F1technical.net

Supercar? Peeerlease!

They start it up at 3:20

strad wrote: I don't think they were trying to look like a Lotus. I believe it has to do with relieving a low pressure area that trys to make the front end light at high speed.

Was the original scoop for improved radiator cooling or for downforce ? I assume the new one is downforce only. Still no obvious reason for two vs one.

maybe they just thought it was purtty
maybe more symmetry ... who cares

Gatecrasher wrote:

strad wrote: I don't think they were trying to look like a Lotus. I believe it has to do with relieving a low pressure area that trys to make the front end light at high speed.

Was the original scoop for improved radiator cooling or for downforce ? I assume the new one is downforce only. Still no obvious reason for two vs one.

Beyond the fact that the radiator air has to exit somewhere, I would find it hard to believe that this particular arrangement is for anything other than styling.

The 3/4 shot looks appealing in a classic GT40 way, but the walk around shows a car that looks unfinished as if there are placeholders rather than the finished parts.

It's as if they got a check list of bits such as a huge front spoiler and 'distinctive' lights but really couldn't be bothered with any attempt to integrate them. So you end up with detailed styling in some places (esp. rear) and ' we ran out of pencils' in others (front spoiler and interior).

Gatecrasher wrote:

strad wrote: I don't think they were trying to look like a Lotus. I believe it has to do with relieving a low pressure area that trys to make the front end light at high speed.

Was the original scoop for improved radiator cooling or for downforce ? I assume the new one is downforce only. Still no obvious reason for two vs one.

The original wasn't designed with downforce in mind at all. In fact they found that at high speed on the Mulsanne the tail got quite light. They did some work with spoilers on the trailing edge of the rear deck. If I remember correctly they found that a spolier up to 4 inch high could be added with little drag effect but hugely effective at keeping the rear end settled. They ran with slightly less than that at Le Mans I think.

Gatecrasher wrote:

strad wrote: I don't think they were trying to look like a Lotus. I believe it has to do with relieving a low pressure area that trys to make the front end light at high speed.

Was the original scoop for improved radiator cooling or for downforce ? I assume the new one is downforce only. Still no obvious reason for two vs one.

There is an obvious reason.

It's called the GT40 Mk3.

Thanks Harvey, I was not aware that the GT40 had changed so much with the MK3 having the two scoops. Makes more sense now. The GT40 has not been a car that I followed over the years as does not get the same publicity as others.

BTW..They don't call any of the ones from 2005 on GT 40s because they are not.
The 40 came from the roof height which is no longer 40 inches.
However I will tell you in the 2005 you do not want to be 6 foot or taller .. preferably 5' 8"

strad wrote:BTW..They don't call any of the ones from 2005 on GT 40s because they are not.

I understood that Ford did not, in fact, own the trademark to "GT40" and the owners of said copyright wanted too much for it.

Not trusting memory... I checked our friend wikipedia...
"A British company, Safir Engineering, who made continuation GT40s in the 1980s owned the GT40 trademark at that time, and when they completed production, they sold the excess parts, tooling, design, and trademark to a small American company called Safir GT40 Spares based in Ohio. Safir GT40 Spares licensed the use of the GT40 trademark to Ford for the initial 2002 show car, but when Ford decided to make the production vehicle, negotiations between the two failed, and as a result the new Ford GT does not wear the badge GT40. Safir GT40 Spares asked $40 million for the rights, which Ford declined.[17][18] Bob Wood, one of three partners who own Safir GT40 Spares, said: "When we talked with Ford, they asked what we wanted. We said that Ford owns Beanstalk in New York, the company that licenses the Blue Oval for Ford on such things as T-shirts. Since Beanstalk gets 7.5 percent of the retail cost of the item for licensing the name, we suggested 7.5 percent on each GT40 sold."[19] At the then-estimated $125,000 per copy, 7.5% of 4,500 vehicles would have totalled approximately $42,187,500.[19] Later models or prototypes have also been called the Ford GT but have had different numbering on them such as the Ford GT90 or the Ford GT70. The GT40 name is currently licensed to Hi-Tech Automotive in South Africa, the manufacturer who builds Superformance."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ford_GT40

More than we wanted to know, lol...

the newer ones are 43 inches so it wouldn't fit the name anyway.

Bomber_Pilot wrote:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nMD3Vu3xL-c

They start it up at 3:20

It is turbocharged. I can hear the turbo spooling.

PlatinumZealot wrote:

Bomber_Pilot wrote:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nMD3Vu3xL-c

They start it up at 3:20

It is turbocharged. I can hear the turbo spooling.

That was never a secret??

It´s even in the description of the video.

A first walkaround tour of the new Ford GT, fitted with a 3.5l twin-turbo V6 for 600+ horsepower and an incredibly aerodynamic, futuristic design. Additionally we get to hear the incredible whistles of the turbos as the car leaves the stand, putting to bed any initial fears that it might not sound great with the EcoBoost engine.