Ford GT (2017): Born to Race, Bred for the Road

The 2005 Ford GT was a tribute. The 2017 Ford GT was a weapon.

Ford did not build the 2017 GT to celebrate an anniversary or to give wealthy buyers a glamorous object for their garages. They built it for a singular, specific purpose: to win the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2016—exactly 50 years after the famous Ford 1-2-3 finish of 1966. The road car was, by Ford’s own admission, an afterthought—a homologation requirement that allowed them to enter the GTE Pro class. The project was treated with the intensity and secrecy of a black ops program. Much of the early development happened in a basement facility at Ford’s Dearborn headquarters, with the team working on what they internally called “Project Silver.”

The result is one of the most extreme road cars ever produced by a major manufacturer. It makes a Ferrari 488 feel like sensible family transportation.

The Mission: Fifty Years On

When Ford announced in January 2016 that they would return to Le Mans with a new GT race car, the automotive world was stunned. Ford had not competed officially at Le Mans since the GT40 program. The announcement came just months before the race itself, meaning the entire program—from clean sheet design to a competitive racing car—had been developed in extraordinary secrecy over roughly two years.

The racing team was Chip Ganassi Racing, veterans of endurance and NASCAR competition. The car they would campaign was the Ford GT GTE—and unlike the 2005 car, this new GT was designed racing-first, road car second. Every aerodynamic compromise, every weight decision, every packaging choice was made in the context of 24 hours of racing at La Sarthe.

Aerodynamics: The Flying Buttresses

The defining visual feature of the 2017 GT is its utterly unconventional body structure. The cockpit is a narrow, teardrop-shaped bubble, tapering dramatically from the widest point of the greenhouse toward the tail. The rear wheels are mounted on separate pontoons, physically separated from the main body structure and connected to the roof by massive, curved flying buttresses.

These buttresses serve multiple aerodynamic functions simultaneously. They channel air from the sides of the greenhouse, accelerating it toward the central engine bay and rear diffuser. They provide structural rigidity without contributing frontal area. Most critically, the air intakes that feed the engine’s twin turbochargers are located inside the buttresses themselves—an elegant packaging solution that eliminates the need for visible air scoops on the bodywork surface.

The car features full hydraulic suspension that can lower the ride height by 50 mm when “Track Mode” is selected. This is not merely an aesthetic change: when the car drops, the suspension geometry changes, the spring rates effectively double, and the aerodynamic relationship between the underfloor and the road surface is transformed. In track mode, the GT becomes essentially a racing car that happens to have a license plate. The transition is dramatic enough to be felt immediately—the car tightens, hunkers, and communicates with a completely different intensity through every input.

The Engine: The V6 Controversy

When Ford announced the new GT would be powered by a 3.5-liter twin-turbocharged V6 EcoBoost—not a V8, not a V10, not anything with double-digit cylinders—the response from American enthusiasts ranged from bewilderment to outrage. “A supercar needs a V8!” was the overwhelming consensus across the internet.

Ford’s engineering team was unimpressed by the criticism, and they ignored it completely.

The reasoning for the V6 was methodical. The GTE class at Le Mans had a Balance of Performance system that equalized power outputs across manufacturers. The advantage for teams came not from raw power but from packaging, aerodynamics, and reliability. A V6, despite being narrower and more compact than a V8, could produce the same power with smaller packaging—and smaller packaging meant the aerodynamic teardrop shape of the GT’s body was actually achievable. A V8 would have required a wider, taller engine bay that would have fundamentally compromised the aerodynamic concept.

Additionally, Ford wanted to promote EcoBoost technology. The F-150 trucks with EcoBoost V6 engines were their bestselling and most profitable products. Racing a GT with an EcoBoost engine at Le Mans was, simultaneously, a brilliant engineering decision and the most expensive marketing campaign in corporate history.

The EcoBoost V6 produces 647 horsepower (later revised to 660 hp in some model years) and approximately 550 lb-ft of torque. An anti-lag system maintains turbo pressure during throttle lift-off, significantly reducing the delay between throttle application and boost response. The sound is industrial, mechanical, and aggressive—not musical, but undeniably purposeful.

The Carbon Tub: Multimatic’s Masterpiece

Unlike the 2005 aluminum space frame, the 2017 GT is built around a carbon fiber monocoque. This is not unusual for a hypercar—but what is unusual is who builds the car.

The Ford GT is not assembled at a Ford factory. It is assembled by Multimatic, a Canadian company based in Markham, Ontario. Multimatic are not a typical contract manufacturer; they are one of the world’s most advanced specialist vehicle engineering and manufacturing companies, responsible for race car construction, suspension development (including the patented DSSV damper system), and complex low-volume vehicle production.

Multimatic integrates an FIA-specification roll cage directly into the carbon fiber roof structure, providing occupant protection that meets racing safety standards rather than merely road car minimums. The driver and passenger seats are bolted directly to the chassis structure rather than mounted on rails, reducing weight and lowering the roofline. Instead of moving the seat to adjust driving position, the driver pulls a strap to adjust the pedal box and steering column toward them—a setup identical to a racing car.

There is no trunk. Not a small trunk, not a compromised trunk: no trunk at all. The only storage space in the entire car is a narrow shelf behind the seats barely large enough for two soft bags. The Ford GT is incapable of being used for grocery shopping. This is by design.

Le Mans Victory: Mission Accomplished

The 2016 24 Hours of Le Mans, run 50 years to the month after Ford’s first victory, produced one of the most extraordinary results in recent motorsport history.

In the GTE Pro class, the Ford GT dominated. Chip Ganassi Racing’s car number 68, driven by Joey Hand, Dirk Müller, and Sébastien Bourdais, crossed the finish line first in class. Car number 69, driven by Ryan Briscoe, Richard Westbrook, and Scott Dixon, finished third in class. They beat factory teams from Ferrari, Porsche, and Aston Martin.

The timing was so precise—on the 50th anniversary—that Ford’s PR team, who had planned for almost every contingency, briefly struggled to believe it was actually happening. The victory was not just a motorsport result; it was a historic symmetry.

The Buying Process: Ford’s Social Media Test

The commercial reality of the Ford GT program generated considerable controversy. With a build plan of just 250 cars over four years (later extended), Ford needed to ensure their GT reached genuine enthusiasts rather than speculators and flippers—the exact problem they had faced with the 2005 car.

Their solution was extraordinary: buyers had to apply. Ford’s marketing team reviewed each application based on social media presence, Ford brand loyalty, history of car collecting, and stated intentions regarding use of the vehicle. Being wealthy was not sufficient on its own. Being famous helped.

The process was simultaneously brilliant and deeply problematic. It guaranteed media coverage and controlled the initial customer base. It also generated legal challenges: WWE wrestler and actor John Cena was among the early applicants approved and allocated a car. He sold it within months at a significant profit, in direct violation of the purchase agreement’s two-year no-resale clause. Ford sued him, and the case was eventually settled—the terms are confidential, but the publicity surrounding it effectively communicated to every other GT owner that the no-resale clause was enforceable.

The MSRP was $450,000. Today, Ford GTs trade at between $900,000 and $1.2 million, with particularly significant examples (Le Mans liveries, very early builds, cars with racing history) exceeding those figures.

The Driving Experience

Driving the 2017 Ford GT on a public road is an exercise in managing extremes. The cabin is genuinely claustrophobic—designed to fit a helmeted racing driver, not a road car occupant. The cockpit is extraordinarily hot even with the air conditioning at maximum, because the engine sits just inches behind the bulkhead. The visibility rearward is essentially zero; two small mirrors and a reversing camera are the only tools for gauging proximity to other objects. The cabin noise at any speed above 100 km/h is significant.

And yet, on a mountain road or a race track, the GT is a revelation. The steering is direct and communicative to a degree rarely achieved in road cars. The carbon ceramic brakes are immune to fade at any temperature a road driver could generate. The track mode hydraulic suspension transformation is genuinely shocking—as if someone replaced the car’s entire chassis while it was in motion. And the EcoBoost V6, whatever the aesthetes might say about its configuration, delivers its 647 horsepower with a brutal, relentless efficiency that makes lap times rather than emotional satisfaction its primary metric.

This is ultimately the essence of the 2017 Ford GT: a race car that passed road car regulations. Uncomfortable, impractical, expensive, extraordinarily capable, and unforgettable. A Le Mans winner that you can theoretically drive to the shops. History will record it as one of the boldest vehicles ever produced by a mainstream manufacturer.