The routine lifespan of a highly desirable supercar model is usually predictable. First the car debuts and stuns the world, which is followed by an announcement that all units have already been sold either soon after the reveal or during, in the case of more popular brands. When wealthy collectors who didn't get one have all spent a few nights crying themselves to sleep, the automaker then builds a special edition to give the model one last volley. Apparently, as Autoblog seems to have found, Ford will do just that with the GT.

Upon the release of the GT at the 2015 Detroit Auto Show, it was claimed that only 500 units would ever be made. That number has since increased, but it's still nowhere near the amount needed to quell all interest in the car. Luckily, the owner's manual for the new GT (which you can see here) may provide us with some clues on an elusive model we so far know as the Competition Series. The hints can be seen on pages 42, 148 and 149 of the manual. It appears that the main discernible difference between the two models is the way the rear hatch opens, which forces the car to forgo a hatch release button on the key fob. "The competition series intelligent access key does not have a hatch release button or a removable key," reads the manual.

In addition to the competition series intelligent access key, a provided separate key unlocks the competition series hatch." Instead, a lock near the top of the hatch must be used in conjunction with a separate key provided by Ford. Things get interesting later in the manual when instructions for opening the Competition Series' hatch are detailed. They depict a hatch that uses a two-piece prop to hold itself open rather than hydraulic struts. This lends us a clue that the Competition Series could be a lightweight version of the GT that has had its creature comforts, such as a hatch that holds itself open, stripped away in order to save weight.

As Autoblog points out, this latch system is different from the one on the GTE race car, which helps support the hypothesis that the Competition Series is a different GT entirely. We certainly hope this is true because in the past, Ford touted the GT as having the best power to weight ratio of any car ever, and with 647 horsepower to work with, it needs all the help it can get in the weight saving's department given the current crop of lightweight and powerful supercars.