Atari_Prime

I don't think that many people were fooled into thinking that the current Ford GT was going to be a track star. The 'buttresses', whether they have a function are not, are cool looking. Very few race cars are devoid of style, otherwise they would all look the same. Its provenance on the race track is in its inspiration, not its execution. So, maybe I'm missing the point, maybe I'm walking into a conversation late, but "where's the beef?"

dcbingaman

My complaint is Ford didn't try to win LeMans by taking on the big kids - Porsche, Toyota and Audi by building a special purpose LMP1 hybrid prototype, because they either didn't want to spend the money or couldn't compete, but they badly wanted the publicity of a 50th anniversary LeMans win. So they entered a purpose-built 2-seat prototype race car and foisted it on the WEC as a "production sports car" for the LMGTE Pro category. 500 hand-built prototype cars which just started customer deliveries in 2018 should not have counted as "production" in June 2106.

It was a fraudulent approach to what was once an even competition. They then compounded their sin by avoiding the impact of the WEC "Balance of Performance (BoP)" rules by "sandbagging" the true speed of the car in the run-up to the 2016 race, giving them a 10 second advantage on the other entries at qualifying. They, of course, won the race, although the lone Ferrari 488 gave them a scare.

There's an interesting epilogue to this sorry affair, however. The BoP "cops" caught up with them and after three years, they STILL haven't unseated Corvette as the Champions of the IMSA GTLM racing series.

Maybe 2018 will be their year, but I doubt it.

KEZ06

Looks like aa aventdor rear slammed together with a la ferrari front. I like it!

elegant

Count me in the minority, for I have never liked the looks of the current Ford GT. Although, when at the LA Auto Show, while standing there looking at it, I was joined by two other members of this forum who also said that they never liked the way it looked either.

Mako7

NFGT: cool looking but:

1. V6!

2. Very cramped/compromised cabin.

3. Not comfortable on the street.

4. $500k!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !

5. A@@ kicked by 720S for a fraction of the price.

firstvettesoon

The original remake was a nice nostalgic update of the old GT. The new GT is an exercise in design for a very over-the-top and outrageous supercar. I don't think it is very user-friendly to say the least.

GrampZ

OK. So, again, what is it you think they should have done?

dcbingaman

Either work with the WEC to allow one or more of the ORIGINAL Lola-based GT40's to run a couple parade laps before the race to celebrate the 50th anniversary, OR try to build a competitive LMP1 car to win the race outright.

Ford has just as much hybrid technology as anyone else, and with Multimatic as a partner, they could have made a competitive effort. Why were they afraid of taking on Toyota or Audi for Christ sakes ? (Porsche I understand....they are unrivaled in endurance racing, but Porsche was pretty new in LMP1 in 2016 too.) Toyota and Audi are their main competitors in the market for passenger vehicles !

Who knows if they could have won the LMP1 competition in 2016 on the first try, but I for one would have given them a lot of credit for their effort. The way they did it in LMGTE Pro was a sham.

Toyota on the other hand made one hell of a campaign and even though they didn't win LeMans or the WEC Championship, they did themselves proud in the effort. 2018 may be their year.

JerriVette

Isn't the Ford GT like 450 grand?

That's almost two thirds the price of my house.

I'll pass..

The c8 will run close in price to today's corvette c7 which ranges from 56 to 140 grand.

Give or take a few bucks the c8 will be reasonably priced depending on engine choice.

Funny thing is it'll probably perform as well as the Ford GT on the track...in top form

These 200, 300 and 400 grand cars are of little interest to me.

Ridiculous prices and they aren't even that great.

I'm glad they exist..but it's not a competitor for even a mid rear engine corvette.

The corvette can be used everyday in any kind of weather...

That can't be said of any 400k dollar car...

For one thing ....they are Just too valuable to use everyday...

So they get relegated to occasional use...

I want to use my fun cars everyday so I can enjoy them...

Saving the, in the garage is of little interest to many of us..

It's a car..

Drive it ...enjoy it and buy a new one..l

I dig when I see Harlan driving home with the top down in the new C7 ZR1 convertible hauling a Christmas tree home...

SBC_and_a_stick

Heck the other option would have been to start with a common Mustang and enter it into LMGTE. That's more along the lines of what they actually manufacture themselves, what they sell, and what the class is all about. In fact I think this is what they start off with but probably abandoned it based on the fact that the Mustang simply wouldn't be any good.

Ahh yes, here it is. Get a load of this!
http://www.roadandtrack.com/motorspo...stang-le-mans/

HollywoodC7

Never really like the C7 rear
I hope they create lots of topography for the C8 in the rear like this art....looks damn cool

MidLVR

I have never loved the C7 backend....in this photoshop i find the backend is not only better its amazing.
Hope they have lost of contours and not the flat boring piece of black plastic like on the c7.....great

Larry/car

I know for sure that I am not purchasing a mid engine. I already made up my mind last year already and purchased a 2017 Stingray Convertible.

HollywoodC7

can't go wrong with that.....enjoy man

elegant

We all remember the large percentage who posted at a comparable time during the pre-C7 appearance when we were looking at those mules all camo’d up, saying “I am never getting a C7” — yet now have and love theirs.

I wish I had more time to now start a list of all who have posted, and/or will post on CVF, “no way am I getting an ME.” And then, three years after ME deliveries to dealers were occurring, to see how accurate those statements were.

Zymurgy

I also find it interesting that the C8 (or ME) discussions are re-igniting the old "I don't like the C7" crowd, even though the C7 has been widely praised and acknowledged as better than all previous generations (as one would expect with the advancement of automotive technology).

Personally, I really liked the C5, but it took me a while to warm up to the C6 (I bought a 2006 new). The C7 I knew I had to have as soon as it was revealed on 1-13-2013. I'm hoping that the C8 is an exciting departure from the C7 (and not a return to the C5/C6 style) and that my reaction on the Jan, 2019 reveal will be - "I have to have one of those."

Atari_Prime

[QUOTE=

The c8 will run close in price to today's corvette c7 which ranges from 56 to 140 grand.[/QUOTE]

Putting it in this context, it starts to look as though GM has secretly given us the Porsche Boxster pricing structure.

z06801

At one of our PCA days at Miller last year Ford was having a media day on the west track we were on the east. They had at least 10 new GTs there. Henry Ford, Joey Hand were both there the cars looked awesome to the point that you would think how could anything be faster. looked more like prototypes. It was cool to that many all line up while others were ripping around the west track. Beautiful cars!

Dominic Sorresso

dcbingaman

Cool looking, but so was George Barris's Batmobile. The Corvette is still FASTER.

Anyone can now buy a ZR1 for 25% of the price of a Ford GT and will go over 1 second faster around VIR than the vaunted Ford GT. You don't have to be "selected for worthiness" by Ford. It also will carry two golf bags in the back and two fat guys in the front - comfortably, and not drown out your favorite tunes with that John Deere V-6 tractor drone.