Somebody's gettin a new toy

[SuperChicken89]

Was out working on south bound I-95 at Ives Dairy Rd(north Dade County) today and what do I see? A brand new red Ford GT on the back of a flat bed :eek: Absolutely awesome looking car going by at 70 MPH. Made me want to stop what I was doing and follow the car to see where it was going.
If I sold all of my cars, the house, cash in the retirement account, and drain the bank account, maybe I could afford one. I know the sticker price is supposed to be $140,000 but I'm sure the dealers are getting a premium (read $250,000).
Flip... wasn't the winner at the SVT poker run supposed to get a ride in the Ford GT that Don Reid Ford sold?
Oh well back to dreaming.

Bryan

[ROBERT P]

without a doubt, one of the sweetest rides i've ever seen. remember the first commercial for the ford gt during last years superbowl? awesome! the new mustangs are quite nice as well, and i think reasonable at $28,000.00 atleast you'll have a house to live in. lol.

[Flip]

Flip... wasn't the winner at the SVT poker run supposed to get a ride in the Ford GT that Don Reid Ford sold? Bryan

Nope, the first prize was a GT poster signed by the lead Engineer. I thought it was a ride also, just got a big laugh when I mentioned “where is the GT”.
:D :D

Just for fun go on e-bay and you will see a few dealers are selling their GT production numbers going for anywhere from 75k to 100k over sicker. Some have been already ordered and a couple you can still chose some of the options. Those in production seem to about 3-4 months out. Wonder how well they are staying on schedule with the GT being hand built. :eek:

[Evil Inside]

It'll outrun some of those Ferrari's and Lambo's for about 100K less...not too bad...

[Birdman93]

Only two cars in the world right now that run quicker, according to Top Gear:

Porsche Carrera GT-http://www.caranddriver.com/assets/image/1142003124825.jpg

It's not the $440,000 Carrera GT's absurdly fast top speed that awes you—we were aboard yet had no fear as Porsche's test driver clocked 208 mph (with a tailwind) on a Soviet-era military runway in the former East Germany.

It's not this Ferrari Enzo fighter's equally absurd accelerative force, either: Porsche modestly claims a 0-to-62-mph time of 3.9 seconds, but it's probably more like 3.5 seconds.

It's not even the otherworldly strength of the gigantic ceramic brakes that made the greatest impression on us, although they are strong enough at full clamp to lift the passenger fully away from his leather-covered, carbon-Kevlar seat and hard against the locked seatbelt.

No question—all these feats are stratospherically impressive. But they are just extensions of what you've felt before in a common automobile. These figures don't reveal the character of the Carrera GT any more than one's familiarity with hops, barley, and water explains how they can make you drunk.

Porsche says it will build 1500 of these supercars over the next three years. The Carrera GT, which began life as a proposal for a Le Mans race car, is nothing if not uncommon. In truth, it's not even a car, really. It's not like those things we put in comparison tests and rate the ergonomics and measure the gas mileage of—all those conveyances that operate in the vast gray center of the performance spectrum. The 604-hp Carrera GT is different. It's all vibrancy and immediacy.

It was actually turning off the ignition after our brief initial drive that first amazed us. The millisecond the ignition circuit is broken, there is . . . nothing. Normally, when you key the ignition off, the crankshaft makes a few extra lazy rotations as the mass of the moving parts takes a half-beat to submit to friction and come to a complete rest. It's a universal experience we take for granted.

But in the GT, the crankshaft stops with a new suddenness—immediately, now, before your brain even considers the causal relationship between turning the key and the engine coming to rest. It's as if the crankshaft had seized within a quarter-rotation after the last spark plug fired. There is no mass at all to speak of in the drivetrain. Take, for example, the lightweight ceramic clutch (measuring a mere 6.7 inches in diameter) and the 10 titanium connecting rods in this 68-degree V-10. They weigh, by regular commodity-car standards, essentially nothing. After a romp in the GT, whatever you drive will feel as if it were powered by a huge diesel—the kind we imagine powering ocean liners—with 10-foot-long iron connecting rods.

This works, of course, in reverse, too. Unlike the brawny powerplant of, say, a Lamborghini Murciélago or Dodge Viper, which pummels physics into submission, the Porsche's race-bred V-10 seems to skirt physics entirely. It always feels unrestrained. Here again we can thank low rotational mass. The best production-car engines in the world accumulate revs in a satisfyingly smooth sweep. So quick to rev is the 5.7-liter Porsche engine that you scarcely are aware that it's putting forth any effort at all. A stab of the wide, floor-mounted gas pedal and—Brip!—you're at the 8000-rpm power peak. Watch the in-car footage of an F1 car going up through the gears with its brief, staccato blasts through the revs, then slow the footage down by about half, and you get the idea.

This audiovisual trick will also roughly approximate the sound the GT makes. It's similar in timbre to an F1 motor but brawnier because of its greater displacement. Its note is a register lower because it runs fewer revs, and of course, it won't pierce your eardrums—there's a muffler. There is no time to adjust your mind-set between the docility of idle and the full-on, screaming fury of redline. Holy crap! Not even the standard traction-control system can keep up.

The downside to this is that you will stall the car from a standstill. Everyone who sat in the driver's seat did. Well, you'll either stall it, or your big dumb right foot will call for far too many revs, spin the rear tires furiously, and a second later get shut down by traction control. This display of skill and precision doesn't impress the assembled Porsche personnel as much as you might imagine. Your best bet is to gingerly ease out the clutch pedal and keep your foot off the hair-trigger throttle. As the clutch hooks up, the idle automatically rises to about 1800 rpm, and you inch away—slowly, but with your dignity intact.

Once under way, you'll notice, perhaps for the first time in your life if you're of the male persuasion, that you have breasts. You may prefer to think of them as "pectorals at rest." Whatever, they're there, and they're moving violently in sympathy to each road dip and hillock. Meanwhile, nothing else in the car is moving. The Carrera GT is topless (with two removable carbon-fiber roof panels), yet there is no movement, no creak, no nothing going on in the carbon-fiber structure. The suspension—unequal-length control arms all around with race-car-style, pushrod-activated coil-overs mounted to the structure—will yield very little to a lowly road undulation, and because the structure will not bend even to the degree that stiff steel or aluminum cars will, all the movement is transferred to your unrestrained body bits. Unlike that of many super sports cars, or even mere sports cars, though, the Carrera GT's ride is not harsh. It doesn't feel nervous or skittish on imperfect roads. And unlike other fat-tired sports cars (the Porsche wears 265/35ZR-19 Michelins up front and 335/30ZR-20s in back), the GT doesn't suffer from bump steer. Truck troughs and crowned roads are beneath its consideration.

McLaren Mercedes-http://www.mbusa.com/media/images/main/models/SLR_main.jpg

Top speed 207 mph. 0-60 in under 3.8 seconds. The SLR McLaren is a milestone automotive achievement, as much for its staggering power and performance as its Formula 1 inspired engineering and design.

"To be sure, the Greatest Car in the World has to be fast, but it should also be able to function as a car. The promise of the SLR is that it is the complete package."- Esquire Magazine

MSRP $452,500.00*
Engine AMG-built supercharged 5,439-cc 36-valve 90°V-8.
Net Power 617 hp @ 6500 rpm

[Birdman93]

FYI-

I take delivery in April-will have to rent a truck and two-place car hauler so I can bring my GT to the Shootout next year :D

Should clarify that-a FORD GT!!

[ROBERT P]

I Believe Jay Leno Has The First Ford Gt Sold. They Had A Broadcast Not Long Ago On The Discovery Channel About The Gt's And I Only Caught The End, And Was Unable To Record It.

[Birdman93]

2003 Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance auction winner to take delivery of the first 2005 Ford GT supercar on August 4, 2004 in Seattle

It is the first production 2005 Ford GT offered for sale to the public
Proceeds from the sale of the car benefit the designated charities of the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance

Jay Leno to receive his 2005 Ford GT next week in Los Angeles

KENT, Wash., August 4, 2004 - For Jon Shirley, "life in the fast lane" is about to have an entirely new meaning. Today, Shirley will take delivery of the first production 2005 Ford GT, becoming the first buyer of America's new supercar.

Shirley, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Seattle Art Museum, earned the right to buy the first production Ford GT at last year's Christie's Auction in Pebble Beach, Calif. He outlasted other bidders for 2005 Ford GT chassis number 10, certified by Ford as the first 2005 Ford GT offered for sale to the public. (Ford has reserved the first nine cars for internal use). Proceeds from the auction, which netted $557,500.00, benefit the designated charities of the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance.

The car, delivered to Shirley at Bowen Scarff Ford in Kent, was produced with Shirley's choice of color (Midnight Blue with white stripes) and options (McIntosh Radio, lightweight BBS Wheels, and grey painted brake calipers). Each Ford GT will be powered by a hand-built aluminum 5.4-liter supercharged V-8 producing 550 horsepower and 500 lb.-ft. of torque. With a top speed of 205 miles per hour, it is the fastest production car ever to wear the Ford oval.

"I can't wait to get behind the wheel," said Shirley, a retired Microsoft executive who lives in Medina, Wash. "The GT has classic lines and great power, and it's reminiscent of the GT40s of the 1960's that were so successful. It's going to be a thrill to drive this car."

"The Ford GT is the ultimate automotive living legend," said Paul Russell, Ford GT marketing manager. "It is a true supercar with appeal equal to that of the greatest sports cars in the world, plus a celebrated heritage no one can match. We congratulate Mr. Shirley on his purchase of a Ford GT. I'm sure he's going to enjoy driving this car."

Public sale number two will take place next week in Los Angeles, when Jay Leno, host of NBC's "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno," receives his 2005 Ford GT in Los Angeles. Coincidentally, it was Leno who drove the prototype Ford GT onto the ramp at the auction in Pebble Beach last August where Shirley was the winning bidder.

The Ford GT is inspired by the car that roared into the hearts and minds of enthusiasts everywhere during the 1960s. The original GT project and cars were spearheaded by then-company Chairman and CEO Henry Ford II. His goal was to change racing history. With these cars, generally referred to as GT40s because of the roof height of 40 inches from the ground, Ford won the 24 Hours of Le Mans four years in a row - 1966 through 1969. Over its racing history, the Ford GT family won all of the world's major endurance races, and brought World Sports Car Championships to Ford in 1966 and '67, and the World Manufacturers' Championship in 1966 and '68.

While the GT and its historic predecessor share an almost identical silhouette, every dimension, curve and line of the new car is a unique reinterpretation of the original. The new car is more than 18 inches longer and stands nearly 4 inches taller. Powered by Ford's MOD 5.4-liter supercharged V8 mounted amidships, the car offers the impressive combination of 550 horsepower and 500 pound-feet of torque. The power is put to the road through a Ricardo six-speed manual transaxle featuring a helical limited-slip differential.

As on the historic race car, the Ford GT aluminum body panels are unstressed. Instead of the steel or honeycomb-composite tubs used in the 1960s, the Ford GT team developed an all-new aluminum space frame as the foundation. The front fenders curve over 18-inch wheels and Goodyear Eagle F1 Supercar tires. In the tradition of original Ford GT racers, the doors are cut into the roof. Prominent on the leading edge of the rear quarter panel are functional cooling scoops that channel fresh air to the engine. The rear wheel wells, filled with 19-inch wheels and tires, define the rear of the car, while the accent line from the front cowl rejoins and finishes the car's profile at the integrated "ducktail" spoiler.

The chassis features unequal-length control arms and coil-over spring-damper units to allow for its low profile. Braking is handled by four-piston aluminum Brembo monoblock calipers with cross-drilled and vented rotors at all four corners.

The interior design incorporates the novel "ventilated seats" and instrument layout of the original car, with straightforward analog gauges and a large tachometer. Modern versions of the original car's toggle switches operate key systems.
_________________
http://memimage.cardomain.com/member_images/6/web/258000-258999/258979_68_full.jpg
http://memimage.cardomain.com/member_images/6/web/258000-258999/258979_69_full.jpg

BURBANK, Calif., August 9, 2004 ? Comedian Jay Leno, one of the pre-eminent
car collectors in America, took delivery of one of the first production
2005 Ford GT supercars, becoming the first person in California to buy the
550-horsepower Ford GT.


Leno, better known as host of NBC's "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno," has
been following the progress of the Ford GT program for some time,
delivering a prototype of the car at an auction last year, and writing a
story on the supercar for "Popular Mechanics" magazine.


Leno is now the owner of 2005 Ford GT chassis number 12, certified by Ford
as the second 2005 Ford GT offered for sale to the public. (Ford reserved
the first nine cars for internal use). Jon Shirley, a retired Microsoft
executive, took delivery of the first publicly-sold Ford GT (chassis number
11) last week in Kent, Washington. Shirley won the right to the first Ford
GT by being the highest bidder at the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance
auction in August 2003.


Leno's car was delivered to him at the NBC Studios by Jim O'Connor, Group
Vice President, North America Marketing, Sales and Service, and Steve
Lyons, President, Ford Division and vice president, Ford Motor Company.
Also on hand was Bert Boeckmann of Galpin Ford in North Hills, the
dealership which sold the car to Leno, and the number-one volume Ford
dealer in the world (based on individual sales).


The car was built with Leno's choice of color (Red with white stripes) and
options (McIntosh Radio, lightweight BBS wheels, and grey painted Brembo
brake calipers). Each Ford GT will be powered by a hand-built all-aluminum
5.4-liter supercharged V-8 producing 550 horsepower and 500 lb.-ft. of
torque. With a top speed of 205 miles per hour and an MSRP of $139,995,
it's the fastest and most expensive production car ever to wear the Ford
oval.


"The Ford GT has the cleanest, sexiest, most attractive lines of any
GT-type race car," Leno wrote in Popular Mechanics' July 2004 issue. "A lot
of these new cars?even supercars like the Ferrari Enzo?don't emotionally
move you the way a Ford GT's shape does."


Leno's first ride in a Ford GT was in a prototype with racing legend Jackie
Stewart at the wheel last year at Mazda Raceway at Laguna Seca in Monterey,
before he took a few laps of his own. "It was a hoot to drive, it's very
fast," Leno said.


"We at Ford are proud of the 2005 Ford GT," said O'Connor. "This new car
brings back the same kind of excitement that ran through our company in the
sixties after that 1-2-3 finish of Ford GT40s at LeMans in 1966. We're very
pleased that Jay has decided to add this American classic to his impressive
car collection."
http://memimage.cardomain.com/member_images/6/web/258000-258999/258979_77_full.jpg

But all of that still doesn't answer the question-a FORD GT or a Mustang GT? For a PD to make a purchase of a $140,000-plus road racer seems a little outlandish to me, since you would not be able to mount any equipment in the vehicle at all without destroying the integrity of the chassis-the main portion of the chassis uses a special process to form the tub that all other pieces are attached to.