Give Us The GT40 - Perspective
Motor Trend StaffWords
Mr. William Clay Ford Jr.Chairman of the BoardPresident, and CEOFord Motor CompanyThe American RoadDearborn, Michigan
Mr. Ford, sir:2001 was a tough year, and you've got your hands full. Wearing all three management hats at one of the world's largest industrial concerns must certainly make for long days. We know you're busy executing the restructuring plan announced Jan. 11 and that job cuts and plant closings are no fun. Improving dealer relations, continuing your important mission to make Ford the world's most environmentally responsible carmaker, and trying to build a better Taurus that can really take on those pesky, hot-selling Camrys and Accords are all keeping you busy. But we hope you can find time for one small favor: Bring the Ford GT40 concept to production.
We don't have to tell you the original GT40 is the most iconic American race car of all time nor what it means to Ford. It goes beyond retro-modern, heritage, legendary, or any other innocuous label; it's timeless, and we say it's nigh to perfect. The way Ford designers J Mays, Camilo Pardo, Doug Gaffka, and the rest preserved the magic in this design study-without using a single dimension of the original, and making it 10 percent larger in the process-demonstrates the rightness of the idea.
We watched, Mr. Ford, as you stood before the audience during the GT40 concept's introduction at Cobo Arena on that chilly Sunday in early January. You had to have been moved by the crowd's manic cheers, and the car's equally manic exhaust note, as the driver repeatedly stabbed the throttle, letting the supercharged 500-horse DOHC V-8 announce its arrival to the entire world. It was obvious, at that moment, that SVT engineering guru John Coletti and his folks also had a strong hand in bringing this car to life.
Your competitors-the ones who live just up the freeway in Auburn Hills-have proven that large domestic manufacturers can indeed make a business case for building high-performance, niche product: This year, the Dodge Viper celebrates its 10th birthday with an all-new car that, coincidentally, produces that same 500 hp, while meeting all the safety and emissions regulations of the land. We believe an acceptable number of us would pony up the $100,000-$125,000 the GT40 would likely cost if you decided to produce and market it.
In closing, Mr. Ford, we ask that you mobilize Chris Theodore, VP for product development, and your designers, cost accountants, engineers, manufacturing specialists, purchasing people, and anyone else it takes to, as they say in the movies, "make it so." Do it for Ford, do it for America, and do it because it's the insanely cool thing to do. Thanks for listening.Sincerely,
The editors, readers, online visitors, radio listeners, and television viewers of Motor Trend
Our goal is simple: to personally deliver this letter to Bill Ford, with many thousands of signatures attached to it. You can add your name by copying the letter, signing it, and:Mailing it to us at Motor Trend, "Give Us the GT40," 6420 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90048. OrFaxing it to 323/782-2355. OrSigning online at www.motortrend .com (where you'll also find more GT40 photography and technical specifications).
Feel free to include your most passionate comments, suggestions, or requests regarding GT40, and we'll print the best of them in a future issue.