Sole example of proposed GT40 successor goes under the hammer
The only Ford GT90 concept car ever made will be auctioned off in Arizona, USA in January.
The GT40 has been a tough act for Ford to follow. The GT (RIP) served from 2003-2006, but Ford had first floated the idea of a spiritual successor to the Le Mans classic nearly a decade earlier, in the shape of the GT90. It never went on sale officially, but 15 years later the sole example of the concept is on the private market.
First announced in 1994, the GT90 was shown at the following year's Detroit Auto Show to more-or-less universal amazement. Its striking angular shape marked the start of Ford's 'Edge' design philosophy, seen soon after in the Ka, Mk1 Focus and others. The GT90 promised a theoretical 720hp and 660 lb ft of torque from its 48 valve quad-turbocharged V12, with a claimed top speed in the region of 250mph.
The concept, which Ford spent around $3 million USD (and just six months) developing, was very forward thinking, employing carbon-fibre construction and Porsche-style mechanised aerodynamic bodywork, as well as other gubbins that would become commonplace like the use of a reversing camera and side-mounted infrared sensors. But despite these flourishes the GT90 was in many ways a parts-bin special, with its independent double-wishbone suspension and FFD-Ricardo 5-speed manual gearbox lifted from the Jaguar XJ220, and an engine which was actually two Lincoln V8s welded together (albeit with a few cylinders cut off in the process).
Source: Sole example of proposed GT40 successor goes under the hammer
The GT40 has been a tough act for Ford to follow. The GT (RIP) served from 2003-2006, but Ford had first floated the idea of a spiritual successor to the Le Mans classic nearly a decade earlier, in the shape of the GT90. It never went on sale officially, but 15 years later the sole example of the concept is on the private market.
First announced in 1994, the GT90 was shown at the following year's Detroit Auto Show to more-or-less universal amazement. Its striking angular shape marked the start of Ford's 'Edge' design philosophy, seen soon after in the Ka, Mk1 Focus and others. The GT90 promised a theoretical 720hp and 660 lb ft of torque from its 48 valve quad-turbocharged V12, with a claimed top speed in the region of 250mph.
The concept, which Ford spent around $3 million USD (and just six months) developing, was very forward thinking, employing carbon-fibre construction and Porsche-style mechanised aerodynamic bodywork, as well as other gubbins that would become commonplace like the use of a reversing camera and side-mounted infrared sensors. But despite these flourishes the GT90 was in many ways a parts-bin special, with its independent double-wishbone suspension and FFD-Ricardo 5-speed manual gearbox lifted from the Jaguar XJ220, and an engine which was actually two Lincoln V8s welded together (albeit with a few cylinders cut off in the process).
Source: Sole example of proposed GT40 successor goes under the hammer
