FORD GT

Why GT?Ford Motor Company chose the name GT to evoke memories of Ford's miraculous 1-2-3 victory in the 1966, 24 hours of Le Mans. Limited production of the Ford GT started in the summer of 2004 as a 2005 model. 2006 models are now being produced. The Ford that won at Le Mans was named the GT-40, but that name is now owned by a private individual.Only 4200 GTs were be produced total in the 2005-2006 model run and most dealerships will not get a GT. NO GTs will be produced in 2007. The final Manufacturer's Suggested Retail Price is $155,000 - $169,000 depending on options.. With only a few hundred GTs, and many enthusiasts, Ford employees and Ford dealers hoping to get a GT, market conditions and customer demands are predicted to result in substantially higher selling prices, particularly for cars built in the first part of the model year. Dealers offering their GT for sale to the public will likely take bids to determine who will get to purchase "the One."It's the oneThe Ford GT's first television commercial, entitled "The One," positions the 205 mph, 550 horsepower supercar as the "pace car for an entire company." For "The One", Ford created a commercial that puts the GT in the only element where drivers can responsibly and legally explore the upper limits of the car's awesome abilities: a racetrack.As a professional driver navigates the hilly and winding, three-mile, 15-turn road racing course at Thunderhill Park in Willow, California, a voice asks the viewer three questions -- timed to the driver's gear changes:"In what gear do you...realize that a car is everything it is supposed to be?""In what gear do you know nothing can catch you?""In what gear, do you know it is the one?"The ad ends with the line "Introducing the Ford GT. This is the one. The pace car for an entire company.""The Ford GT was built by people who love great cars, and Ford Motor Company is full of people who share the same passion but work on our high volume cars, SUVs and trucks," said Rich Stoddart, Ford Division marketing communications manager. "That's why it's the company's pace car, and that's the spirit we think we have captured in 'The One.'"Filming for the commercial took place entirely on location at Thunderhill Park in January. Jeff Zwart, the director of "The One," said this was the first time that a helicopter could not keep up with a car during filming. He also said that unlike other sports car commercials, the film was not sped up to make the car look better."Our test driver topped speeds of 140 mph and never shifted higher than fourth gear," Stoddart said. "There was absolutely no need to use editing tricks to make the GT appear faster on film."As Stoddart alludes to, the GT's performance is incredible. For its January 2004 cover story,"Judgment Day!" a Car and Driver magazine test driver drove a Ford GT from 0-60 mph in 3.3 seconds. Car and Driver also recorded a quarter-mile time of 11.6 seconds at 128 mph. In the same test, Ferrari's $193,000 Challenge Stradale took four seconds to reach 60 mph and was 0.8 second and 13 mph slower through the quarter-mile."It wasn't even a contest," wrote Car and Driver's Larry Webster. "The Ford GT so completely dusted off its two highly recognized competitors (the Ferrari Stradale and Porsche 911 GT3) that if we wanted to make this a real challenge, we would have had to go way up the 'supercar' price ladder . . . The Ferrari and Porsche both require an upshift before 60 mph, but the Ford does not, which accounts for some of the huge sprint-time advantage."