Ford’s New GT Bows at Detroit Auto Show

The USA isn’t really known as one of the world’s cradles for supercars. People think of Italy, Germany, the UK, even Sweden, as countries that produce legit hyper-performance cars.

Well, Ford wants to shift people’s thinking. The Dearborn company introduced its new GT at the Detroit Auto Show.

The new GT is an updated version of the first car to use that name. The previous GT was introduced in 2004 (as a 2005 model year vehicle) and was produced in limited numbers up until 2006. The new GT, Ford says, will begin production in 2016, with deliveries starting in the second half of that year.

The 2016 Ford GT’s shape is an evolution of the 2005 car, which itself was a modern take on the classic GT40 sports racing car from the mid-1960s. Although the 2005 GT was strictly a street-only model, there are indications that Ford is thinking about going racing with the next GT, just as its iconic 1960s ancestor did.

The new Ford GT is powered by a twin-turbo V6 EcoBoost power unit capable of producing over 600bhp. This compares favorably with the 2005 GT’s V8, which put out 550bhp. Like both the older GT and the GT40, the 2016 GT is mid-engined with rear wheel-drive.

If you’re  wondering why Ford is waiting for 2016, that happens to coincide with the 50th anniversary of Ford’s greatest-ever achievement in auto racing, a 1-2-3 sweep of the 24 Hours of LeMans in 1966. Ford beat the best that Ferrari and Porsche could field in the world’s greatest endurance race.

Should Ford duplicate the trick with the new GT, there’s little doubt the USA will be back on the supercar map.