GT Mk IV

Make
Ford
Segment
Coupe

Strictly speaking, the Ford GT supercar isn't entirely a Ford. The high-priced, exclusive performance machine is built under contract by Ontario, Canada-based outfit Multimatic, which also worked with Ford's performance division to help engineer and develop it.

Now, Multimatic - the same company behind the magical spool-valve dampers that gave the last-gen Camaro Z/28 its road-holding pizzazz - has announced that it's delving further into the niche performance market with a new Special Vehicle Operations division. The new branch will be led by Larry Holt - a renowned automotive and racing engineer, who's served as Multimatic's Chief Technical Officer for some years.

Multimatic's Special Vehicle Operations will essentially be responsible for all the company's boutique, low-volume ventures, picking up responsibility for road car programs like the Ford GT, motorsports engineering programs like the Mazda DPi prototype race car, and all race team operations. On top of that, the division will be responsible for low-volume body and chassis manufacturing, and for producing niche components and assemblies, including carbon-fiber components.

Multimatic Engineering, essentially the other half of the company, will now be led by Jim Holland - a 35-year Ford Motor Company veteran, who most recently served as that company's Vice President in charge of Vehicle Component and System Engineering. That division will carry out basically all of Multimatic's more mainstream, high-volume ventures.

"High volume component and systems engineering ultimately requires a different approach to the development of an entire low volume vehicle," Larry Holt says, explaining the split. Still, "as in the past, engineering resource will be shared as it makes no sense to try and duplicate functions like the best predictive methods organization in the industry," he says.

Ultimately, Multimatic's creation of a new Special Vehicle Operations unit probably isn't anything all that revolutionary. But whatever helps Multimatic streamline their operations so they can continue pushing the boundaries of automotive performance on the street, off-road, and on the race track, we support it.

We can hardly wait for Multimatic's next low-volume supercar.