Ford’s second-generation GT supercar may be road legal but it was designed first and foremost to go racing. Even before the road-going variants went into production, Ford’s GT race program was already on a winning streak, taking the LMGTE Pro class victory at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2016.
Yet even a racing car has to abide by regulations that are designed to keep things competitive and this often means restrictions on power and increases in weight. Ford felt that to realize the true potential of the GT it would have to be freed from such restrictions and, together with Multimatic, they have just revealed the Ford GT MkII, a limited-edition track-only supercar, at the Goodwood Festival of Speed.
“The GT Mk II unleashes the full performance potential of the Ford GT without any artificial performance limitations dictated by racing sanctioning bodies,” said Hau Thai-Tang, Ford chief product development and purchasing officer. “It’s the closest GT owners can get to the Le Mans-winning performance and exhilarating feeling of crossing the finish line in the Ford GT race car.” The cost of such unfettered performance is $1.2 million, a fair step up from the road-going equivalent but the 45 customers who will get to enjoy the MkII are unlikely to be as concerned about costs as they will be about owning a supercar that should have few equals on track.
“The true off-the-hook performance capability of the GT hasn’t yet been fully showcased,” said Multimatic’s chief technical officer, Larry Holt. “The road car is obviously limited by the many global homologation requirements that it must comply with, and the race car suffers from the restriction of the dreaded Balance of Performance, resulting in it being 150 horsepower down to the road car. The Mk II answers the regularly asked question of how would the car perform with all the limitations lifted: the answer is spectacularly.”
To achieve such a high level of performance the MkII has gone through some extensive modification, borrowing the best bits from both road and race variants and making improvements where necessary. The aerodynamics incorporate upgraded diffusers, wings and splitters to produce 400 percent more downforce than the road car and allow the MkII to pull 2g of lateral grip thanks to the race-derived suspension and Michelin Pilot Sport racing tires.
Gone is the multi-adjustable ride height system of the road car, replaced by 5-way adjustable DSVV shocks, which along with numerous weight-saving measures pare 200 pounds off the overall mass. Carbon ceramic brakes aid stopping power while the 3.5-liter twin-turbo V6 has been cranked up to over 700hp. An innovative air-to-air outboard-mounted charge air cooler with water spray technology helps keep temperatures in check. A full MoTeC data logger and Sparco racing seats finish off the changes.
The MkII will be running in the Supercar class at the Festival of Speed this year and interested parties should contact Multimatic on the link below for further details.
Images courtesy of Ford
