Ford is set to reveal a new and extreme version of its GT supercar at the Goodwood Festival of Speed early next month. The US car maker has confirmed that it will hold a dedicated press conference at the Goodwood event, on July 4 at 9:45am British Summer Time (BST), at which it will “make a special Ford GT supercar announcement”.
The conference will take place at the Ford stand in the Drift Paddock of the Festival event near England’s southern coast. And that it’s on July 4, such an significant date for Americans, may further suggest that the announcement will be a major one… Global director of Ford Performance Hermann Salenbauch will deliver the press conference news alongside Larry Holt, chief technical officer of Multimatic, which developed the current Ford GT road and race cars. Ford also promises that the forthcoming Ford GT supercar will be “ultra-high-performance”.
Ford also has revealed a teaser image of the car in silhouette, which suggests the forthcoming car has its basis in the Ford GT that has been raced in the FIA World Endurance Championship’s GTE Pro class over the past three seasons. The Ford Chip Ganassi Racing #66 Ford GT racer fresh from the Le Mans 24 Hours is also set to drive up the Goodwood hillclimb course at the Festival.
While no official details have been confirmed about the new car, it has been anticipated that it will be a road-going reworking of the Le Mans racer, a view supported seemingly by the teaser image. Also going by the image, the new model appears to retain the aggressive front end of the existing road car, though also features a prominent rear wing. The standard GT, launched in 2017, was popular enough to outstrip supply by six-to-one, resulting in Ford extending its production run from 1000 to 1350 units late in 2018.
There also has been speculation that the new car could pave the way for Ford to race in the WEC hypercar concept class coming in for the 2020/21 season. Ford Performance Motorsport chief Mark Rushbrook confirmed earlier this year that Ford is evaluating the hypercar rules, while Toyota and Aston Martin in recent days confirmed they would be on the grid for the start of the hypercar era. Ford also is undertaking a wider evaluation into its future via what it’s calling “electrified motorsport”, which could mean the forthcoming car includes a hybrid element.
The press conference is part of a wide Ford involvement in this year’s Festival, with several Fords in addition to the GT racer tackling the Goodwood hill. The line-up will be led by the new Focus ST and 760bhp Mustang Shelby GT500, both making their UK debuts. They will be joined by the M-Sport Ford Fiesta World Rally Championship car, which also will appear on the Goodwood rally stage, the 2018 NASCAR championship-winning Team Penske Ford Fusion, the 1980 Ford Zakspeed Turbo Capri race car, Gymkhana TEN star Ken Block’s Hoonitruck and Escort RS Cosworth, as well as champion drifter Vaughn Gittin Jr’s Ford Mustang RTR Drift car. The Ranger Raptor pick-up will also be demonstrating its capabilities in the off-road experience.
Images courtesy of Ford
