Ford Cooking Up Something New For GT Supercar

Even as Ford gradually winds down its second-generation Ford GT supercar program, the Dearborn-based automaker might be livening things up with a new GT model soon - at least if a report from The Supercar Blog is to be believed. According to that site, the new Ford GT variant will be unveiled Sunday, August 16, although precisely what form the car will take - what will set it apart from the standard supercar - remains very much a mystery.

We can safely rule out the prospect of a new GT with V8 power under the clamshell; with a new 760-horsepower Shelby GT500 Mustang now on the market, it's tempting to think Ford might finally cave and drop its supercharged 5.2L mill into the brand's flagship supercar, but that's about as likely to make an appearance as a six-speed manual.

More likely, this new Ford GT variant purportedly in the pipeline will follow in the footsteps of models like the black, red, and gulf-liveried Heritage Editions, the exposed-carbon-weave Liquid Carbon Edition, and the track-only Ford GT Mk II. That is to say: the basic ingredients will all stay the same, any changes being mostly superficial in nature.

Perhaps the most tantalizing possibility is that Ford might take some of the modifications that set the Mk II apart and put them into a new road-legal GT model. The $1.2-million Ford GT Mk II was built in numbers of just 45, featuring 700 peak horsepower and 400 percent more downforce thanks to a new splitter, diffuser, fender louvres, dive planes, and a big, dual-element rear wing. It's lighter than the standard GT, too, with no adjustable ride height contributing unnecessary mass.