Is This $1 Million Ford GT The Ultimate Everyday Supercar?

21 Oct 2024 by Trinity Francis · Forbes

The Ford GT in its natural habitat on the trackFord Motor Company

If you’re going to spend $1 million on a supercar, it better be awe inspiring. When Ford revived the GT name again in 2017, it had a lot to live up to. Had fate taken a different turn the latest Ford GT might not have materialized. Ford had intended to create a track-going Mustang to compete at Le Mans but the engineering team couldn't get away from the Mustang’s distinctly unaerodynamic front end. Instead, they landed upon a design that was most certainly not a Mustang and the new Ford GT was born.

What Is The 2017 Ford GT Like To Drive?

Rear view of the Ford GT on the roadFord Motor Company

There could never be any suggestion that the Ford GT is quiet. It lets out a delightful roar when the engine starts and although you get used to the V6 sound behind your head, the glee of making it sing never dulls. Although it feels like you should be wearing a five point racing harness it doesn’t feel intent on throwing you off the road. Yes, it’s ridiculously powerful but it’s not scary or particularly unruly.

It feels like there’s three different stages of the accelerator. If you tickle the throttle it’ll gently ease forward. At slow speeds it sounds throaty and irritable but it never rushes you. A touch more pressure will elicit a sports car response. Press down even further and this is where its supercar personality lies. I like to think of it as its rocketship mode, all you can hear is the engine busy delivering 638 bhp and the road suddenly disappears in a blur.

On the track or on the road, the GT is made to dominateFord Motor Company

Admittedly, the idea of an everyday supercar is somewhat oxymoronic but the 2017 Ford GT makes perfect sense. It’s well behaved around town and unbelievably quick when the road opens up. Surprisingly, the seven-speed dual-clutch gearbox is effortless. The McLaren 720S, which was released in the same year, also has a seven-speed dual-clutch transmission but, unlike the GT, it borders on annoying. To get the most out of the McLaren you need to use the flappy paddles and tell the car which gear to use but the GT’s gear changes are barely noticeable and perfectly timed.

The 2005 Ford GT uses a six-speed manual transmission and for on road driving you’ll never need much more than fourth gear. To draw any comparison between the 2005 and 2017 versions – beyond the name – would be wholly unfair. Despite Ford sticking with its supercar moniker, the cars share nothing in common apart from brute force.

What Is The 2017 Ford GT Like Inside?

Interior view of the 2017 Ford GTDrew Gibson / Ford Motor Company

Although the interior isn’t inspired by the ‘60s classic, it has its own quirks. The first thing you’ll notice is the butterfly doors instead of the original swing out doors that incorporated a chunk of the roof. I’d like to say this makes it easier to get in and out but you still have to clamber over a hunk of carbon fiber to break free.

Unusually, the seats are fixed in position, including the backrest. Instead of moving towards the pedals, you lift a lever which slides them towards you. It’s a bizarre feature but it definitely gets the point across that Ford wants you to sit in the set position. Thankfully the seats are super comfortable and the steering wheel has plenty of adjustment so it’s easy enough to get settled.

The GT is stunning with its butterfly doors openFord Motor Company

The steering wheel is deliciously precise so you can forgive the amount of controls it houses on the face. One of my favorite quirks of the 2005 version is its indicator sound that whirs up like a kettle boiling. For the 2017 version, the noise has been replaced with a more conventional clicking sound which is drowned out by the engine.

Instead of using an indicator stalk behind the steering wheel, you activate the indicators with a button on each side of the wheel depending on which way you want to go. It takes a little while to overcome muscle memory so I hit the flappy paddles a few times before I started to remember. On the road this function feels a little unnatural but it just reinforces the idea this car is designed for the track and makes you eager to throw it around a race circuit.

How Much Does The 2017 Ford GT Cost?

Although it's a wide car, it doesn't feel unmanageableFord Motor Company

This generation of Ford GT has followed its predecessors and appreciated quite significantly already. If you managed to get your hands on one when it was new, it would have cost around $450,000 in the base specification. Now, average prices are around $1 million.

Compared to the 2005 to 2006 GT, the latest generation was far scarcer with just 1,350 examples produced. Originally, Ford only planned to make 1,000 but demand was so strong the company decided to give a few more people the opportunity to own one.

While the idea was to make 250 a year for four years from 2017 till 2020, just 138 left the production line in the first year. Given the rarity of the model it’s likely to continue attracting buyers willing to pay more than $1 million, especially for early, low mileage examples.

Technical specification

Price when new: $450,000

Average price now: $1,000,000

Engine: 3.5-liter twin-turbo V6

Power: 638 bhp @ 6,250 rpm

Torque: 550 lb-ft @ 5,900 rpm

Top speed: 216 mph

0-62 mph: 2.8 secs