July 18, 2004 Top Gear - Ford GT

I really enjoyed that. Quite funny at times.

jadesville said:

The Ford GT was meant to compete with the Stradale and the GT3, and it wasnt even a competition, the GT destroyed them. The Ford GT is a super car, the Viper is a sports car. The Ford GT is a limited edition the car, the Viper is not, they dont compete with each other.

GT > Viper.

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VOORHEES said:

I really enjoyed that. Quite funny at times.

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Yes, those brits are always bit dramatic in their presentations. At one point I thought the guy was going cry due to how much he loved the car. He loved the car ergonomically too. Though, he did slip up. At one point he said "you can even move the gear lever with one hand!" I would hope so. lol.... I think he was supposed to say one finger there... lol

Huh? Those cars are priced twice as much and have half the performance. The Viper is closer in performance, price, and similarities. Who said the Ford was meant to compete with the GT3 and a Stradale? A magazine? I'm glad you know how to reiterate a magazine article. I read that one too, and what I realized was the car it should've been compared against was the Viper. Yes Ford aimed it square at Ferrari, but I'm sorry if someone is about to drop 200K+ on a Ferrari or Porsche they are not shopping for the GT. However if they are shopping for 140K Ford, I'm pretty sure a 90K Viper is on their list too. A sports car is a 350Z. I'm not sure what the prerequisites are to be labeled a super car. Is it strictly performance? Is the 911 Turbo a supercar? The Viper was considered America's only supercar for a long time. It was a supercar before the current GT was a drawing. You're right it murdered the competition in that magazine test, but I'm pretty sure a Viper would've been a lot closer in that competition to the GT than either competitor.

G0NEn60 said:

Huh? Those cars are priced twice as much and have half the performance. The Viper is closer in performance, price, and similarities. Who said the Ford was meant to compete with the GT3 and a Stradale? A magazine? I'm glad you know how to reiterate a magazine article. I read that one too, and what I realized was the car it should've been compared against was the Viper. Yes Ford aimed it square at Ferrari, but I'm sorry if someone is about to drop 200K+ on a Ferrari or Porsche they are not shopping for the GT. However if they are shopping for 140K Ford, I'm pretty sure a 90K Viper is on their list too. A sports car is a 350Z. I'm not sure what the prerequisites are to be labeled a super car. Is it strictly performance? Is the 911 Turbo a supercar? The Viper was considered America's only supercar for a long time. It was a supercar before the current GT was a drawing. You're right it murdered the competition in that magazine test, but I'm pretty sure a Viper would've been a lot closer in that competition to the GT than either competitor.

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Ford doesn't seem to think the viper is a supercar...

What is the primary competitor for the GT?
Tom Reichenbach, vehicle engineering manager: We had only one target vehicle, the 360 Modena. Other cars have popped on the scene since then, but you can't take the team and jump ship to aim at a new target. We keep our eye on them, but I haven't seen anybody who worries me yet. It's still the Modena, but in certain areas we want to surpass the Modena; in other areas we think Ferrari does a fantastic job. They keep finding more horsepower, but they better because we've got them covered.

Who is the Ford GT buyer?
Scarpello: It's going to be a male in his 50s or 60s. He's a car nut. He always loved cars his whole life. The GT is something that has some meaning to him, and this is his chance to own something that he's probably lusted after for a long time.
Jamal Hameedi, Ford GT program manager: I think you'll see with this car a pretty unique mix of clientele. I think you'll have the people who are into traditional European exotic cars. I think there will be a lot of consumers who would not traditionally buy this kind of a car but will be attracted to the statement of American engineering prowess. People who have plenty of money to buy a six-figure car but they wouldn't necessarily go out and buy a Ferrari. That's not their cup of tea. We talked to a lot of exotic car owners who said, "I'd love to buy an American supercar but they're just not around. There are no American supercars, so we have to go get Ferraris and Porsches. But we are so excited that finally someone is making an American supercar."
Primo Goffi, product and business planning specialist: There are a lot of people who wouldn't give a second look to a European exotic car. An example would be somebody who could have a large collection of domestics, say, a muscle car enthusiast or a collector who may own a Shelby or even an original GT40 from the '60s. A lot of people who obviously have the financial resources to purchase one but would never give a European exotic a second look. A lot of those people are clamoring for this car. You have dealer principals, quite a few of which have the financial resources to purchase a car in this arena but it wouldn't be socially acceptable, for lack of a better term, to purchase a European exotic because they own a Ford store. So that opens up quite a large number of people who have the financial resources available and are most likely going to own one of these cars.

That video rocks.

G0NEn60 said:

Why can't a Viper compete with the Ford GT? They are both American made, they both have high displacement and both are neck and neck in performance. I don't think there's a closer competitor to the GT than the Viper. Also, why isn't the Viper a super car?

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you won't see a stock Viper come close to the time the GT ran on that track. the Viper ran close in the 1/4mi with the preproduction version of the GT. the GT outhandled it by a solid margin.