Thoughts on the 2018 Ford GT?

Having seen both this weekend and based purely on looks the Senna is more impressive. It looks far better in person than it does in photos, though the tail is a bit much.

 

Never have and quite possibly never will get to drive either, but I wouldn't buy a Ford GT for $1.3M. That said, P1s don't really carry much of a premium over MSRP, so it's not like the Senna is a bargain at those prices either.

I think the FGT is rarer, more unique, more exclusive, and just cooler because of the uniqueness. I also think it's better looking. Performance seems nowhere near the Senna.

I think if you had to pick, at the same $1.3M price, the Senna is the better deal. There are barely any FGT available and they make make more and more... I could see a $1.3M FGT ending up at $750-800K in a couple years as more get sold and produced.

 

The Ford is the cooler car, but the Senna is the better car.

 

The new Ford GT has a certain number of magic points

Linked to LeMans victory

Visual connections to previous gen cars

A real track toy

First North American car in my lifetime to not be a laughingstock relative to the best European and Japanese stuff

I would not bet that value will collapse as they finish the production run as a lot of folks who crave something special from merica want one of these bad boys

That being said on the positive side there are some realities

Based on space and storage and other points, does't appear too easy to live with for daily use

Price point is off relative to performance (can it run with a 720S?) and personalization is limited unless you find stripes to be your kind of personalization

Not really an American car as it is made in Canada

 

Would you say the 05/06 GT was a laughed at?
The new car seems more exclusive, it’s faster, and it does have some racing pedigree. I’d rather have the old one, but judging from the past market, the new cars are t going to depreciate.
I believe the Senna is a better track car, but it was designed to be.

 

The 05/06 was fast, and can be modded to be wicked fast

The soft points in the mix included the disco non functional vents and repurposed truck motor

I don’t recall the worldwide acclaim when it came out like the new one is getting

My understanding was it sold poorly and really benefitted later from kind reminiscence

Remember when Ford (the company that partners with Cheatwagen) sent owners a letter saying don’t drive this pos till we find you some new half shafts

 

Fair points, though while the used market went soft for a couple years, I don’t remember new cars sitting around. I also think being one of the last truely analog cars, along with the CGT, helped push prices back up quickly.
Yes, the engine was originally in a truck. But it was a still a DOHC v8 like every other super addicting of the time. And it’s an awesome car to drive, even if it’s missing the precision of a Ferrari or Porsche.
The new car is a giant leap forward. And still has some downsides, imho.
But it is still a Ford, so it will be looked at differently than the other players.

 

The 05-06 FGT has an all aluminum engine, while the Lightning (and GT500) had cast iron blocks. Not really the same engine.

 

Great car ..just don't try to flip it within 2 years

 

The 6 cylinder engine is disappointing.

Matt

 

Ford GT is a more special car imo. Not only did it win the 24 Hours of LeMans to make it more unique, but also is a standalone supercar for the Ford brand. Very rarely have they made something special and I expect the same in the future...

The Senna is "just" another super/hypercar in McLaren's lineup that frequently gets updated and out does the prior model. It's great now while it's still hot and the new thing, but with time will not stand out like the GT will.

 

Overrated, overpriced imho. Looks good though.

 

At the Daytona 24 this year they opened up one of the GTs at the Ford display and were letting people sit in them. Unfortunately I don't fit...not like I could afford one anyway.

 

I am only 6'1 260lbs so not a small guy. The seat was too narrow so I didn't quite fit all the way down in it, and thus, my head was touching the roof. Even if I had fit all the way down in the seat, there would not have been more than an inch or 2 of head room. The legroom and steering wheel seemed fine. I am just too fat.

Obviously a very different car, but I went and sat in an NSX right after that and felt perfectly fine.

 

Which vents are you referring to that are non functional?

 

I got an allocation for a 2020 Ford GT. Note the prices quoted are deceiving (2 have sold and they were ~$1.7MM but that's because none have been available since you cant sell them until 2 years has passed). I suspect once people can sell them the prices will be below $1MM. And if you are lucky enough to get an allocation they are $450K base and ~$550-$600K with options so on the second hand market it is a 2X premium at best.

I just love the aero and the uniqueness of the aero going thru the body. My neighbor has one and when my Ferrari is parked next to it, it really makes the Fcar look underwhelming. The downsides is the sound-- turbo's kill great sound. I'm going to look into getting an open exhaust or some other option to beef it up.

 

What are the chances of neighbors both getting an allocation? How’d you pull that off!?

 

He is the #1 Ford dealer in the SE USA so he got one 2 years ago, Unrelated to that, I drive in IMSA, PWC and drove a Ford Mustang GT4 (built by Multimatic who builds the Ford GT) and worked with Multimatic regularly. Our team helped multimatic develop the car, we had several wins and the exposure on tv/magazines helped. I'm sure it didnt hurt that if you goto the Ford Performance website our car was featured there. They were looking for people who track the car (not investor garage queen owners)/had motorsports background/did media/pr/social media to expose Ford brand. I was still lucky and I was surprised I got one.

But yeah it is unusual, he lives on my street about 8 houses away. I've drfven his-- he said I am the only person who has ever driven besides him.

 

Did you ever run a GT350R built by multimatic? My friend just bought one of the three (i guess one was totaled)

 

no but I bet the GT4 was pretty similar.

 

Very cool, thanks for sharing!