The Ford GT90 Concept
The Ford GT Mk II is a limited edition, track-only car, co-developed by Ford Performance and Multimatic, and engineered independent of race series rules, regulations and limitations. Powered by a twin-turbo 3.5-litre EcoBoost V6 engine, the GT Mk II is in stark contrast to the beast of a 6.0-litre V12 quad turbo engine Ford created by removing two cylinders from a pair of 4.6-litre V8 engines and sticking them together in a 90-degree V configuration.
Ford owned Jaguar at the time and many components, including the chassis and suspension, were borrowed from a Jaguar XJ220, while carbon fibre body panels kept weight down to just 1451 kg. While the Ford GT90 never went in to production, it took six months to build and cost $3 million, the Ford GT Mk II is strictly limited to just 45 examples and prices start at $1.2 million.
A car with 720 horsepower was unheard of in the 90s and the press were soon calling it the most powerful car in the world. The highly advanced quad turbo produced so much heat that the exhaust system had to be surrounded with ceramic plates, similar to those used on the Space Shuttle, to prevent the body panels from melting.
More than 24 years after it was unleashed, the GT90 continues to finish top in "best concept car ever" lists, has appeared in many video racing games, and has even been the subject of independently built tributes; the GT90 has more staying power than a many production cars.
My favorite car ever. The GT90 used to live down the road from me (maybe still does?) after it was acquired by Hajek Motorsports. Got to see it up close in 2015. Don't know if they still have it, or even if they bought it or were just leasing it. They did some maintenance on it (plugs/wires etc). They even claimed that all 4 turbos were connected and active, contradicting previous rumors that only 2 were active. Still don't understand why Ford didn't keep this car in their SVT museum.
ReplyDeleteI cant belive they use a perfectly good XJ220 to built this., now I don't even want to know the serial number on that chassis...
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