Originally Posted By: MrHorspwer
A few things really bug me about the new GT.
What doesn't bug me is how it looks. If you haven't seen one in person, it will blow your mind. It is a very beautiful car, but obviously incredibly functional on how it manages airflow around the car. It reminds me of the Enzo in that it doesn't really translate how awesome it actually looks in photos.
What bugs me...
Ford doesn't build it. Having Multimatic build it just seems so disingenuous, almost like it's a kit car. Kinda like Chevrolet's indy car engines that are actually built by Illmore, there's more to the story than the badge.
The application process is ridiculous. A guy named Andy Frisella got his Ford GT because he has a huge social media presence, runs a popular podcast, and is highly involved with the GoldRush Rally. Basically, Ford knows he'll be a marketing machine for the car. I'm not hating on him in particular, he seems like a pretty decent car dude, but he is the first to really talk about getting his GT and the steps involved. It really identifies what Ford is trying to do with the car: Marketing. It's not about actually winning LeMans, it's the publicity surrounding it. Even the purchase process was advertised and discussed in the media.
Also, I don't think the car will have the same performance appeal as the last GT. The previous GT, already a decade old, is still the darling and go-to car for standing-mile competition. I don't see the new one ever going there. It's like a dyno queen. It puts up big numbers for the sake of big numbers... but nobody ever actually uses it.
The original Ford GT40's were based on the Lola T70 and were built by Shelby American, so I don't have a problem with Multimatic building the "production" cars.
I agree with you about the Marketing. Ford has gone all out to create buzz about the car in different segments of the car-buying public. And the WEC/ACO helped them greatly at LeMans in 2016 to make sure they "won" the 50th anniversary event to the 1966 triumph. In actuality, they only won the GT class, not overall, and the organizers gave them a performance advantage by handicapping the competition with small restrictors as late as a couple of weeks before the event. Even in the closing stages of the race last year, the officials tried to penalize the 3rd place Ferrari so assure a 1-2-3 for Ford. Ferrari courageously ignored that attempt at stage-managing the finish.