Ford GT
Development
At the 1995 Detroit Auto Show, the Ford GT90 concept was shown and at the 2002 show, a new GT40 Concept was unveiled by Ford.
The GT is similar to the original Ford GT40 cars, but bigger, wider, and three inches taller than the original 40 inches (1.02 m) - as a result of which, a potential name for the car was the GT43. Three production prototype cars were shown in 2003 as part of Ford’s centenary, and delivery of the production Ford GT began in the fall of 2004
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 tradmark to a small Ohio company called Safir GT40 Spares. 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. It is rumored that Safir GT40 Spares asked $40 million dollars for the rights, but this has never been verified. The partners at Safir GT40 Spares state they have correspondence from Ford declining Safir’s $8 million offer. Early cars from the 1960s were simply named “Ford GT”. The name “GT40″ was the name of Ford’s project to prepare the cars for the international endurance racing circuit, and the quest to win the 24 Hours of LeMans. The first 12 prototype vehicles carried serial numbers GT-101 through GT-112. The “production” began and the subsequent cars, the MkI, MkIIs, MkIIIs, and MkVs, numbered GT40-P-1000 through GT40-P-1145, were officially “GT40s”. The name of Ford’s project, and the serial numbers, thus show the story that “GT40″ was only the car’s nickname to be false.
Production and sales
Production startup began in spring 2004. The first customers took delivery in September 2004. The GT was assembled and painted by Saleen in their Saleen Special Vehicles facility in Troy, Michigan. The GT is powered by an engine built at Ford’s Romeo Engine Plant in Romeo, Michigan. Installation of the engine and transmission along with interior finishing was handled in the SVT building at Ford’s Wixom, Michigan plant.
Of the 4,500 GTs originally planned, approximately 100 were to be exported to Europe, starting in late 2005. An additional 200 were destined for sale in Canada. When production ended in 2006, the full planned lot of 4500 were not produced. Approximately 550 were built in 2004, nearly 1900 in 2005, and just over 1600 in 2006, for a grand total of 4038.
As with many highly desirable new vehicles, when the Ford GT was first released, the demand severely outpaced supply, and the cars initially sold for premium prices. The first unit available to the public sold at a charity auction for over $500,000 to a retired Microsoft executive. Other early cars sold for as much as a $300,000 premium over the suggested retail price range of $450,000 to $700,000 depending on selected optional equipment. Starting in 2007, the average price for a new Ford GT was down to $100,000. By June 2005, retail sale prices had dropped to around $10,000 to $20,000 over MSRP, and in August 2005 several new GTs were sold on eBay for no more than the suggested retail price. Nevertheless, recognizing that there was ongoing demand and support for the car, Ford raised the base sticker by $10,000 to $150,000 in late 2005.
The production run of the GT ended with the 2006 model year on 21 September 2006, with 4038 cars produced [1] out of an originally-planned 4500, and the Wixom Assembly plant, where the GT was finish-assembled, is scheduled for closure in 2007[citation needed]. Sales of the GT continued into 2007, from cars held in storage and in dealer inventories
