The Ford GT is on the short list of coolest cars in the 21st century, with up to 600 horsepower, killer retro looks, and Ferrari F430-beating athleticism. Buyers were more than happy to accept a limited edition Ford supercar, but many owners were less than thrilled with Ford's corporate key and fob. While it sounds a bit petty, sharing a key with an F-150 just doesn't scream exotic track star.
The creative key kit crafters over at ExotiCARe have remedied the situation with a limited edition kit that turns your pedestrian keys into a car starter worthy of a Ford GT. The easy to install kit is nothing more than silver-finish covers for your existing keys, which doesn't exactly seem like $295 well-spent, but for those who can afford a $175,000 sports car it may be a deal. ExotiCARe is only making 350 of the kits, so there is an exclusivity factor, as well. Is $295 too much for nothing more than key decoration that you have to assemble yourself? You tell us after the jump. Thanks for the tip, Andrew!
Click above above for high-res gallery of this never-owned 2006 Ford GT
It should come as no big surprise to any of our regular readers that this blogger is a big fan of Italian supercars. But although it was built to show up the Italian greats in tribute to a race car that did the same decades prior, the Ford GT remains an undeniably cool car, a supercar that seems to have been milled from a solid block of billet aluminum. Unfortunately, Ford stopped building them over a year ago, leaving the myriad special-edition Mustangs to fight it out for the top of the Blue Oval totem pole. But the market holds plenty of GTs for those still looking for the butchest sportscar around.
This, however, is significantly more special: a 2006 Ford GT, black on black with white racing stripes. The car is brand new with only 39 miles on the odometer and has never been titled, which would make the lucky buyer the original owner despite the car being long out of production. If that still hasn't enticed you, check (a) your pulse and (b) the struts over the engine, where you'll find the signature of one Steve Saleen, the legendary Ford tuner whose company was partly responsible for the GT's assembly. With the highest of 18 bids sitting at $189,000 and less than two days to go before the auction ends, interested parties better start bidding to hit the undisclosed reserve price. Thanks for the tips, everyone!
The Brooklands-based tuning firm, Avro Motor Cars, has partnered up with Roush Technologies to offer up a run of ten limited-edition Ford GTs that not only get a fresh coat of orange metallic paint and a some matte-black details, but an extra helping of power. The 720 Mirage spells out its claim to fame in its name, with 720 horses coaxed from the modified V8. Utilizing a larger Whipple supercharger, an Accufab throttle body, inlet sleeve and X-pipe exhaust, the 720 unleashes its namesake at 6,950 rpm, with peak torque output of 627 lb.-ft. coming on at 4,800 rpm. The suspension has been modified with KW Variant 3 adjustable coilovers that drop the limited edition whip by 25mm, while AP six-piston calipers clamp onto drilled and slotted rotors courtesy of Stillen. There's no word on pricing, but we'd guess that if you tacked on a few more zeros to the GT's 220 mph top speed, you'd be pretty close to the sticker.
Gennadi Dedign Group has announced that the end draws nigh for the company's limited-run Ford GT roadster conversion, the GTX1. Over two years of production, the plan was to make 600 total cars available. 100 would be SEMA Edition replicas of the Valencia Orange show car shown above and in the attached gallery. The other 500 would be regular customer cars. According to Gennadi, only 100 cars or so have been ordered and completed, and whatever the number stands at when orders are officially ended on August 31, 2008 will be the final production run. The SEMA editions, in addition to the roof conversion, also received a host of additional upgrades including racing seats, adjustable shocks, Wilwood brakes, a power boost to 700 horses, a hidden rear bumper, and other some interior tweaks, too. Incidentally, we recently saw one of the finished customer cars (it sported the Tungsten paint job) in Greenwich, CT not long ago. With the roof in place, it can easily be mistaken for a "garden variety" GT -- which we would have done if not for the GTX1 labeling aft of the front wheel. Little did we know that it was one of a much smaller group than Gennadi probably anticipated building. If you've got a Ford GT and a hankering for an arier experience, you've got until August to let Gennadi have its way with it.
We managed to get our hands on this photo that shows a clay model of what inside sources tell us is the initial design of an all-new car being considered for development by Saleen at its Irvine assembly plant. While representatives from Saleen would not officially comment as to what is in the photo, our best guess is that they are looking to put to use their knowledge and experience gained from the construction of the Ford GT for Ford. In fact, with the GT no longer in production, a car similar to the Ford GT might be exactly what Saleen is shooting for. After all, they have the facility in which the GT was built, the father of the Ford GT, Chris Theodore, is now Saleen's chief technology officer, and they gained a wealth of experience building a new car from scratch with the S7 program. Theodore has even hinted at the possibility of an all-new Saleen. "I have many ideas," he stated to TheCarConnection.com, "and some of them are inspired by the Ford GT. That car sold very well for around $150,000. So why not think in that direction when we talk about a new supercar? May be an S3 or an S5?" We can only hope.
Anything that can top out above 200 mph is a pretty fast car, but one that can do it from a standing start within a mile is an insanely fast car. This twin-turbo Ford GT modified by Jason Heffner of Heffner's Performance not only does that, but exceeds 222 mph at the one-mile mark. This thankfully wasn't done on public roads, but at the Goliad Industrial Air Park during the bi-annual Texas Mile event.
The driver makes a total of four runs, starting with a 215-mph pass followed up by a 222.2-mph run. The third attempt doesn't go so well as the tires are overwhelmed by the car's torque and it goes off course into the dirt, but the fourth run is a success, and the 222 mph mark is reached again. Follow the jump to see this display of massive horsepower run amok.
The Ford GT has always been badass. When it went into production in 2003, all of those kit cars from back in the day suddenly paled in comparison to a genuine GT40-inspired supercar. It was a relative bargain, too. Of course, when we say relative bargain, we mean expensive. Always willing to settle, we've found a way to claim with a straight face that we own a GT. It's still not cheap, but it's hundreds, not hundreds of thousands. Winding Road has pointed us to the 1:6 scale remote control Ford GT over at wowzzers.com. Equipped with a 23cc engine, this three-plus foot long vehicle can buzz around at a maximum speed around 60 mph. Christmas is coming, and it's only $650.
Germany's GeigerCars is responsible for some ungainly creations, normally turning up the wick on vehicles that have no business being fast in the first place. But when the firm directs its resources towards exotic American muscle, it's the automotive equivalent of Henry Kissinger – absolute power corrupting absolutely.
By ditching the stock supercharger and installing an upgraded unit, the Geiger crew was able to increase boost pressure from 0.8-bar (11.6 psi) to 1.25-bar (18 psi). After installing new throttle valves, replacing the air filter, equipping the GT with a new exhaust and remapping the ECU, they were able to bring power levels up to 701 HP and 617 lb.-ft. of torque. 60 now comes up in a scant 3.5 seconds and top speed eclipses the double-century mark by 11 mph.
Keeping the GT from pirouetting at speed is an adjustable suspension that drops the supercar by 60mm over 20-inch wheels wrapped in 245mm tires up front, with 21-inchers swathed in 325s out back. Aside from the new ride height, GiegerCars left the rest of the body unscathed, save the rear bumper that houses new four-inch exhaust tips.
Click image above for high-res gallery of the new Saleen 550.
During this year's Ford GT National Rally II, specialty manufacturer Saleen showed off a new limited edition model. Called the Saleen 550, it is a tribute to Saleen's involvement with the development and production of the Ford GT. Based on their 550-horsepower S281 Extreme Mustang, this Saleen 550 is only available to Ford GT owners. Think of it as a daily driver that gives you the same horsepower as your GT, but with more manageable doors and ground clearance. Plus there's that back seat and trunk. The cars will be painted to match the buyers' GTs and will therefore be available in Mark IV red, Tungsten, Midnight Blue, Speed Yellow, Mark II black, Centennial White, Satin Silver, or the Gulf-inspired Heritage Blue/Epic Orange combo. This last combo was the one they had on hand and it looked pretty awesome in person. We'll get you more details as they become available, and hopefully some media pics too, but for now, check out some of the shots we got of the heritage car outside the Saleen Store.
Click above image for large high-res gallery from the National Rally II stop at C&C.
One year ago, in August 2006, there was a huge gathering of Ford GT owners in Michigan. The group descended on Dearborn from all over the world to tour the Wixom and Saleen Special Vehicle plants where the GTs were built. It was really a great event that covered four days and allowed the owners to bond and share in their mutual joy of ownership of this unique American supercar. Flash forward to 2007, and the group decided to try it again. Organized by Ford GT Forum admin, DBK, it was a super event. Rather than trekking back to Michigan, this time they decided to head west.
The rally (it's more of a reunion now) convened in Southern California, with stops at the Petersen Museum, the Saleen Store, the El Toro Marine base for a Saleen "School of Speed" autocross, and a visit to Ford's Premier Automotive Group facility in Irvine for their weekly Cars and Coffee show. This year's event, appropriately enough dubbed Ford GT National Rally II, included not only owners, but some key GT development people like Camilo Pardo, Jamal Hameedi, Tom Reichenbach, Rich Robeck, "The GT Guys" Rich Brooks and Dennis Breitenbach and many others. Altogether about 90 GTs showed for the meet, with another 20 or so GT40 recreations also on hand to add some heritage. Twenty-four states and one Canadian province were represented.
New KITT Attack Mode revealed at Comic Con
London 2008: Honda OSM concept roadster says, "Cheerio!"
London 2008: Lotus unveils the Evora
2010 Chevy Camaro - Official Details and Images
2010 Chevy Camaro - LIVE from the reveal
First Drive: Maserati Quattroporte S in Europe
First Drive: 2008 MINI Cooper S JCW
In the Autoblog Garage:2009 Nissan GT-R
North American Exclusive First Drive: Alfa MiTo
First Drive: 2009 Kia Borrego
