New Ford GT revealed to be 216mph, 647hp Ferrari eater

The Blue Oval came back with a bang at Le Mans in 2016 and now it’s taking on the supercar establishment in the roadgoing stakes.

The 2017 Ford GT is not just the fastest-ever Ford – top speed is quoted at 216mph – it’s also faster than a 458 Speciale or 675LT around a circuit, says Ford.

In an unusual move – manufacturer’s comparative testing is rarely used for PR purposes – Ford says that, using the same driver and fresh tyres for each car, the Ford was a second quicker than the McLaren and three seconds faster than the Ferrari around Calabogie Motorsports Park in Canada.

Not the Nürburgring then, and no prizes for spotting that both Ferrari and McLaren are last year’s models, now replaced (or about to be replaced) by substantially different cars. Even so, GRR reckons it’s great having Ford back putting the cat among the pigeons in the performance big league 50 years after the GT40 and MkII.

And the new car’s top speed is certainly impressive. It’s the result says Ford of an active dynamics package that tailors suspension and aerodynamics for the optimum balance between downforce and drag. The road car incorporates lessons learned with the GTE race version which, among other successes, won its class at Le Mans in 2016, and with which the street GT has a lot in common, according to Ford.

That includes the  EcoBoost 3.5-litre V6 engine which in street form provides 647hp with 550 lb ft of torque from 3,500rpm. The carbon-fibre GT’s dry weight is 1,400kg for a power-weight ratio between that of the 675LT and Ferrari 488GTB. Top speed is quoted at 216mph, making it the fastest Ford ever, although as yet no acceleration times are quoted.

“Our expectation has always been that the EcoBoost V6 would perform exceptionally well in the Ford GT,” said Dave Pericak, Ford Performance chief. “We tested and developed this powertrain through the Daytona Prototype race car that ran in IMSA for two seasons, last season racing with Ford GT. We are extremely pleased with how it performs, both on the track and on the road.”

The new GT project seems like a long time coming but in fact has gone from drawing board to customer in just over two years – with plenty of motorsports success on the way. 

Ford has said it will make 500 GT road cars over the next two years, at an unconfirmed price of $450,000 each. It is thought they all sold out many times over in 2016 after an online application process. Ford has said that the application process was “to help identify potential Ford GT owners who will celebrate the Ford brand.” Some would-be owners apparently sent in elaborate videos to show their true-blue credentials in support of their applications.

Confirmation of such impressive engine power and speed will come as welcome relief to GT buyers – as well as representing some good news for Ford in the week that its Mustang received a poor two-star rating in the EuroNCAP crash tests.

A year in the life of the Ford GT

January 2015: Ford GT unveiled at Detroit Motor Show

April 2016: applications to buy one of the 500 cars open

May 2016: applications close after 6506 purchase requests, 500 of them from people in the UK

June 2016: first place in LM GTE Pro class at Le Mans

August 2016: successful owners informed

December 2016: first roadgoing GT built

January 2017: first deliveries to customers