Production of the Ford GT is planned to end this month, and 1,350 units will have been built since the model was launched in 2016. One of the final models is the GT Mk IV which has the highest levels of performance, handling and advanced technology as it is a track-only car. Developed by Ford Performance and Multimatic, it is a radically advanced supercar with its unique bodywork, powertrain and suspension.
There will be only 67 units available, the number honouring the original 1967 GT Mk IV racing car which won the Le Mans 24-Hour race.
“The original GT Mk IV held nothing back for max track performance, and the new Ford GT Mk IV brings it in the same way,” said Mark Rushbrook, Global Director, Ford Performance Motorsports. “With an even higher level of motorsport engineering and performance, plus a completely new carbonfibre body that is functional and striking, the Mk IV is the ultimate send-off of the third-generation supercar.”
Performance exceeding every other Ford GT
To deliver the superlative performance, exceeding that of any Ford GT to date, the GT Mk IV has a unique twin-turbo EcoBoost 800 bhp engine, racing transmission, aero-focused exterior design, and chassis with longer wheelbase.
“Multimatic’s brief was to create the most extreme final version of the Ford GT, and the Mk IV is the outcome,” said Larry Holt, Executive Vice-President, Multimatic Special Vehicle Operations Group. “A unique larger displacement engine, proper racing gearbox, stretched wheelbase and truly radical body has resulted in an unprecedented level of performance. We are proud to have been a part of the third-generation GT from its inception to this amazing swan song and consider it a significant chapter in Multimatic’s history.”
The 1967 racing car
The modern GT Mk IV mirrors the approach taken for the 1967 racing car. The development team then held nothing back and redesigned the car from scratch with state-of-the-art technology and engineering available.
To leverage new material science advantages, Ford’s engineers and Kar Kraft developed a new lightweight chassis using adhesive bonded honeycombed-aluminium construction with a more aerodynamic body and named it the ‘J-Car’ because it was built to the new FIA Appendix J rules that applied during that period.
Combined with the famous 427 Ford V8 (7 litres) engine and a special transaxle with its own cooling system that carried power to the rear wheels, the 1967 Ford GT Mk IV was 228 mm longer and built specifically to dominate global endurance racing.
The current Ford GT is actually the second time Ford has built such a model. The first one was produced between 2005 and 2006 to celebrate the company’s centenary, with 4,038 units built. The second generation was introduced at the end of 2016 and production was planned to run until 2022. It is built at the factory of Canadian-based Multimatic, a specialist manufacturer.
