What’s it like to own a New Ford GT
The 2017 Ford GT Heritage Edition was available in gloss or matte black.
If you’re a new Ford GT fan you already know the company has been making a “heritage” edition of the Ford GT every year since it was introduced. The first year new Ford GT Heritage model paid homage to Bruce McLaren’s GT40 win at Le Man in 1966. I reported on the debut of this black-and-silver new Ford GT 2 years ago during Monterey Car Week.
My 2019 Ford GT Carbon Series emerges from the Reliable carrier.
I first saw the new Ford GT at the Detroit Auto Show, when it made its world debut at the Ford press conference in Cobo Arena. At the time I didn’t know how many new Ford GTs would be made, how much they would cost, or if I could ever get one. Of the last 4 years I’ve learned the answer to the first two questions, and last week I definitively answered the final question.
The Liquid Blue with Race Red accents looks as good as I imagined it would.
My 2019 Ford GT Carbon Series arrived on a Reliable truck after hauling it all the way from Multimatic in Markham, Ontario (just outside Toronto). It was a rainy week in Southern California, and the day it arrived the rain fell from sunrise to sunset…except for the 2 hours surrounding my new Ford GT’s drop off. I appreciated not having to run between the detail shop where it was delivered and GT’s cabin. Instead I was able to capture the event on video as you can see below.
The new 2017 Ford GT is mobbed after its world debut in January 2015
There’s an ongoing discussion among new Ford GT fans: To stripe or not to stripe.
The 2005-2006 Ford GT looks very good with the stripes
The new Ford GT is among the most dramatic vehicle designs ever created. It shows obvious ties back to the original GT40 and the 2005-2006 Ford GT, but it’s a clear break from the past. That past is rife with stripe-bearing Ford GTs, all of them looking quite good with stripes over the hood, roof and engine cover. But does this stripe treatment transfer to the new Ford GT?
This Ford GT is painted Leadfoot, a factory Ford color not officially offered on the GT
Ford unveiled the new Ford GT Carbon Series today at the SEMA show in Las Vegas. I was there, watching the press conference in person, though I already saw this car in Detroit a couple weeks ago. As often happens with automotive world debuts, Ford let some members of the press see the Ford GT Carbon Series early so they could prepare their stories ahead of time.
Like its the predecessor, the Carbon Series has a weight advantage over standard Ford GTs
I’ll get into the specifics about the Ford GT Carbon Series in a moment, but the biggest news about this car is that, well…it’s MY car. I don’t mean this car specifically, which looks great painted in Ford’s factory shade of Leadfoot Gray (a popular Raptor color, but not officially offered on the new GT). No, I mean my Ford GT will also be a Carbon Series model, with all the unique mechanical and cosmetic features that go with it.
Ford GT’s have been rolling off the assembly line since December 2016
I’ve done my best to not bug my Ford GT Concierge. In the 2 years since I was approved to buy a new Ford GT I’ve called the concierge exactly 4 times, with three of them happening in the past 4 months as part of my ordering process. While I know many Ford GT buyers have been calling their concierge on a regular basis, even if their order window was months or years away, I’ve avoided that.
It looks like my Ford GT is about to begin production
I can’t even claim amazing self control because, honestly, I haven’t had an urge to contact my Ford GT Concierge. From my perspective, if there’s important information to convey they’ll call me, right? While that’s been my approach for the past 2 years I did breakdown and call my concierge last week. With my vehicle order locked in late August it seemed likely they’d have my VIN, and maybe even a scheduled build date by now.
The “Fan Walk” at Petit Le Mans lets everyone get close to the race cars
Ford and Chip Ganassi campaigned two Ford GTs at the final Road Atlanta event in the 2018 IMSA GTLM series. Cars number 66 and 67 competed in the final race, and while car 67 had a chance to win the driver’s championship their fifth-place finish wasn’t quite high enough to nab that title.
But Ford’s GT did take home its first manufacturer’s title. With first place finishes in five races this season the Ford GTs only needed to cross the starting line to secure the manufacturer’s title, which meant all the Ford GT owners in attendance could relax a bit after the first lap in the 10-hour race was over.
Here’s a straightforward Ford GT spec: Shadow Black with black wheels
As I mentioned in an earlier post, the Ford GT Configurator is pretty impressive. It doesn’t replace seeing a car in person, as you can never really understand how a car, or a color, looks until you’ve seen it life-size and in person. Of course seeing every possible new Ford GT color, stripe, wheel style and carbon-fiber finish in person isn’t easy. Given that challenge the Ford GT Configurator provides a realistic alternative.
And here’s the other straightforward spec: Frozen White with black wheels
Every new Ford GT buyer has probably spent more time on the configurator than they’d like to admit. The possible combinations are nearly limitless, even before you add in the custom color options. And even now, with my Ford GT spec locked in, I still like to gaze at the car in different colors. I’ve pulled all the images on this page from the Ford GT Configurator. If you want to quickly peruse every color (but certainly not every possible combination of stripe and wheel options for each color) this entry makes for easy viewing. Enjoy!
Petty Blue was most famously used on the 1970 Plymouth Superbird
Yesterday I talked about one of the colors I considered for my new Ford GT. Today I’ll identify the only other paint-to-sample (custom) color I considered: Petty Blue.
Petty Blue got a boost in awareness after the movie CARS debuted
Petty Blue is a color Plymouth offered on its vehicles in the early 1970s. It’s called Petty Blue because of its association to Richard Petty, one of the most famous NASCAR racers of all time. If you’ve seen the animated Pixar movie CARS the character “The King” is voiced by Richard Petty and the car represents a 1970 Plymouth Superbird painted Petty Blue.
I have loved this color ever since I first saw it in my early teens. Generally speaking I find blue, in all its hues, the best color for a car. And within the spectrum of blue, Petty Blue is one of my favorite shades. I told this to my Ford GT Concierge and asked for a sample, which Ford provided.
When the sample arrived it further confirmed how much I loved the color. I actually locked my new Ford GT specification with a paint-to-sample Petty Blue shade. But that was on a Friday, and I had until the following Tuesday to change my configuration. On the following Monday I changed my Ford GT color, bailing out on Petty Blue. Why?
This 1967 Chevrolet Corvette in Lynndale Blue caught my eye at a recent Cars & Coffee
I’ve already locked my order for my new Ford GT, but the process wasn’t easy. Ford allows buyers to paint the new Ford GT in any color they want, over and above the 8 factory colors. This means the only limit for new Ford GT buyers is imagination…and the ability to get the correct paint name or code to Ford.
This photo of the Corvette’s hood exactly captures the tone I liked
Among the custom colors I considered is a classic Corvette shade called Lynndale Blue. Corvettes have worn some iconic colors over the years, including Goodwood Green, Marlboro Maroon and Tuxedo Black. There’s been some memorable Corvette blues, too, including Marina Blue and Elkhart Blue.
After 13 years and 31,232 miles I’ve sold my 2005 Ford GT to YouTube maestro Doug DeMuro. Doug and I have done a couple videos together, including the launch of the new Ford GT last year and a review of my 2018 Dodge Demon earlier this year.
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