The 2017 GT Will Be the Fastest Ford Ever

The 2017 GT Will Be the Fastest Ford Ever

Published: January 31, 2017 | By: American Luxury Staff

Ford’s vaunted GT may truly carve out a substantial slice of the supercar market for Detroit: the company claims the GT bested the McLaren 675LT and Ferrari 458 Speciale during egalitarian track testing.

Priced for the buyer who’s jingling a few hundred K in his jeans pocket, and boasting Ford’s proprietary EcoBoost V6 engine, the approximately 650HP GT will achieve a top speed of 216MPH.

The EcoBoost design brings a 20% increase to fuel economy by using direct fuel injection and turbocharging to efficiently add power and improve acceleration, making the 3.5L V6 a smaller but aggressive workhorse. The GT’s fuel economy ratings are 11MPG city and 18MPG highway, however, for a 14MPG combined rating; the 2016 McLaren 675LT rates at 16 city and 22 highway, for a combined rating of 18MPG. Ford will certainly be working to improve these numbers as the GT evolves, if only to further distinguish the model from its competition.

With carbon-fiber architecture, the GT measures in at around 3,000 pounds, and puts weight savings accrued through the use of carbon fiber architecture into the active dynamics suspension and aerodynamics systems. Using preset modes Normal, Comfort and Track, the automated systems optimize performance by compensating for driving conditions and speed, improving balance, downforce and drag. A seven speed Getrag transmission rounds out the mechanical fundamentals.

The GT prices out at around $450K—a neat $100K beyond the McLaren’s sticker of $349K, and a whopping $200K over the Ferrari 488, the successor to the 458. Third-party speed and performance comparisons between the GT and Ford’s competitor’s models will surely emerge later in the year.

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