The Ford GT is driven by an all-new, mid-engined powertrain producing 500 horsepower and 500 foot-pounds of torque. The engine architecture comes from Ford’s MOD engine family, which includes performance powertrains like the 390-horsepower 4.6-liter DOHC supercharged V-8 in the SVT Mustang Cobra and the 380-horsepower 5.4-liter SOHC supercharged V-8 in the SVT F-150 Lightning.

“We’re just starting to tap the performance potential of Ford’s modular engine architecture,” says Curt Hill, Ford GT powertrain engineering supervisor. “This application really demonstrates its awesome potential. The 5.4-liter engine easily produces 500 horsepower and 500 foot-pounds of torque, while meeting all the current emissions and durability standards. Those numbers are comparable to the race-prepared, blue-printed 427 (7.0-liter) big-blocks in the Ford GT race cars.”

The Ford GT engine features an all-new, aluminum block fitted with high-flow, four-valve cylinder heads and dual overhead camshafts. To bear the stresses necessary to produce 500 horsepower, a forged-steel crankshaft, shot-peened H-beam connecting rods and forged aluminum pistons are used. “In total, 85 percent of the reciprocating parts are unique to the Ford GT,” says Hill.

Fuel is delivered via dual fuel injectors per cylinder. A modified screw-type supercharger blowing through a water-to-air intercooler supplies sufficient airflow for engine output.

Hill’s team specified two race-inspired powertrain components, a dry-sump oil system and a twin-plate clutch. The high-capacity, dry-sump oil system provides consistent lubrication, even during maximum handling. The twin-plate clutch delivers low pedal efforts while still providing the clamp loads necessary to handle 500 foot-pounds of torque. More significantly, these two features allow the powertrain to sit more than 4 inches lower in the frame as compared with the front-engined SVT Mustang Cobra. This helped maintain the low design profile and keep the car’s center of gravity low for better handling. Backing the clutch is an all-new, six-speed transaxle from Ricardo. The clean-sheet design enabled Ford engineers to tailor the individual ratios to their specifications, without being forced to select from an existing assortment. The transmission is fully synchronized and features an integral, torque-sensing, limited-slip differential.

Interior

“As a race car, the original Ford GT didn’t have an interior design to speak of,” says Pardo. “They featured two seats, a steering wheel, a few toggle switches and lot of bare metal. That’s it.” As such, the interior of the Ford GT is the biggest deviation from the vintage cars.

The new interior conveys performance and modern craftsmanship and offers a rare automotive pleasure – a glimpse of the engine at work through the rear-view mirror.

“The passenger cabin of most modern cars is isolated from the engine,” says Pardo. “But, in the Ford GT, the supercharger is right there, inches behind your ear. It creates an intimate relationship with the engine, more like a motorcycle than a car.”

The centerpiece of the interior is a brushed-magnesium tunnel, which contains the center-mounted fuel tank. The tunnel is flanked by a pair of deep bucket seats featuring carbon-fiber shells and leather seating surfaces. To provide ventilation, the leather seat cushions are dotted with aluminum grommets similar to those used in the vintage endurance racers.

The tunnel supports a polished-aluminum emergency brake handle, rotary climate controls and a six-speed manual shift lever topped with an aluminum knob. The center console, with exposed magnesium supports, houses the AM/FM/CD audio system, starter button, air bag deactivation switch and auxiliary power point.

The instrument panel features a comprehensive array of analog gauges, including a center-mounted, oversized tachometer wrapped in aluminum bezels. In homage to vintage Ford GT race cars, stylized toggle switches line the panel, controlling the headlights, foglights, dimmer switch, windshield wipers and rear defroster.

The matte-black instrument panel, door panels and lower portions of the tunnel are crafted in Azdel SuperLite Composite. This is the industry’s first application of Azdel throughout the interior. Azdel is roughly 30 percent lighter than standard injection-molded substrates, offers better wear resistance and is recyclable.

The door pulls are made of the same aluminum extrusion used for structural braces in the engine bay. On either side of the foot wells, sections of the extruded-aluminum space frame are also visible.

To maximize passenger comfort, Pardo and the engineering team made extensive use of a virtual reality computer-modeling device called the Digital Occupant Buck. Best described as the “virtual you in the digital vehicle,” the digital occupant buck allowed the engineers to fine tune the interior for comfort and outward visibility. Using data from this tool, the team maximized the seat travel, increased the rake of the firewall, adjusted the pedal and steering wheel placement and even modified the angle of the shift lever for improved ergonomics.

Exterior

Interior comfort considerations had two effects on the exterior styling of the Ford GT. To increase passenger headroom, the engineering team wanted to raise the roof height. However, the design team felt the low profile was an essential aspect of the Ford GT design. The engineers and design team fought for each millimeter, finally agreeing to raise the roof 17 millimeters above that of the concept. To compensate for the added height, Pardo returned to the studio and scaled up the entire profile, preserving the overall proportions of the design.

Second, Pardo designed the concept car with flush-mounted windows to recreate the smooth, fuselage shape of the original Ford GT. The execution of this design proved difficult since fixed windows would not be acceptable in a modern supercar, and drop-down windows created a packaging nightmare. A series of elaborate apertures were considered and rejected, until the team sectioned the window, and Pardo pushed the bottom edge of the window inboard. The solution preserves the continuity of design and allows the window glass to drop completely into the door, snaking between the hidden side-impact beam and the concave exterior door panel.

The cantilevered doors created yet another production challenge. Due to their size and shape, the exterior panels were too complex for traditional stamping. Thus, the team shaped the panels using super-plastic forming that uses air pressure to force heated aluminum panels into a one-sided die. This process also enabled the team to reproduce the sweeping curves and intersecting shapes throughout the rest of the exterior. Pardo calls the design, from the dramatic sweep of the front fenders into the nose to the transition from the C-pillars into the rear deck, “organic and geometric.”

Pardo’s design also contained functional heat extractors and air intakes reminiscent of the race cars. Wind tunnel testing, done on a fiberglass replica of the show car, proved the design had remarkably good internal airflow, but rather alarming amounts of high-speed lift. To preserve the silhouette of the show car, the engineering team limited aerodynamic changes primarily to the underside of the vehicle. As a result, a subtle rear spoiler extension, front and side splitters and dramatic venturi tunnels wrapped under the rear clip are the only visible changes.

“We were lucky,” admits Pardo. “By concentrating on the underbody, the engineering team was able to optimize the aerodynamic stability without altering the classic silhouette of the design.”

That classic shape also required Pardo to break one of the tenets of modern design – the short overhang. The result imbued the concept car with the powerful design of the original. Fortuitously, it also allowed engineers to integrate the front bumper – necessary for safety regulations – without modifying the exterior design of the production car. The long overhang also allowed for prominent light enclosures incorporating the turn signal and bi-xenon headlamps. Below, an enclosed foglamp completes the front end.

The ducktailed rear clip was just as essential to the car’s profile, but not as accommodating of current safety regulations. As such, designers crafted a floating bumper – punctuated by massive dual exhausts pipes – that is separate from the rear clip. The result passes bumper requirements without altering the tapered rear end. The rear is finished with two large, round taillights with indirect LED brake lamps and centered reverse lights.