New Ford GT Makes Its First UK Appearance

Ford’s new GT will be wowing the crowds at the Goodwood Festival of Speed this weekend, the first time the production version has been seen in the UK.

The car will appear alongside an exciting line-up of Ford’s most famous racing cars from around the world including the three winning GT40s from the 1966 Le Mans 24 hour race. The new GT is a modern recreation of these inspirational cars.

Since the Ford GT Concept made its European debut at the Geneva Motor Show in March, over 900 potential customers have registered their interest in owning one of the 80 road cars destined for Europe, on a dedicated website www.fordteamrs.com.

The full production run of 4,500 cars will start in the US next year and it is likely to go on sale there for under $150,000. The car features a modular aluminium body and is powered by a supercharged 5.4 litre V8 producing more than 500bhp and 500lb ft of torque.

The new GT will be helping Ford celebrate its centenary at the Goodwood Festival of Speed on 11-13 July, where Ford is the feature sponsor. GT chief programme engineer Neil Hannemann will be running the car up the hillclimb on all three days.

Some of the most famous names in motorsport past and present will be lining up on the track including Sir Jackie Stewart, Hannu Mikkola, David Pearson, and the latest F1 star Ralph Firman. Edsel B Ford II, great-grandson of company founder Henry Ford, will join in the celebrations by riding up the famous hillclimb course in a Ford Model T100, a newly created copy of the famous Model T.

One of the highlights of the Festival is always the central display outside Goodwood House and this year promises to be the most spectacular yet. Ford will create the tallest structure ever seen in front of the 300-year-old stately home on the Sussex Downs - a massive work of art depicting one of the proudest moments in Ford’s motorsport history, the 1966 GT40 Le Mans 1-2-3 victory.

The majority of competition cars at the Festival have always been Ford-powered, and this year Ford and Goodwood have joined forces to bring some very special racing machinery to the event from the USA, Europe, and further afield.

Ford’s specially constructed infield exhibition site features a fascinating display marking 100 years of Ford with a huge collection of models of landmark vehicles from the company’s first century.