HENRY’S HERETIC
HENRY’S HERETIC
522kW FORD GT De-restricted racer the ultimate track toy
EVERY PETROL HEAD is guilty of fantasizing about the what ifs. What if you fitted a 5.0-litre V8, six-speedmanual and rear drive into a Focus? Or a 427 side-oiler under the bonnet of a new Mustang?
The execs at Ford and partner company Multimatic play that game too, but they play it for real. And not with just any car, either. They’ve done it with their current super-car, the Ford GT, to create the Mk II – perhaps a nod to the 1966 Le Mans winner.
As Ford product development chief Hau Thai-Tang told MOTOR: “It’s the ultimate expression of performance for the Ford GT. It combines all of the learnings that we’ve had from our motor-sports program with the Multimatic team, without any of therestrictions of balance of performance.”
The Ford GT Mk II is a track-ready, thoroughly optimized and DE-restricted evolution of the GT road car, engineered without the constraints of a pro racingrulebook. It’s properly exclusive, with a limited run of 45 units being produced over the next three years and a price tag of USD$1.2 million (AUD$1.7m). Like the road car, the Mk II is assembled in Canada by Multimatic.
Each system in the GT was rethought for the Mk II. Power is up, weight is down, down-force is increased, and the interior is pure race specification. The result is a track-day car with markedly
superior performance to the road car and with the capability of producing quicker lap times than even the 2016 Le Mans class-winning GT.
Consider that the road-going GT’s 3.5-litre EcoBoost V6 produces 485kW, but in parity-restricted race spec it makes a modest 373kW. In the Mk II, however, the V6 has been uncorked and tuned to a healthy 522kW. (Ford has yet to reveal torque figures.) Combine that with a kerb weight of 1390kg – more than 100kg less than a standard GT road car – and you’ve got a recipe for a completely mad track car.
The Mk II’s roof scoop feeds auxiliary engine and gearbox coolers, plus there is an automatically activated water spray system for the charge air coolers.
As Multimatic chief technical officer Larry Holt said with a grin: “We’ve got charge air coolers that allow it to be at that power (522kW) all day long. It’s got cooling that if you wanted to track-day this thing all day long, if you had the stamina you could.”
The Mk II’s aero package includes a massive fixed rear wing, large front splitter, GTE-derived diffuser and front fender louvres. Downforce amounts to well over 800kg at 240km/h, far beyond that of the GTE racecar.
The recalibrated seven-speed dualclutch gearbox changes gear with the same sharpness as the race car. The fact it sounds like a racecar paints a clear picture about its intended purpose as the dominator of track days.
The GT road car includes a roll structure, but the Mk II goes further with occupant safety and adds a complete cage, a pair of FIA-rated Sparco racing seats and six-point harnesses. The air bags do not carry over, but the Mk II adds a MoTeC data acquisition dash unit with an integrated rear view camera display, necessary since the roof intake replaces the rear window.
Similar to the racing GT, the Mk II’s suspension is based around a set of Multimatic’s innovative DSSV spool valve dampers. They’re adjustable, but with a narrower range than pure professional dampers. Brakes are Brembo carbon ceramics and the 19-inch slicks are supplied by Michelin.
The Mk II is designed to have racecar levels of performance and yet still be accessible for track-day drivers. As Holt told us: “Our mantra is to reward the expert and flatter the novice.” The GT Mk II debuted at the 2019
522kW FORD GT De-restricted racer the ultimate track toy
EVERY PETROL HEAD is guilty of fantasizing about the what ifs. What if you fitted a 5.0-litre V8, six-speedmanual and rear drive into a Focus? Or a 427 side-oiler under the bonnet of a new Mustang?
The execs at Ford and partner company Multimatic play that game too, but they play it for real. And not with just any car, either. They’ve done it with their current super-car, the Ford GT, to create the Mk II – perhaps a nod to the 1966 Le Mans winner.
As Ford product development chief Hau Thai-Tang told MOTOR: “It’s the ultimate expression of performance for the Ford GT. It combines all of the learnings that we’ve had from our motor-sports program with the Multimatic team, without any of therestrictions of balance of performance.”
The Ford GT Mk II is a track-ready, thoroughly optimized and DE-restricted evolution of the GT road car, engineered without the constraints of a pro racingrulebook. It’s properly exclusive, with a limited run of 45 units being produced over the next three years and a price tag of USD$1.2 million (AUD$1.7m). Like the road car, the Mk II is assembled in Canada by Multimatic.
Each system in the GT was rethought for the Mk II. Power is up, weight is down, down-force is increased, and the interior is pure race specification. The result is a track-day car with markedly
superior performance to the road car and with the capability of producing quicker lap times than even the 2016 Le Mans class-winning GT.
Consider that the road-going GT’s 3.5-litre EcoBoost V6 produces 485kW, but in parity-restricted race spec it makes a modest 373kW. In the Mk II, however, the V6 has been uncorked and tuned to a healthy 522kW. (Ford has yet to reveal torque figures.) Combine that with a kerb weight of 1390kg – more than 100kg less than a standard GT road car – and you’ve got a recipe for a completely mad track car.
The Mk II’s roof scoop feeds auxiliary engine and gearbox coolers, plus there is an automatically activated water spray system for the charge air coolers.
As Multimatic chief technical officer Larry Holt said with a grin: “We’ve got charge air coolers that allow it to be at that power (522kW) all day long. It’s got cooling that if you wanted to track-day this thing all day long, if you had the stamina you could.”
The Mk II’s aero package includes a massive fixed rear wing, large front splitter, GTE-derived diffuser and front fender louvres. Downforce amounts to well over 800kg at 240km/h, far beyond that of the GTE racecar.
The recalibrated seven-speed dualclutch gearbox changes gear with the same sharpness as the race car. The fact it sounds like a racecar paints a clear picture about its intended purpose as the dominator of track days.
The GT road car includes a roll structure, but the Mk II goes further with occupant safety and adds a complete cage, a pair of FIA-rated Sparco racing seats and six-point harnesses. The air bags do not carry over, but the Mk II adds a MoTeC data acquisition dash unit with an integrated rear view camera display, necessary since the roof intake replaces the rear window.
Similar to the racing GT, the Mk II’s suspension is based around a set of Multimatic’s innovative DSSV spool valve dampers. They’re adjustable, but with a narrower range than pure professional dampers. Brakes are Brembo carbon ceramics and the 19-inch slicks are supplied by Michelin.
The Mk II is designed to have racecar levels of performance and yet still be accessible for track-day drivers. As Holt told us: “Our mantra is to reward the expert and flatter the novice.” The GT Mk II debuted at the 2019
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