The Glory Of The Past Comes Alive In New Road Version Of Famed GT40

By Bob Storck

Ford has unveiled a new version of the GT40 race car made famous on 1960s race tracks, completely new to accommodate modern components, real people, and to be suitable for production. This is the same approach that they have used to intro the Thunderbird and the FortyNiner, each of which was actually intended for production. And there are signs that this too is not likely to fade from memory after the Detroit Auto Show, but become something that we can actually buy and drive in a couple years.

While the new concept and the original both share the mystique of the GT40 name, they share not a single dimension. The concept is more than a foot and a half longer and stands nearly four inches taller, changes important to deal with the variety of sizes of the American buyer and our modern engines. Its new lines draw upon and refine the best features of GT40 history and express the car's identity through modern proportion and surface development. The GT40 features a long front overhang reminiscent of 1960s-era racecars.

The front fenders curve over 18-inch wheels and Goodyear white-lettered tires. In the tradition of the championship racers, the doors cut into the roof helping access to the sculpted seats. Prominent on the leading edge of the rear fenders are functional cooling scoops that channel fresh air to the engine. The rear wheel wells, filled with 19-inch Goodyear 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 interior design incorporates the novel "ventilated seats" and instrument layout of the original car, with straightforward analog gauges and large tachometer. Modern versions of the original car's toggle switches operate key systems.

As on the historic car, the composite body panels are unstressed. Instead of the steel or honeycomb-composite tub style frames used in the 1960s, Ford's SVT Engineering group developed an all-new aluminum space frame as the foundation for the GT40 concept. It features four-wheel independent suspension with unequal-length control arms and longitudinally mounted spring-damper units to make allowances for its low profile.