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News of  January 09, 2002

New Ford GT40 Concept Joins 'Living Legends' Car Lineup

GT40

Photo: Automotive Intelligence

The GT40 - the legendary car brought to life by Henry Ford II to change performance car history - finds new life in a modern road car that re-ignites Ford's hallmarks of passion, performance and speed.

The new high-performance concept is inspired by the vehicle that roared into the hearts of car enthusiasts everywhere during the 1960s. The new GT40 joins Ford's "Living Legends" lineup of production and concept cars, including the Ford Thunderbird and Mustang, and the Forty-Nine concept.

"GT40 is the ultimate Living Legend," explains J Mays, Ford vice president of Design. "It's a true supercar with appeal equal to that of the greatest sports cars in the world, but with the addition of a heritage no one can match. Essential elements of the original - including the stunning low profile and mid-mounted American V-8 - continue in this latest interpretation of the classic."

While the new concept and the original both share the mystique of the GT40 name, they share not a single dimension. The concept is more than a foot and a half longer and stands nearly four inches taller. Its new lines draw upon and refine the best features of GT40 history and express the car's identity through modern proportion and surface development.

The GT40 concept casts the familiar, sleek silhouette of its namesake, yet every dimension, every curve and every line on the car is a unique reinterpretation of the original. The GT40 features a long front overhang reminiscent of 1960s-era racecars. But its sweeping cowl, subtle accent lines and fiber-optic headlamps strike a distinctly contemporary pose.

"Like its namesake, the GT40 concept is not over-wrought with advanced technologies," Mays says. "While it represents the best of Ford design, engineering and expertise, it is a no-frills machine. You won't find voice-activated telematics here - not even power windows - just pure, refined performance."

Looking in through the backlight, one finds the essence of the sports car in the MOD 5.4-liter V-8 engine and its complex array of polished stainless-steel header pipes, braided stainless steel fuel lines with anodized aluminum fittings and supercharger with intercooler.

What's Next for GT40?

The GT40 concept was created to foretell and test the future of exciting Ford cars to come. As with other Living Legends concepts - including the 1999 Thunderbird concept and Forty-Nine concept - the GT40 was engineered from the beginning for production feasibility. Ford's SVT Engineering - which also created performance versions of the Focus, Mustang Cobra and F-Series Lightning - developed the chassis and powertrain. SVT Engineering worked closely with Living Legends designers to ensure the concept would live up to its performance heritage.

(Jan. 07, 2002)

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