Supercars Sightings

[Blacksupra]

Dann enscheidet die Nachfrage den Preis !

[Anzeige eBay]

Hallo Grischa,

 

kennst du schon Supercars Sightings (Anzeige)? Dort ist vieles zu finden.

 

Andere Automarken Ersatzteile (Anzeige) | Andere Automarken Tuning (Anzeige) | Andere Automarken Uhren (Anzeige)

[F40org CO]

Dann enscheidet die Nachfrage den Preis !

Ist der GT denn schon so gefragt?

[Blacksupra]

Ohja ich kenne den Händler sehr gut und der hätte den schon 3 mal verkaufen können.Es wurden bereits mehr als die 215k€ geboten.

Alleine die begrenzte Stückzahl von 100 Stück ist da massgeblich. Trotzdem würde ich meine Supra nicht eintauschen.

[taunus]

Ohja ich kenne den Händler sehr gut und der hätte den schon 3 mal verkaufen können.Es wurden bereits mehr als die 215k€ geboten.

Alleine die begrenzte Stückzahl von 100 Stück ist da massgeblich.

Ich bin mir sicher, das ein Import aus den USA auch ohne grössere Probleme möglich ist, wenn dort der erste Ansturm auf die Wagen gelaufen ist.

[netburner]

Ohja ich kenne den Händler sehr gut und der hätte den schon 3 mal verkaufen können.Es wurden bereits mehr als die 215k€ geboten.

Alleine die begrenzte Stückzahl von 100 Stück ist da massgeblich. Trotzdem würde ich meine Supra nicht eintauschen.

Die 100 Stück beziehen sich aber maximal auf die Gulf-Lackierung, der GT wurde mehr als 1000-mal gebaut.

[isderaimperator VIP CO]

in der USA sind die GTs schon länger auf dem Markt. Die GTs für Europa (109 Stk) kamen erst zur Mitte letzten Jahres nach Europa und wurden dort umfangreich bei der Firma Capricorn (Nürburgring) auf Schweizer Zulassungsbestimmungen (die strengsten in EUR) umgerüstet.

Die ersten Auslieferung waren dann Mitte Dez.

Wenn man einen GT in Eigenregie nach EUR einführt, kommen nochmals ordentliche Kosten auf einen zu um die Autos zulassungsfähig zu bekommen.

So verfügt die EUR Variante über einen anderes Abgassystem und zahlreiche andere Details. Das Tacho bleibt allerdings USA Spezifikation mit kleinen km/h Angaben.

Offiziell gewartet werden die EUR Autos in der Schwabengarage in Stuttgart.

[Blacksupra]

Die 100 Stück beziehen sich aber maximal auf die Gulf-Lackierung, der GT wurde mehr als 1000-mal gebaut.

Selbstverständlich !!

[BruNei_carFRe@K]

Der GT 40 wurde (also der alte GT ) 101 mal gebaut.Er heißt GT 40 weil 40 inch (???) groß ist und 40 inch sind 101 cm. Vll kommt deshalb die Zahl 100 hier ins Spiel.

[Lamberko]

Der GT 40 wurde (also der alte GT ) 101 mal gebaut.Er heißt GT 40 weil 40 inch (???) groß ist und 40 inch sind 101 cm. Vll kommt deshalb die Zahl 100 hier ins Spiel.

Hmm....

...gerade bezüglich dem Ford GT40 solltest Du nicht alles glauben was in der AutoBild geschrieben steht!!!

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Ford GT40

Henry Ford II. hatte im Mai 1963 - nachdem Enzo Ferrari verkündete, dass Ferrari nicht mehr zum Verkauf stünde - gemeinsam mit Lee Iacocca die Entwicklung des Zweisitzers beschlossen. Die Produktion begann Anfang 1965 in Slogh, fast alle Modelle wurden dort in den nächsten drei Jahren gefertigt.

1965 entschied man aber, eine begrentzte Stückzahl in den Verkauf zu bringen. Nur eine Handvoll Exemplare mit gültiger Straßenzulassung wurden verkauft. Der Mk 1 wurde im Rennkit verkauft, der Mk 3 sollte bei Bedarf als Spielzeug für ein paar reiche Männer veräußert werden.

In Le Mans siegte der GT 40 1966, 1967 und 1968.

In den Prototypen arbeitete ein 4,2-Liter-V8 mit Colotti-Getriebe von Ford USA. Straßenversionen verfügten hingegen über die 4,7-Liter-V8-Motoren (stets vor der Hinterachse eingebaut) und ZF-Getriebe. Mit Zylinderköpfen der Firma Gurney-Weslake stieg die Motorleistung des V8 auf über 400 PS.

vergrößern

Ford benötigte schließlich einen neuen 7-Liter-Motor für den Mk 2, um 1966 in LeMans zu gewinnen bzw. ein ganz neues Design (Mk 4 oder „J“), um den Sieg 1967 zu wiederholen.

Der GT 40 wurde in unterschiedlichen Varianten gebaut:

4,2-Liter mit 306 PS

4,7-Liter und 340 PS

7,0 Litern und 485 Renn-PS (Big Block)...343 km/h...1966!!!

Stückzahl:

Hier sind sehr unterschiedliche Angaben zu finden.

Sie reichen von 124 bis 134 Fahrzeuge,...

...wobei die Firma Ford selbst nur von 94 "Serienwagen" spricht.

Mein aktueller Kenntnisstand (ohne Gewähr!!!):

.....12x Prototypen

.....31x Mk I (Strassenumrüstung)

.......7x Mk III (Strassenumrüstung)

.....12x MK IV

.....48x Rennversionen (alle Varianten)

------------------------------------

...=...110x unterschiedliche GTs !?!?!?

============================

Mk I Gulf-Version = #1074, #1075, #1076 & #1084.

Sehr gefährliche 140 Liter Kraftstoff in den beiden Seitentanks.

4,04 Meter Länge

2,41 Meter Radstand

1,02 Meter Höhe (entspricht 40 Zoll, daher die Bezeichnung)

Der Aktuelle Ford GT ist länger, stärker, breiter und vier Inch höher, müßte deshalb auch Ford GT 44 heißen. Die FORD MOTOR COMPANY hatte es versäumt, sich die abgelaufenen Rechte des Namens "GT40" zu verlängern,...

...was dann ein findiger Geschäftsmann tat! - Dieser wollte jedoch so viele Dollars für die Rechte, dass Ford dankend ablehnte und das neue Prachtstück eben nun GT nennt.

***************************************************

The first GT-40s, the MK-I, were designed after Eric Broadley's Lola prototype, resident in England.

The second GT-40s were aptly named the MK-II and were also built in England.

Along comes the third generation, the street-able MK-III

The MK-IV. There were 12 of these built by Kar Kraft in Michigan.

***************************************************

Notes:

* The Mirages were a redesign of the MK I's and used Ford small blocks and engines from BRM.

* The number 92 car I believe belongs to George Stauffer of Blue Mounds Wisconsin, USA.

* The number 6 car was driven to the closest Le Mans victory to date in 1969 by Jacky Ickx, despite being outdated.

* Chassis number 1007 is currently owned privately in France. The car took part in the 24 hours of Le Mans in 1966, 67, and in the Targa Florio and Monza races in 1966. It also has been driven by Jo Schlesser, Henry Grader, Richard Atwood and Ines Ireland.

***************************************************

Ford GT40 Race History

The GT40 history began in the early sixties,...

...and extended for almost a decade. During this time, it developed from an initially unreliable vehicle to one which swept all before it in endurance races across the world. Along the way, it was associated with some of the biggest names of twentieth century motorsport on both sides of the Atlantic: Carroll Shelby, AJ Foyt, Dan Gurney, Bruce McLaren, Jackie Ickx, Phil Hill, and Mike Hailwood. In June 1962, Henry Ford II withdrew his company from the 1957 Automobile Manufacturers Association ban on racing, signalling the beginning of a Ford commitment to international motorsport. Ford Motor Company had joined a 1957 Automobile Manufacturers Association agreement prohibiting direct involvement in racing, and the ban quickly took its toll on Ford's image and its ability to engineer performance. Thus in 1962 Henry Ford II decided to withdraw from the already-dissolving pact, and the company launched a massive racing campaign that would take the 1960s by storm. A key component of "Ford Total Performance," as the effort was called, was the quest to win the famed 24-hour Grand Prix d'Endurance at Le Mans. Perhaps the world's most significant – and glamorous – motorsport contest, Le Mans in the early 1960s was showing signs of becoming a Ferrari showcase, as the Italians had become the leaders in a number of endurance classes and events.

Le Mans, France is the quiet capital of the agricultural region West of Paris – for 51 weeks of the year, anyway. Each June, the motoring world descends on the city for the annual 24-hour competition. The race has been a tradition since 1923, when Andre Lagache and Rene Leonard managed 1373 miles in their 3-liter Chenard & Walker, averaging 57 mph. The Dan Gurney/A.J. Foyt team in winning the 1967 Le Mans in their 7-liter GT40, covered nearly 3252 miles at an average speed of over 135 mph. Impressive as these figures are, Le Mans has always been more than a speed contest in the traditional sense. Victory there, at least in the sixties, was regarded as the ultimate proof of reliability and performance, and a public testimony of engineering excellence.

In the ensuing 12 months, Ford attempted to buy Ferrari to run its international racing program, but negotiations between Ford and Enzo Ferrari broke down in May 1963.

To compete seriously at Le Mans, Ford needed a 200-mph mid-engined car that could maintain a 120-mph average lap speed after 24 hours, and it needed one quickly, so Ford boldly vied to buy Ferrari outright. Things were going fairly well in the $18 million deal when Enzo Ferrari abruptly decided that his company was no longer for sale.

GT40 Beginnings

Ford had a backup plan. While the Ferrari negotiations were underway, Dearborn brass took steps to create their own racing program, ultimately forming the Britain-based Ford Advanced Vehicles division. Through the 1962 Mustang concept, Ford had already developed a relationship with Roy Lunn, an Englishman who started his career at Ford of Britain but came to the United States in 1958.

Because Lunn and his team would ultimately develop the GT40, one can think of Mustang I, a mid-engined sportscar that spawned the classic production vehicle, as a precursor to GT40 in a philosophical rather than technical sense. Aluminum-bodied and lightweight, the two-seater was equipped with a 1.7-liter V-4 and some running gear from period Ford Cortinas. Aside from the mid-engined layout, it bore little resemblance to the Le Mans racers that would soon make Ford proud, but Mustang I was still essential to the GT40 program; it proved to Ford management that an international collection of engineers could form a successful product development team.

After working on the Mustang I, Roy Lunn, along with Ray Geddes and Donald Frey, turned toward the racing effort. They found that the "Grand Touring" car Ford conceived to win at Le Mans had much in common with the new Lola GT, a low-slung coupe developed by Eric Broadley in Slough, England, not the least of which was the American V-8 mounted amidships – a rarity for European cars of the time.

Displayed in January 1963, at the London Racing Car Show, the Lola GT was hardly complete, but it formed an excellent foundation for the development of the Ford GT40. Essential elements like the monocoque center section, the broad side sills (they doubled as fuel tanks) and the aerodynamic profile, made their way to the GT40, and Broadley, short on funds, was eager to join the Ford team.

"FORD GT"

In April 1964, paint still drying after a transatlantic flight, the strikingly modern "Ford GT" wowed the motor press in New York. Compared to the Lola, it was longer, wider, sleeker, and fantastically over-built, with an extremely rigid steel center section and unstressed front and rear fiberglass body panels. Behind the cabin, Ford fitted its all-aluminum 4.2-liter "Indianapolis" V-8 and a 4-speed Colotti transaxle; the car featured a computer-designed double-wishbone suspension and 11.5-inch disc brakes at each wheel. Needless to say, with these specifications and its elegant, modern styling, it was received with great excitement in New York.

Ford's new endurance racer was called simply "Ford GT." The letters come from the European "Gran Turismo" or Grand Touring, a term coined in the inter-war period, when extended automobile travel became (for the wealthy at least) a glamorous activity. Thus the GT racecars – and to some degree the GT40, which was built to compete in the prototype class – had at least a pretension of luggage space and often a spare wheel. The number 40 was added retrospectively with the introduction of the Mark II, and signifies nothing more than the car's height in inches.

Two weeks after the introduction, barely driven, the car appeared at Le Mans for pre-race testing. Things did not go well for the greenhorn Ford: the challenging course and poor weather conspired with aerodynamic problems, resulting in two damaging crashes and thus little useful practice for the drivers and the engineers.

The GT40 Mark II and First Victories

By the time of the race in June, the stability problems mostly solved, the cars were competitive against the Ferraris but retired of numerous failures that only further development would work out. For this, Ford brought Carroll Shelby on board to oversee the racing program. He began work on installing the more reliable 7-liter stock-car engine in what would be known later as the Mark II. It proved to be considerably faster than the Mark I, and although 1965 was another unsuccessful year at Le Mans, GT40 had become, in just two seasons, a strong contender.

Ford tested the GT40 Mark II extensively – both in the wind tunnel and on a special dynamometer that simulated a 48-hour run of the Le Mans circuit – and at the start of the 1966 season, GT40 began a four-year domination of endurance racing.

In the 24 hours of Daytona, Ken Miles and Lloyd Ruby headed a 1-2-3 sweep for Ford. The Sebring 12-hour also saw a trio of Fords take the checkered flag in sequence.

Ford led at the start of the 1966 Le Mans, and had been nearly unchallenged as darkness fell. By dawn on Sunday, their leads were so significant that they were ordered to slow down for reliability's sake. By noon, 10 of the 13 Fords entered, many of them sponsored by private teams, had been eliminated, and the three remaining cars cruised toward a 1-2-3 victory and Ford's achievement of the "triple crown" of endurance racing – in just its third season.

Dearborn's Own Mark IV

Proving that the victory over Ferrari and the others was no fluke, Ford entered and won Le Mans in 1967, this time in all-new car! The GT40 Mark IV was an all-Dearborn creation, born to some degree in response to criticism that the earlier cars were simply English machines funded by big American pockets. So different were the Mark IVs, for example, that they were constructed of aluminum honeycomb bonded with the latest aerospace techniques, instead of steel.

The 1967 Le Mans hosted GT40's most dramatic duel with Ferrari. Ford led early but lost three of its seven cars to nighttime crashes; the Gurney/Foyt car continued, though, beating the 2nd and 3rd place Ferraris by only four laps. Moreover, the "lazy liters" 427 engine in the winning Ford earned the coveted "Index of Thermal Efficiency" award for highest performance on the least amount of fuel – an achievement which the Europeans considered as important as overall victory.

Not surprisingly, the FIA quickly capped engine displacement at 5 liters, but the European component of "Ford Total Performance" was far from complete. Under Gulf Oil sponsorship, the Mark I GT40s returned to win Le Mans in 1968, and then again in 1969. That final Le Mans for GT40 was one of the most exciting in the history of endurance racing, with a margin of victory of just two seconds after 24 hours of intense competition!

By 1969, the winning GT40 had 425 BHP and was timed at 217 mph along the Mulsanne Straight. The GT40 and its speed were instrumental in sweeping rule changes which were introduced after the 1969 race in order to curb the high speeds of GT racing. The new rules were introduced at the end of 1969 and limited engine size, ending the GT40's successful winning run at Le-Mans.

***************************************************

Für "Fahrgestell-Sammler" eine wahre Fundgrube:

This year’s annual gathering of the Shelby American Automobile Club took place from 30 June to 3 July, at Connecticut’s Lime Rock Park circuit. Marking the club’s twenty-fifth anniversary, SAAC-25 was billed as a GT40 reunion - although, as time would tell, the final roll call of GT40s was something of a disappointment in quantity, although not in quality.

Prominent amongst the GT40 attendees was George Stauffer, whose team brought along no fewer than four cars. They were: 1046, the ‘66 Le Mans-winning Mark II; “1047”, the latter-day red Mark II, now refurbished and turned out in IIB configuration, and for sale at $345,000; 1102, the ex-Wyer Mark III, and J-4, the ‘67 Sebring-winning Mark IV.

Another Mark IIB was Bill Ostrower’s beautiful example in silver with dark blue stripes, which is said to be 1031. Jim Glickenhaus actually drove to the circuit in his lovely yellow Mark IV, which had placed second at Le Mans in 1967; it appears that this car is actually J-6, and not J-5 as had previously been thought. Having spent many years painted as a replica of the red Le Mans-winner, the car is now restored to its original paint scheme, so that at last all the ‘67 team Mark IVs are back in original colours.

Barney Hallingby also drove his GT40 road-car to the circuit. 1069, an ex-Ford press car, is still in yellow livery, and is in immaculate condition, and Barney kindly made it available for me to photograph at his beautiful home.

Lee Holman came with two of the superb Holman Moody Mark IIs, the familiar white 201, and the almost complete gold 203. The accuracy of these new Mark IIs is quite stunning, the incomplete 203 allowing detail of the engine bay and the chassis to be seen and appreciated. Jack Launtz brought the ex-Alan Mann, ex-Paul Hawkins, AM.GT40.2, still in the deep metallic-blue livery it has worn for many years.

Perhaps the most surprising visitor was the ex-Filipinetti gold-painted 1040, which for many years has been owned by Don Silawsky. The car was shown disassembled, being basically body panels perched precariously upon a bare tub, itself standing on trestles. Don is looking to sell this veteran of Le Mans, and $350,000 will prise it, as it is, out of his hands; if you want him to finish off the restoration for you, you’ll need $500,000.

John Sadler and Bob Wood, of Safir GT40 Spares, Ltd, brought their two red Mark Vs, 1124 and 1136 respectively, and carrying race numbers 57 and 17. These were the only GT40s to take part in the races held on the final day of the event, all previous on-track excursions throughout the weekend being strictly non-competitive displays.

Not surprisingly - being based only a few miles away in New Britain, connecticut - ERA was represented. The now elderly, but still highly desirable, big-block demonstrator, finished in light blue with white stripes, was their official presence, and the car was joined by others of the marque.

SAAC is not an elitist organisation, their motto being “ownership isn’t important - enthusiasm is”. As a result they quite happily accept Ford-powered cars which are not Shelbys - there were lots of regular Mustangs and other Fords around - and they don’t turn their noses up at replicas. Some of the GT40 replicas present were so good that only the fact that they were left-hand-drive gave away their lack of pedigree, and they helped bolster the numbers and add more colour, glamour and noise to the event.

Some GT40-owners arrived without their cars. It was good to meet with Fran Kress (1054) and Gil Jackson (1085 and the second 1009), and to meet up with other stalwarts such as Rick Kopec and Steele Therkleson (some of his mid-sixties photographs are used elsewhere in this website). Leo Beebe, still carrying his “Henry expects you to win” card, was present, as, of course, was The Man himself, Carroll Shelby.

WGI – that’s Watkins Glen International – is a beautiful circuit.

It’s over three miles long, and has lots of changes in elevation which allow spectators plenty of splendid viewpoints, and gives the drivers a worthwhile challenge. The circuit is located in New York’s Finger Lakes region, an area so named because of the long, narrow, almost parallel lakes which look like the fingers of an outstretched hand. Every year Watkins Glen hosts an SVRA meeting, and for 2001 the event was known as the Zippo US Vintage Grand Prix of Watkins Glen. Zippo, you may be interested to know, are manufacturers of cigarette lighters, and their proud boast is that a Zippo lighter will never cost you a cent to repair, because since the inception of the company they have always repaired Zippo lighters free of charge, regardless of the product’s age. You may think you’re reading an advertisement here, but, hey, sponsorship is what helps to put race meetings together, so if you do happen to be a tobacco addict (I’m not), buy a Zippo lighter and support vintage racing, OK?

The Zippo GP, held from September 7th to 9th, featured just about every class of racing car you could think of, with a minimum age of about ten years, the fastest being Michael Lauber’s 1990 Sauber Mercedes C11, which put up a practice time of 1m42.302s (which, by my reading of the timing sheets, was the best lap of the entire weekend), and the newest being Donald Stiles’s 1991 Porsche 962/168.

However, the special interest for our readers lay in the principal race – the New York Governor’s Cup. The featured marque was Shelby, and the twenty-six cars which started the event all had Shelby connections. There were Cobras galore (including a pair of Daytona coupes), and plenty of GT350s too. Naturally, it was expected that a GT40 would win, and so one did, but not exactly as had been expected…

There was a fair sprinkling of GT40s present at Watkins Glen. Heading the list, numerically at least, was 1015, carrying race number 1, the pale blue Mark IIA which finished second at Le Mans 1966; it was entered for Bill Murray, of Longmont Colorado. Race number 2 was on George Stauffer’s black Mark IIA, 1046, the ’66 Le Mans winner. George made it quite clear right from the start of the weekend that he was going to drive in the race, rather than race in the race; 1046 is just too precious to risk in serious competition. The third original Mark IIA was #5, the number carried by Ken Quintenz’s gold and pink 1016, which finished third at Le Mans ’66. There were three other Mark IIs at the event, these being Lee Holman’s lovely white and blue Mark IIA, 201, race number 40, George Stauffer’s pristine red and black Mark IIB, now numbered as 1047B to prevent any confusion between it and the real 1047, and Bill Ostrower’s superb silver and blue Team Snakespeed Mark IIB, which is numbered 1031, although its right to that number has yet to be established.

There were other versions of the GT40, too. Mark Is were entered for Darren Quintenz (#25, 1025, in white and blue), Tom Mabey (#12, 1037, the surviving Comstock car, now back in its original white with green stripes), and Rob Walton (#6, 1075, the Gulf-liveried double-winner at Le Mans), whilst Steven Volk, of Colorado, brought along his bronze Mark IV, #3 (J7, the Andretti/Bianchi Le Mans 1967 lap-record holder). 1075 was at Watkins Glen strictly for show only, as the old warrior is, like 1046, worth too much to risk in the cut and thrust of racing. Although Rob Walton is based in Arkansas, his 1075 is kept in Nevada, and nowadays is actually used on the road, its carers using it for occasional trips out for Sunday lunch. In addition, Phil Gaudette and the guys from ERA were present in force, amongst their Cobras their lovely blue Mark II prototype sharing display space with a customer-owned dark metallic blue Mark I.

Apart from the 11-lap Governor’s Cup, there were other practice and race sessions for the GT40s, which gave us the opportunity to see most of them on the track. 1047B and 1075, plus ERA’s cars, were the only GT40s there for the show alone, so all the others had some track time.

Rob Walton’s CSX2286 was on pole, with a time of 2m11.827. Exactly who was driving the Quintenz family’s cars was not clear, as the entry list was sometimes at odds with the timing sheets and the names painted on the cars – the final results sheets showed Ken Quintenz driving both 1016 and 1025! The race itself was very interesting, largely for who won it. Third place went to the Quintenz family’s 1025, which, livery apart, is virtually in Gulf trim (albeit with a 351 engine), second spot went to Rob Walton’s Daytona Coupe, (only 2.1 seconds behind the winner), and the winner was – 1016. So what’s special about that? Well, it was the only Holman & Moody car in the race…and given the rivalry between Shelby and Holman & Moody, the irony of that was not lost on everyone. Incidentally, Carroll Shelby himself wasn’t there, but his absence was more than made up for by the appointment of Dan Gurney as Grand Marshall for the event. During Friday’s festival, held in the streets of Watkins Glen, Gurney was chauffeured around in Lee Holman’s Ferrari 250TR, which gave Lee no end of amusement, as few realised that the car was actually made from a cut-down 330GT; there never was a real left-hand drive Testa Rossa, was there…?

Not all the GT40s saw as much of the track as they might have done. 1015 didn’t make it past practice (broken rocker arm), and 1037’s gearbox problems saw it lay so much oil on the track that all those immediately behind it in the final couple of corners went skating, while 1037’s driver Tom Mabey took his car to the pits, probably quite unaware of the chaos in his wake. 1037, alas, was back in its box before the real racing started.

The weather for the whole of the weekend was absolutely splendid, with lots of warm sunshine, and Watkins Glen’s final race meeting of the season was a tremendous success. My thanks go to Julie Giese and the event staff of WGI for providing me with the opportunity to get close to the action.

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Sorry, Ford, I have to ask for my money back

By Jeremy Clarkson of The Sunday Times

PETER TARRY

Thirty-five years ago I promised myself that one day I’d own a Ford GT40, the blue-collar supercar that took an axle grinder to Ferrari’s aristocratic halo at Le Mans. But 25 years ago my dreams were dashed as I grew too tall to fit inside.

Happily, in 2002 Ford announced that it was to build a modern-day version of the old racer. It would, they said, cost less than £100,000 and do more than 200mph. They also said it would be much bigger than the original so pylon-people like me would be able to drive it. And so, two years ago, having tested a prototype in America, I placed an order for one of the 28 that were coming to Britain.

As the months groaned by there were rumours of big price increases, insatiable thirst and catastrophic suspension failure. But there were also rumours of the supercharged V8 pumping out 550bhp and a mountain of torque so massive it was breaking the testing equipment. So I didn’t mind.

I didn’t even mind when it arrived at my house one month ago inside a truck which had “On Time” written down the side. As we know from America’s arrival into the second world war, their concept of “on time” differs slightly from ours. And anyway, it looked so gorgeous, a mass of bulging muscle struggling to contain that massive 5.4 litre supercharged heart. It doesn’t look like a GT40 but it looks like a GT40 looks in your head. And it’s huge. Longer than a Volvo XC90 and as wide as a Hummer.

Which is why, on its first run, to London, it was like a blue and white Pied Piper trailing a stream of ratty hatches in its wake. Everyone was taking pictures, waving, giving me the thumb’s up. Never, not once in 15 years of road testing cars, had anything drawn such a massive crowd. And never had the crowd been so overtly supportive. Of course you can’t run a car like this without a few problems rearing their head from time to time. It’s too wide for the width restrictions on Hammersmith bridge — backing up earned me a slot on the traffic news that morning. The turning circle means every mini roundabout becomes a three-point turn, and at oblique junctions, as is the case in a Ferrari Enzo, you absolutely cannot see if anything’s coming. But set against this is a surprisingly quiet and civilised ride. It’s like a power station. Silent, as it gets on with the job of brightening up your life.

Mind you, you are constantly aware of the Herculean power that nestles just over your right shoulder. Partly because you can see the supercharger belt whirring away in the rear-view mirror and partly because it makes a deep, dog-baiting rumble when you do put your foot down.

Ford asked that I keep the revs below 4000 for the first thousand miles. But since 100mph equates to 1900rpm it’s not really a hardship. And at this speed you’re doing 15mpg, which isn’t bad at all. But three days later everything started to go very, very wrong. Leaving the Top Gear studio, the immobiliser refused to un-immobilise itself. So the car was pushed into the hangar and I went home instead in a rented Toyota Corolla. Ford sent a tow truck, changed the immobiliser and delivered the car to my house the following day. “Is it fixed?” I asked. “Yes,” they said. - It wasn’t. - At three in the morning the alarm blew. And then again at four. This meant my wife started to refer to it as “that f****** car”, which took away a bit of the sheen, if I’m honest.

The next day, on the way back to the garage, I received a call on the hands-free phone from the tracker company. “Your car’s been stolen, sir,” said the man. “I’m sure it hasn’t,” I said, “because I’m in it.” Fearing that I might be the burglar, the man asked if I could give him my password. Tricky one that, since I have a different password for everything on the internet and can never remember any of them. And that’s a big problem, because the man at the end of the phone has the power to remotely shut down the engine. I threatened him, lightly, with some physical harm, but this didn’t work so I had to guess. “Aardvark,” I ventured. “Abacus, Aesop, additional......” - Eventually he took pity and I was able to deliver the car back to Ford with some stern warnings about the alarm, the immobiliser and the tracker system, all of which seemed to be malfunctioning. As a courtesy car they gave me a Ford Focus, with a diesel engine. Nice.

Two days later the GT was back. “Is it fixed?” I asked, again. “Yes,” they said. - Five minutes out of the Ford garage I received a text to say my car had been stolen. And then, in the next half hour, three more. So, counting the two I’d received before I was even out of bed, that meant my car had been stolen five times before 9am.

This time I rang Ford and explained that I would personally come over there and insert the whole car up the chairman’s backside if it wasn’t fixed. And while I was on the phone a yellow warning light came on the dash.

“There’s a yellow warning light on the dash,” I bellowed, like Michael Winner, only angrier. “Oh, that’ll be something to do with the engine management system,” said the man with the bleeding ears. “You’ll need to get it looked at...”

When Ford gave me the car back after its third hospital trip in as many weeks, I didn’t ask if the security system was fixed. Because the notion of it still being broken was simply inconceivable. So imagine my surprise when, one hour later, while at my daughter’s school play, I heard a familiar siren. I couldn’t believe it. The alarm had gone off again.

In a fury this time, I called Ford and explained, loudly, that Roush, the company charged with servicing and maintaining the 28 GTs in Britain, was plainly incompetent. And that there was simply no point asking it to fix the alarm again because it’d had three goes already. I then did something the man at Ford wasn’t expecting. I asked for my money back.

And that, the next day, is what happened. - They put £126,000 in my account and sent a man to pick up the car. “Is it the alarm system?” he said. “They all do that.” - So there we are. A 35-year dream. A two-year wait. Ten years of damn hard work. And what do I get? The most miserable month’s motoring it is possible to imagine.

Strangely, however, as the GT rumbled down my drive for the last time, I felt like Julie Walters watching Michael Caine getting on the plane at the end of Educating Rita. I actually cried. There’s a very good reason for this. I genuinely believe that some machines have a soul and I can’t bear to think of my Ford sitting in a warehouse now, unloved and unwanted. It is fine. It is perfect. It knows it’s a great, great car that was ruined by a useless ape who fitted a crummy aftermarket alarm system. - Ford has said I can buy the car back any time. It has even lent me an Aston Martin DB9 while I make up my mind. I don’t know though. I just don’t know.

Normally I finish these columns with an opinion of mine. But this time it’s the other way round. I’d love to hear yours.

One thing: I know I could sell the car privately and make a £50,000 profit. But I have never profited from my position as a motoring journalist. And I never will.

Jeremy Clarkson

***************************************************

Wem der neue Ford GT noch zuuuu langsam oder zu "normal" ist, der kann ja auf folgender Webseite einkaufen gehen:

http://www.seanhylandmotorsport.com

[BruNei_carFRe@K]

Das mit den 101 Fahrzeugen stand in der Bibel (AMS) und wurde bei Motorvision erwähnt.

Ich war am Wochenende in Berlin und habe jede Menge supercars gesehen.Wenn ihr mir sagt wie ich Bilder uploaden kann stelle ich sie in 1Woche gerne rein bin nämlich jetzt noch 1Woche in München und dann geht ja leider wieder die Schulle los

[Anzeige Amazon]

Hallo Grischa,

 

schau doch mal hier zum Thema Andere Automarken (Anzeige)? Eventuell gibt es dort etwas Passendes.

 

Der V16 Motor zum Selberbauen (Anzeige) ist auch genial.

[Phil]

Wem der neue Ford GT noch zuuuu langsam oder zu "normal" ist, der kann ja auf folgender Webseite einkaufen gehen:

http://www.seanhylandmotorsport.com

Oder sogar hier, in Deutschland: http://www.loder1899.de/index.asp?p=1

qoute: "Eine zweite Leistungsstufe auf 700 PS ist ebenfalls möglich."

[dogfriedwart]

Hier ist doch auch der Eine oder Andere aus Paderborn bzw. dem Umland. Kann mir jemand etwas über diesen SLR sagen? Gehört der dem F****?

[isderaimperator VIP CO]

wollen wir hier wirklich Namen nennen?

[dogfriedwart]

Nein, keine Namen, jedenfalls nicht öffentlich.

VOn daher war meine Frage auch falsch. Besser wär gewesen: Wer hat nähere Infos zu diesem Auto?

[BruNei_carFRe@K]

Du meinst dem das Möbelhaus gehört oder? Kann ich mir gut vorstellen ich mein der fährt ja auch diverse andere superschlichten Bentley Flying spur Jaguar XJ S-klasse.

[dogfriedwart]

Du meinst dem das Möbelhaus gehört oder? Kann ich mir gut vorstellen ich mein der fährt ja auch diverse andere superschlichten Bentley Flying spur Jaguar XJ S-klasse.

War wohl doch nicht Finke. Soll jemandem gehören, der auf der Warburger wohnt.

[Lamberko]

Du meinst dem das Möbelhaus gehört oder? [...]

Erinnert mich an 288GTO, F50 und Enzo...

[dogfriedwart]

Erinnert mich an 288GTO, F50 und Enzo...

Wie meinst Du das?

[BruNei_carFRe@K]

Der ist doch keine von den Wagen gefahren oder?

[Lamberko]

Da war mal ein Ferrari-sammelnder Möbelhändler im TV zu sehen....

[stelli]

Da war mal ein Ferrari-sammelnder Möbelhändler im TV zu sehen....

Du meinst doch bestimmt den Dransmann. Der wohnt doch bei User taunus im Dorf. Der sammelt und handelt auch mit Ferraris.

[Lamberko]

Du meinst doch bestimmt den Dransmann. Der wohnt doch bei User taunus im Dorf. Der sammelt und handelt auch mit Ferraris.

Nöö, den Dransmann kenne ich. - Ich meinte einen Bericht, der mal vor Jahren im DSF lief.

Oder verwechsel ich jetzt irgendwas...? - Wo sind `n die Pillen hin...

[taunus]

Nöö, den Dransmann kenne ich. - Ich meinte einen Bericht, der mal vor Jahren im DSF lief.

Passt schon...

[BruNei_carFRe@K]

Meine Sichtungen in der letzten Woche

6 Bentley Continental GT

2 Bentley Flying Spur

1 Mercedes CL 65 AMG

1 Lamborghini Gallardo

1 Bentley Arnage

1 Chevrolet Corvette

2 Ferrari 360 Spider

1 Ferrari 430 Spider

3 Maserati Quattroporte

5 Maserati Coupe (3200-Cambiocorsa alles dabei)

2 Maybach 57 einer davon 57s

1 Rolls-Royce Phantom

1 Merceds CL 600 aktuelles Model das ab Dezember kommt

2 Ferrari 612 Scagiletti (einer in Weiß und ich glaube es war ein GTC)

2 Porsche Cayenne Turbo S (auch hier einer Weiß ,gewöhnungsbedürftig)

1 Wiesmann MF 3

1 Bugatti Veyron (aber im schaufenster in Berlin)

3 Porsche 997 Turbo und unendlich viele andere Porsches

So ich hoffe mal ihr glaubt mir ich stelle die Fotos von den Fahrzeugen die ich fotografieren konnte auch gerne rein wenn mir einer sagt wie das geht ich check das nämlich net.

[dogfriedwart]

Ganz einfach: Geh zu http://imageshack.us und wähle dort jeweils eine Datei unter "Durchsuchen" aus. Warte bis die Datei hochgeladen ist und ein Fenster mit verschiedenen Codes kommt. Dann klickst Du "Thumbnails for Forums (1)" an. Dann gehst du hier im Forum auf "Antwort erstellen" und klickst dieses gelbe Symbol in der Leiste an, wo auch "fett, kursiv" etc stehen. In das aufpoppende Fenster kopierst du dann den kopierten Code, OK, fertig.

"Noch Fragen Hauser?"