In the mid-60s, Ford released the GT40 for the first time and the car immediately received the highest rating, having sold out in huge numbers. There was a racing version of the car, which collected a lot of prizes, including four times in the famous race "24 hours in Le Mans". By building a Ford race car, it was a long time; in the 60s, Ferrari owned the leading positions in this segment. To achieve success and recognition in Europe, victories were needed in prestigious races. To achieve this goal in 1963, Ford wanted to even buy a package of all champion technologies from the Ferrari team for $ 18 million.
However, Enzo Ferrari did not sell even for such a huge amount of money. Therefore, Ford had no choice but to start building a supercar to participate in Le Mans. In 1964, the Ford GT was created, which failed in the very first race.
After this, Henry Ford is the second (the son of the company's founder) hires Carroll Shelby, and in 1965 he saw the light of a car, which would be destined to win stunning victories for five years. The GT40 served as the heart of the 4.7-liter engine, and in 1966 there was already a 7-liter unit under the hood. The figure 40 in the name of the car means its height - on a car of the 60s it was exactly 40 inches or 1 m 15 mm. The cramped cockpit, the mid-engine layout, the huge Goodyear Eagle inscriptions on the sidewalls of the tires, a sharply sloping tail — this supercar remembered to contemporaries.
The model of these years is considered one of the favorite and most popular cars in the entire history of the automotive industry. When in 1968 restrictions on the working volume of racing engines came into force, the GT40 engine was equipped with new Weslake cylinder heads, and its volume was reduced to 5 liters. In this form, the car was again the first at Le Mans - in 1968 and 1969.
Soon the road version of the record holder appeared with a 4.7 liter engine, developing a power of 335, 340 and even 385 l. from. The speed of the 385-strong version went off scale for 300 km / hour. This car was equipped with a 5-speed ZF box and Girling disc brakes, the tank could hold 140 liters of fuel. Totally 107 such cars were sold. But there were also failures, to which, for example, the Ford GT70 was accepted. It was presented to the public in January 1971.
The index "70" according to the creators of the machine was supposed to mark the beginning of the era of rally cars of special construction, which, as experts predicted, will come in the 70s. The Ford GT70 was a two-seater coupe. As a strength element of the chassis, a welded frame of steel closed rectangular profiles was used, to which the bottom of the body was welded. The safety cage served as an additional support for the roof and sidewalls of the body and was welded to the frame. Body panels were made of fiberglass and fastened to the frame at 10 points.
The body had a drag coefficient of 0.36. On this model it was planned to install a V-shaped six six-liter displacement, 3 liter unit from the standard range and 1.6 liter 4-cylinder engine. The transmission consisted of a dry single-plate clutch and four- and five-speed ZF gearboxes. For the Ford GT70, 13-inch wheels from 7 to 10 inches wide were specially cast, on which 195 / 70R13 radial tires were mounted. The rack and pinion steering and front disc brakes shifted to the GT70 with Ford Taunus.
Front mounted radiator engine cooling system with the removal of warm air in the wheel wells, hydraulic reservoirs and retractable headlights. The landing was comfortable, despite the fact that, due to the longitudinal position of the engine and the small base (2324 mm), the seats were greatly moved forward. The car aroused great interest in the sports community, and it remained to wait for the results of the first competition, in which the Ford GT70 participated in the prototype rank, but trade unions intervened in the course of history, which in early 1971 organized a long strike at Ford factories.
She questioned the implementation of many plans, not only sports, but also the production program of the company. Work on the machine actually stopped, but nevertheless managed to build four prototypes, which took part in some competitions. The first exit took place on the asphalt rally Ronde Cevenole in France in 1971, where the car with a 2.9 liter V6 got off due to a problem in the engine. A few weeks later, another prototype was “written off” due to an accident after the fourth stage of the Tour de France race.
In 1972, a Cosworth BDA engine was launched at the World Championships rally, Tour de Corse in Corsica. The Ford GT70 was again unlucky - the hub bearing failed, and the team lost the opportunity to continue the race. After these failures in the sports career Ford GT70 was put to the cross. After 1973, the cars were handed over to Ford-South Africa, and their tracks were lost somewhere in South Africa. Thus ended the history of the car, which promised to become a formidable rival Alpine-Renault, Porsche and Lancia. In 1994, the year of the 30th anniversary of the Ford GT40 race car, which won Ferrari, to celebrate this important date, it was decided to create a supercar.
In the spring of the same year, the project received a green light. As a result, the GT90 team completed its task in less than six months - from the idea to the navigation model. The dominant theme of the GT90 design was the triangle. The beak of the hood, air intakes, wheel disks, rear-view mirrors, roof elements, brake lights, exhaust pipes - everything is permeated with a “triangular theme”. The front end is crowned with a huge air intake radiator, vertical channels for cooling the front brake discs, which resembles a Ford GT40. The side openings supplying air to the intercoolers, also echo the Ford GT40.
The cabin cap of tinted blue glass rests on the steel frame, and the doors are embedded in the roof, like on the GT40. The center of the back is emphasized by a triangular keel that fits the “active” rear wing, which, when a certain speed is reached, rises on two pillars and creates additional pressing force, ensuring the stability of the car. Due to the carefully developed design, the drag coefficient was 0.32.
The interior design is as functional as possible. Finishing materials are varied. The internal color is blue with a yellow triangle on the steering wheel. The “triangular theme” also appears in the solution of the center console.
The anatomical seats, covered with blue leather and suede, are equipped with four-point safety belts. Carbon fiber trim is used on the ceiling, center console and rear view mirror. Instruments on the panel are mounted separately and in different planes in order of priority and visual appeal. Glass appliances smoky. The GT90 power unit with a displacement of 6.0 liters, made entirely of aluminum, is a modular V-twin 12-cylinder with four-stage turbocharging. It is located longitudinally. According to preliminary estimates, the power of the power unit was 720 hp. at 6,600 revolutions per minute and torque of 881 Nm at 4,750 rpm.
With a curb weight of 1450 kg, the Ford GT90 accelerates to 97 km / h in 3.1 seconds, to 160 km / h in 6.2 seconds, and the maximum speed of the concept car is 378 km / h. This model is not for sale. And still, nine years later, it is considered a prototype. The age of race cars is inversely proportional to their speed. Almost all experts have already attributed the Ford GT40 to a glorious, but, alas, irrevocable past. This continued until the concept, bearing the big name Ford GT40, shook the entire automotive community in January 2002 at the Detroit International Auto Show.
In honor of the 100th anniversary of the concern Ford was presented a new GT, created in the image and likeness of the legendary Ford GT40 sample of the 60s. According to experts, in this step there is nothing nostalgic. It just turned out that automobile legends can bring quite real profits today, which prompted Ford Motor Co. open a special design studio that is called Living Legends. It was her efforts to add to the lineup of conceptual “living legends” (Forty-Nine, Continental, Bullitt Mustang, Thunderbird) that the concept of the Ford GT40 was added. The car is a new version of the famous 2-seater supercar.
The model has retained the old name as a tribute to the legendary progenitor, although the height has now become greater and is 44 inches or 1 m 117 mm. The squat waistline beautifully bends around the front 18-inch wheels, then sinks a little towards the doors, and the back again rises. Only already higher. After all, the rear wheels, to realize the colossal engine power, as on the original GT40, made more front.
Tires, like 36 years ago, Goodyear Eagle (front - 245 / 45R18, rear - 285 / 45R19), through the spokes of alloy wheels, made in the style of the 60s, viewed 380-mm ceramic discs with six-piston calipers Alcon. Designers abandoned the honeycomb monocoque technology used in the 60s in favor of a spatial aluminum frame and carbon fiber exterior panels. The suspension of all wheels is independent racing type, on transverse aluminum levers of different lengths with longitudinally mounted shock absorbers. In the design of the Ford GT 2005 were used not only absolutely new technical solutions, but also well-tested by time.
The steering column of the new sports car was borrowed from its sister Ford Focus, and the control buttons and airbags from the Ford Mondeo. But the problem of the location of the fuel tank is solved in a completely new way. Usually for vehicles with a mid-engine layout, the tank is located below, behind the passenger compartment.
The new GT40 has an oblong shape, which allowed it to be installed in the transmission tunnel. Nearby are mounted the main elements of the fuel supply system. Another interesting design solution is connected with the fuel theme. This is the so-called fuel door, eliminating the need for a fuel cap.
Now it is enough just to open it and insert the hose with gasoline. You should not worry about tightness - special gaskets (Ford received a patent for them) will not only prevent gasoline streaks, but also remove static electricity. If we continue to talk about the stuffing, then, of course, should be said about the engine.
Equipped with a supercharger and intercooler, the 550-hp Eaton (5,4 l V8, 500 hp at 5,250 rpm and 600 Nm at 3,250 r / min) is located longitudinally in front of the gearbox (this is again a mechanical ZF, it has six gears). Before the GT40, this engine was successfully used on the Mustang Cobra, F150 Lighting and Lincoln Navigator. Due to its characteristics, the power unit is capable of accelerating a 1.5-ton Ford GT to a maximum speed of 330 km / h. At the same time to achieve from the place of 100 km / h the car needs only 3, 9 seconds.
Fans of high-speed cars know that only Italian supercar Ferrari 360 Moden can boast of such dynamic characteristics. It was he, as envisioned by American engineers, that the resurrected legend was designed to confront. The interior also preserves the entourage of a long past era: in addition to the huge speedometer and tachometer, the massive dashboard holds four smaller pointer and several powerful toggle switches, and there was a place for a fire extinguisher near the driver. In general, everything is like the "ancestor." Seats, as befits a real racing car, are rigid unregulated "buckets" with perforations (for natural ventilation of the rider's body).
However, the developers have not forgotten about comfort: the GT40 has an excellent audio system and climate control.
