Ford GT takes shape as carmaker counts down to 50th anniversary of Le Mans win

May 18, 2015 by Alastair Sloane

This is the new Ford GT, the supercar Ford is building to celebrate the 50^th anniversary next year of its clean sweep in the 1966 Le Mans 24-hour race, where its famous GT40s filled the first three places. The pre-production model was pictured at Ford HQ in Detroit. It appears to be similar to the concept unveiled at the Detroit motor show in January, although Ford has confirmed few details, other than the GT would be available in left-hand cialis patent expiration

drive only. It did admit at Detroit that carbon-fibre would be used in the tub and other body panels, that the engine would be a mid-mounted 3.5-litre Ecoboost V6 engine, and that its “more than” 450kW would go to the rear wheels via a seven-speed dual-clutch transmission. What has since emerged, says spy agency Automedia, is the fixed position of the GT’s driver’s seat. It won’t be able to be moved, either for height or rake. Rather, to get comfortable, the driver will adjust the brake and accelerator pedals and steering column. The transmission will be controlled via paddles on the steering wheel, which is likely to be slathered in buttons and switches like that of modern Ferraris. A configurable dash display will also dominate what sits in front of the driver, bringing the GT in line with the likes of the Lamborghini Aventador and offerings from McLaren. The GT will go on sale in the United States late next year. It is expected to make its first public appearance in June, when Ford honours the 50^th anniversary of its Le Mans win in 1966, the first time an American car had won the French classic. Of course, the GT40 didn’t just win the race, it finished 1-2-3. First home all those years ago were the Kiwi pair of Bruce McLaren and Chris Amon. Fellow Kiwi Denny Hulme and Englishman Ken Miles finished second, and Americans Ron Bucknum and Dick Hutcherson were third. A Ford GT40 won the 1967 race, too, this time with Americans Dan Gurney and A.J. Foyt sharing the driving. Bruce McLaren finished fourth in another GT40. Ferrari finished second and third. Amon also piloted a Ferrari 330 P4 in 1967 but it broke down after 105 laps. Ford GT40s also won Le Mans in 1968 and ’69. The 1970s saw the start of Porsche’s dominance.

If you are in a position to shell out upwards of NZ$600,000 for the 60^thanniversary Porsche 911 S/T or optional Porsche 911 S/T Heritage, you’ll no doubt want the signature titanium watch that goes with it. That’s how Porsche figures it anyway. Or, if you want the watch you’ll need to get the car. Both the car and the watch are limited to 1963 units, the year the original 911 model broke cover. The watch – Chronograph 1 911 S/T and Chronograph 1 911 S/T Heritage – and the car carry matching edition numbers. The watch is priced at $US13,500, or around $NZ22,200. The car, says Porsche NZ, starts at $NZ608,000. A “strictly limited number” will go into production for NZ early next year.

Eight European Union countries are pushing to weaken new EU emissions limits for cars, saying they are overly ambitious and unrealistic for carmakers to hit. The eight countries – France, Italy, the Czech Republic, Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland, Romania and Slovakia – said in a joint paper that parts of the proposed Euro 7 regulation, including curbs on exhaust pipe emissions, should be scrapped entirely. They said the limits would force carmakers to invest in improving exhaust emissions performance, money which would be better spent on developing zero-emission vehicles. Taken together, the countries would have enough votes to block the proposal.

A go-anywhere EV concept for the US military uses an onboard 12kW diesel generator to top up the batteries on the move. The all-wheel-drive has 800-volt technology and a 200kWh battery pack to power three electric motors, two in the rear and one up front. Claimed output is 745kW/15,590Nm, or 1000hp and 11,500 ft-lb of torque. The four-seater was developed by the defence division of General Motors and is based on the platform of the Hummer SUV. It rides on Fox performance shock absorbers and 37-inch tyres and comes with “exceptional” approach and departure angles for off-road mobility. Maximum range using the generator to keep things ticking over is said to be around 500km.

The outside temperature in Midland, Texas, was 40.5C when staff at the local office of the US National Weather Service set out to show the cabin of a closed car can literally get baking hot in summer. They mixed up a batch of chocolate chip cookies and laid them on the car’s dashboard – the surface of which showed a temperature of 87.7C. A little over four hours later the cookies were ready to eat. “Even though ours weren’t golden brown, we can confirm that they are done and delicious,” the staff wrote on Facebook.

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