I didn't see a post on this, and it's likely that some of you have already read the following:

The latest on the Ford GT from Ford media...

PUTTING A PRICE ON NEW FORD GT

DEARBORN, Oct. 15, 2002 - Winning the 1966 24-Hours at Le Mans in 1-2-3 fashion: priceless. Beating Enzo Ferrari at his own game: priceless. Driving home in a new Ford GT in 2004: about six figures.

Ford announced to dealers the first details about the upcoming production version of its award-winning GT40. The first: the new, limited-production supercar from Ford will carry the name of the 1960s racer that made automotive history, the Ford GT.

"More than 35 years after that famous Le Mans victory we're proud to announce that Ford's new supercar will carry the same name as the legendary Ford GT racecar," said Steve Lyons, president of Ford Division. "And we're putting customers first, so dealers who have won recognition for customer satisfaction will guarantee themselves one of these dream cars."

Ford announced it would build a production version of its GT40 concept car just 45 days after the car won unprecedented public and critical acclaim at 2002 North American International Auto Show. Since that time, dealers have been deluged with inquiries from interested customers asking, "how much, how many and when?"

"When we announced our plans to produce the car, we asked people to be patient about the details, but frankly, no one listened," said Lyons. "There's just too much excitement surrounding this car. And the speculation on price and volume has been wild. That's why we wanted to communicate some of the details now." While the final MSRP won't be released until just before the car goes on sale, Lyons told dealers that early guesses of $250,000 are way off. According to Lyons, the MSRP will "substantially less than $150,000," which, he explained, will make it substantially less than its nearest supercar competitor the Ferrari 360 Modena.

Ford announced officially at its annual dealer meetings last week that only three cars would be produced in 2003 to promote the product and help celebrate Ford Motor Company's 100th Anniversary. The three cars are symbolic of Ford's miraculous 1-2-3 victory in the 1966 24-hours of Le Mans. Regular, limited-production of about 1,000 cars annually begins in 2004.

Ford dealers also were informed that the distribution plan for the Ford GT would be based on a system that rewards dealers for consistently delivering high customer-satisfaction numbers and good sales results. Dealers unable to meet the specific qualification will participate in a lottery for a chance to earn at least one of the extremely low-volume products.

GT40 Legend The legend of the Ford GT began in the mid-1960s. The great American supercar was a low-slung, muscular machine built by Ford to win on the legendary Le Mans race circuit. And it did. The Ford GT dominated the world of endurance racing from 1966 to 1969. Ford's 2002 auto show concept, dubbed the GT40 in recognition of the nickname of some of the earlier, 40-inch high racecars, was created to celebrate that great era in history and look forward to the great years to come. Unveiled at the 2002 North American International Auto Show, the GT40 concept became an instant sensation. Just 45 days after the vehicle was unveiled, Ford stunned the world again, officially announcing plans for production version.

The Story of the Ford GT Name True racing historians and enthusiasts know the legend behind the name of the Ford GT, which later became nicknamed GT40 in reference to the car's overall height. The original race program was conceived by Henry Ford II as after his attempt to purchase Ferrari fell through. Ford turned his attention to building his own program. The program's roots can be traced back to England where, in 1963 Ford's team, under the direction of Roy Lunn, began work on an all-new Ford racecar, loosely based on the Eric Broadley's Lola GT. In April of 1964, the car, proudly bearing the name Ford GT was presented to the press for the first time. It was at Le Mans in June of 1964 that people began referring to the sleek racer as GT40. In its first year, all the Ford GTs retired from the race. Ford hired Carroll Shelby in 1964 to oversee the program. His first move was to install a 427 cubic inch engine in the car, which became known as the Ford GT40 Mark II. In February 1965, Ken Miles and Lloyd Ruby drove the Mark II to its first win at the Daytona 2000-km race breaking almost every established track record. The cars went on to their famous 1-2-3 victory at Le Mans in 1966 and dominated the endurance racing world for four straight years.

Throughout the years and despite the GT40 nickname and various versions including Mark II, III, IV and the less known and aesthetically best-forgotten "Mirage" models, at the insistence of Henry Ford II, the cars continued to the nomenclature "Ford GT" or just "Ford" on their body-sides and steering wheel hub.

The legendary Ford GT racing program culminated in June of 1969 with its last victory at Le Mans. Some cars continued to compete after 1969, but the Ford factory program came to a close. Various attempts to keep the flame burning in the form of newly available cars built from spare parts and replica parts continued through the 1970s to present, including a line of cars known as GT40 Mark Vs built by an aftermarket company, which even picked up on the chassis numbering sequence. No Ford badging appeared on these cars. The side stripes carried the name "GT40" or a "GT40 MkV" badge on the wheels.

At the 2002 North American International Auto Show, Ford rolled out a concept car called the GT40, which also carried on the numbering sequence of the cars. After deciding to build a production version of the car in February, Ford said details, including the final name would be announced later.

Lyons told dealers last week that the new supercar would be called simply the "Ford GT" paying homage to the original while making a clear statement for the Ford brand.

"The legend of the Ford GT is a distinct Ford legend and we want to pay homage to that," said Lyons. "Little kids, and big ones, dream about 'Ferraris' not '360 Modenas.' We want people to dream about the 'Ford GT' and put the emphasis on the Ford brand."

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Again, just passing on the latest info for the folks enrolled with the Club Center....(and reminding everyone to update their membership lists, and any clubs getting these second or third hand, make sure to contact me about enrolling...it's relatively quick and painless!)

Sincerely,

Dave Marchand Mustang/Thunderbird Club Center Coordinator Phone: 1-800-576-PONY/1-800-TBIRD10 Fax: 1-248-488-3696 Address: PO Box 2909 Farmington Hills, MI 48333 E-mail: dmarchand@minacsusa.com

 

Only building 3 next year ..

BUT maybe dangling the carrot of the Ford GT will get some dealers to give a ****...

Doug

 

As much as I love Fords I"m gonna have to Bash. Colleti (sp) was just bragging how his GT would turn the Viper into a garden snake. For alot less $$$ I think an L could turn a Viper back into an earth worm. This is ridiculous pricing on Fords part, the odds of ever seeing one of these on the road are right betwwen poor and pisspoor.

 

So much for getting an 03. And what happened to the $80k-$100k price? Should have kept my order for an M3.

 

I don't know about you guys but I'm thinking flop!


And I think I would rather have a viper anyway. or a 911turbo or a z06 for half the price that would hold its own with a those cars too.


No matter what we all say about chevy you have to give them props for making the vette so afordable for what it does.

 

Ford never announced pricing Silver-Bolt. And I don't know any manufacturer that has ever gotten a mass produced car to production faster than this.

 

Yeah, honestly, if I had over 100k to spend on a car, I really don't think I'd buy anything made by Ford... I probably wouldn't fit in it anyway... I have a hard enough time squeezing into a Mustang.
On the other hand... I've seen a Diablo, a 360 Modena, and even a McLaren (probably fake, though) on the street. I've never seen a "Ford GT", so it would turn heads... lots of them.
Some people only want an "American" car, and those people right now are driving Vipers and Z06s. Why? Because there's not much else out there... they have the money for something better. That's Ford's market. The guys who want a "supercar" but don't want to go to Japan or Europe to get it.

 

I think people buy a Z06 because it is by far the best car for the money...not just because it is "american".

No other car, european or japanese comes close for the cash.

 

Yeah, but there are people who want the most performance they can get... money is not an object. Those are the people who buy Ferrari's... what if they only want a home grown car? There's not much out there for them in the way of performance. This car is for them.

 

Those were my exact thoughts when I decided on a Z. Dealers let them go for below sticker (you can get one new in the mid $40s if you shop around) and the financing couldn't be better, especially over the past year. A car that is within the financial reach of many supercar enthusiasts.

Hey I love Fords, and the new Cobra is a bargain, but a GT40 was just not meant to be had by the general (read non-wealthy) public.

 

Well, we may just have to disagree then.

I doubt there is someone sitting at home thinking, hey I want a $100,000 plus supercar, but gee, none are made in america (of course they could get the S7).

I think the performance of the GT will surprise you. It has been benchmarked against the beloved Ferrari's. I believe that it will be sharing garage space with more Ferrari's and Bentley's than it will be Viper's, Corvette's and Mustangs.

But I could be wrong. Maybe the blue oval will hurt its snob appeal too much.

 

I saw the GT at FFW here in Cordova. I have to say I'd much rather have a GT than a Ferrari. The problem with a Ferrari is that if you want to drive it in most cities there is no way to get it serviced. When it comes to Performance the GT will hand Ferrari its Butt on a Platter.

I applaud Ford for giving this to the Dealers with the best customer satisifaction.
Probably No SVT Dealers willl qualify.

I predict There will be some of the first 1000 showing up at Auctions going for Double MSRP.

 

Ouch. Thats quite a steep price. I'd personally get myself a z06 instead of something like that... sweeter looking and more affordable!

-Mike

 

Is 1000 units mass production. Several euro auto makers can produce more cars than this and they are assembled by hand. It"s not like Ford had to put a man on the moon to come up with the technology to build a new GT. The project is probably moving so fast because most the parts are coming from current slightly modified stock parts. Several auto makers are coming out with Luxury cars with HP ratings approaching or surpassing the GT"s claimed 500/500 (I think these #"s are correct). How embarrasing would it be to get your doors sucked off of your rough idling, rough driving,hard to see out of, Hey everyone look at me i'm driving the new Ford GT by a six passenger Mercedes with 12 disc premium sond,front and side airbags,4 climate zones,cruise control,slapstick auto,lighted vanity mirrors for front and rear passenger,ABS brakes,traction control,and customer serv. that will serve you wine and beer when you have to wait for an oil change. Now thats a car worth 6 figures.The logical price for a new GT should be about the same as a new Viper. Kind of reminds me of my grandma, my parents had a very nice lake house on PK, but could only get her to come and visit only a few times in 25 years. Dad said if we would put up an outhouse in back she would have been there every weekend.

 

Depends on your interpretation of "substantially less"
If I had that kind of cash to get rid of - 911 Turbo, very fast, handles well and can fit your clubs.
I'm sure the majority of the GT's will rarely see the light of day. Thats why you gotta love Nick Mason, the drummer from Pink Floyd. He buys $1+ million cars and then takes them out and races them

I had to put in this Nick Mason quote. I think many of us here will remember it only all too well. Although he was purchasing a Ferrari 250 GTO.