a Ford die-hard, and thusly I've been waiting my whole life for a Blue Oval supercar. And the GT certainly fits the bill.
Being a Ford site, I'll save the tongue biting a bit and let you know up front: Anyone that tells you there is a car that competes with the GT sub 250k is a fool. John Colleti wasn't just spitting machismo when he said the GT would reduce the Viper into an earthworm. Sorry Dodge, but game over on whatever American "supercar" title you may have thought you had. The Corvette really can't even be mentioned(although I love my Z06). Ferrari? Please. If you're not in an Enzo go bother some pumped up 911's. Nothing in the world nails the mix of refinement, grace, poise, and sheer overpowering brutality the Ford GT does.
The car is like a moving circus sideshow. Go ahead, pull into Dairy Queen for lunch. Just be prepared for the crowd and the questions. Even to me, in pictures the car was a tad too derivative of the glorious GT40's of yore, but in person...sigh. The low slung body and flowing curves Camilo Pardo penned for this thing make the knees weak. It's just so wide, so curvaceous and so damn purposeful. It looks like it's going 212mph standing still. You want girls? Check. You want the satisfaction of seeing every passing driver doing a double take? Check. Five year olds to 50 smiling and waving? Check.
And driving it? I'd try and explain it, but it's all irrelevant until you've taken the wheel yourself. Go ahead and imagine turning the key into the on position, and unleashing the inevitable grin that comes with hitting the red start button. The carbon fiber buckets fit like a glove. The pedals feel tailor-made for your feet. The shifter isn't tight like an aftermarket unit, but it snicks in place with authority. And then you let off the family-sedan smooth clutch and the drama ensues.
The GT is deceptively fast. Having 3 gears available to take you deep into triple digits does that to you. The motor is a tad too quiet, but the power it puts to the ground is fantastic. It's utterly smooth, linear, and apparently never ending. I have no doubt that the GT easily reaches it's advertised 205mph top speed, and probably with room to spare. Having a Z06 that runs deep 11's in the mid-upper 120's allows me a bit of perspective, and although I think they're probably even at that distance, say goodbye thereafter. I can't imagine letting the GT unleash all those 550(yeah right) horses hiding behind the glass.
It also corners like nothing I've ever been in. Not a Z06, not a Ferrari, not a go-kart. Try it once and you'll wish life in the GT was a never-ending series of emergency lane changes. Taking a high sweeper is better than breathing. It produces enough grip for you to mutter expletives, and then it let's you know it's yawning in the process. I'd love to have a crack at the Nurburgring in a GT.
Anyhow, hope you enjoyed the novella, but I feel the world and Ford boys around the world deserve to hear it. Not from some magazine bonehead or Jeremy Clarkson, but a Dearborn stalwart. I stick to my assessment that the GT is the single greatest American car ever built and the finest automobile available in the world today.
Bravo Ford.
Bravo.:beer:
I really can't say that I've ever driven, or even been in, a car that invokes so much raw emotion. Save for my affinity for a certain SMC-bodied Chevy, I'm a Ford die-hard, and thusly I've been waiting my whole life for a Blue Oval supercar. And the GT certainly fits the bill.
Being a Ford site, I'll save the tongue biting a bit and let you know up front: Anyone that tells you there is a car that competes with the GT sub 250k is a fool. John Colleti wasn't just spitting machismo when he said the GT would reduce the Viper into an earthworm. Sorry Dodge, but game over on whatever American "supercar" title you may have thought you had. The Corvette really can't even be mentioned(although I love my Z06). Ferrari? Please. If you're not in an Enzo go bother some pumped up 911's. Nothing in the world nails the mix of refinement, grace, poise, and sheer overpowering brutality the Ford GT does.
The car is like a moving circus sideshow. Go ahead, pull into Dairy Queen for lunch. Just be prepared for the crowd and the questions. Even to me, in pictures the car was a tad too derivative of the glorious GT40's of yore, but in person...sigh. The low slung body and flowing curves Camilo Pardo penned for this thing make the knees weak. It's just so wide, so curvaceous and so damn purposeful. It looks like it's going 212mph standing still. You want girls? Check. You want the satisfaction of seeing every passing driver doing a double take? Check. Five year olds to 50 smiling and waving? Check.
And driving it? I'd try and explain it, but it's all irrelevant until you've taken the wheel yourself. Go ahead and imagine turning the key into the on position, and unleashing the inevitable grin that comes with hitting the red start button. The carbon fiber buckets fit like a glove. The pedals feel tailor-made for your feet. The shifter isn't tight like an aftermarket unit, but it snicks in place with authority. And then you let off the family-sedan smooth clutch and the drama ensues.
The GT is deceptively fast. Having 3 gears available to take you deep into triple digits does that to you. The motor is a tad too quiet, but the power it puts to the ground is fantastic. It's utterly smooth, linear, and apparently never ending. I have no doubt that the GT easily reaches it's advertised 205mph top speed, and probably with room to spare. Having a Z06 that runs deep 11's in the mid-upper 120's allows me a bit of perspective, and although I think they're probably even at that distance, say goodbye thereafter. I can't imagine letting the GT unleash all those 550(yeah right) horses hiding behind the glass.
It also corners like nothing I've ever been in. Not a Z06, not a Ferrari, not a go-kart. Try it once and you'll wish life in the GT was a never-ending series of emergency lane changes. Taking a high sweeper is better than breathing. It produces enough grip for you to mutter expletives, and then it let's you know it's yawning in the process. I'd love to have a crack at the Nurburgring in a GT.
Anyhow, hope you enjoyed the novella, but I feel the world and Ford boys around the world deserve to hear it. Not from some magazine bonehead or Jeremy Clarkson, but a Dearborn stalwart. I stick to my assessment that the GT is the single greatest American car ever built and the finest automobile available in the world today.
Bravo Ford.
Bravo.:beer:
