2005 Ford GT

For car guys, the Ford GT40 serves as one of (if not the) single most important American racing car ever produced.  At their height, the Shelby American and later John Wyer Engineering teams entered Ford GT40s in various guises, Mk I, Mk II and Mk III, winning at nearly every major sports car racing circuit including the 24 Hours of Le Mans (1966, 1967, 1968 and 1969), 12 Hours of Sebring (1966, 1967 and 1969), 24 Hours of Le Mans (1965 and 1966) to name a few and upending Ferrari SEFAC’s long-held dominance of the FIA World Sports Car Championship.

The distinctive shape of the original GT40 racing cars was revived by Ford in 2005 as a limited production run of road-going cars renamed Ford GT for the company’s most loyal and well-heeled customers to commemorate Ford’s 100th anniversary.  The GT was a complete departure from the brand’s bread and butter econoboxes, sedans, SUVs and pickup trucks pitting them directly against American market segment competitors Chevrolet Corvette and Dodge Viper, both of which were making names for themselves in U.S. and European long-distance sports car racing events.

Production and assembly of the Ford GT began at Mayflower Vehicle Systems in Norwalk, Ohio and painted by Saleen at the Saleen Special Vehicles factory in Troy, Michigan.  The GT’s supercharged V8 engines were built at Ford’s Romeo Engine Plant in Romeo, Michigan.  Installation of the engines and transmissions and interior finishing were done at Ford’s SVT plant in Wixom, Michigan.

Ford had originally planned to produce 4,500 GTs with 100 to be exported to Europe with another 200 examples were destined for Canada. However, production ended in September of 2006 without reaching the planned production expectations.  550 cars were built in 2004 for the 2005 model year, 1,900 in 2005 and just over 1,600 in 2006; 4,038 cars in total.  The final eleven bodies manufactured by Mayflower Vehicle Systems were disassembled and kept as parts sources for future use.

When the Ford GT was originally announced, it created a sensation with demand outpacing supply and the cars selling for premium plus-plus prices. Former Microsoft executive Jon Shirley took delivery of the first production Ford GT in Midnight Blue after bidding over $557,000 for the right at a charity auction.

Many of the early cars sold for in excess of $100,000 over the MSRP of $139,995 (later increased to $149,995).  Optional equipment such as McIntosh sound system, racing stripes, painted brake calipers and forged alloy wheels added $13,500 to the price.

The Ford GT features many technologies unique at its time including a superplastic  formed frame, aluminum body panels, roll-bonded floor panels, a friction stir welded center tunnel, covered by a magnesium center console, a “ship in a bottle” gas tank, a capless fuel filler system, one-piece door panels, and an aluminum engine cover with a one-piece carbon fiber inner panel.

Brakes are four-piston aluminum Brembo calipers with cross-drilled and vented rotors at all four corners. When the rear canopy is opened, the rear suspension components and engine are visible.

The longitudinal rear-mounted Modular 5.4 liter V8 engine  is all-aluminum alloy engine with an Eaton 2300 Lyshold screw-type supercharger.  It features a forged rotating assembly housed in an aluminum block designed specifically for the car.  A dry sump  oiling system is used, allowing the engine to sit low in the car’s frame.

The DOHC 4 valves per cylinder heads  are a revision of the 2000 Ford Mustang SVT Cobra R cylinder heads (with slightly increased wall casting thickness in the exhaust port).  The camshafts have unique specifications, with more lift and duration than those found in the Shelby GT500.  Power output is 550BHP (410 kW; 558 PS) at 6,500RPM and 500 lb⋅ft (678 N⋅m) of torque at 4,50RPM.   A Ricardo 6-speed manual transmission  is fitted featuring a helical limited-slip differential.  Car & Drivertested the GT in January 2004 and recorded a 0-60 mph (97 km/h) acceleration time of 3.3 seconds.

Performance:

5.4 liter supercharged V8 engine

• Top speed: 205 mph (330 km/h)
• ¹⁄₄mile (402 m): 11.8 seconds
• 0–62 mph (0–100 km/h): 3.8 seconds
• 0–124 mph (0–200 km/h): 12.3 seconds
• 0–186 mph (0–300 km/h): 44.3 seconds

This 2005 Ford GT (#1528) is one of only 425 in white with blue stripes with BBS forged alloy wheels and McIntosh sound system and showing 107 original miles, perhaps the lowest mileage GT anywhere.

“At Curated, we do not acquire cars simply for inventory but rather based on what the car is.  We love interesting provenance, very low production, very low mileage, very special and often weird cars”

John Temerian, Jr.
Curated co-founder

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2005 Ford GT For Sale