For automakers around the world, a halo car represents the given company’s ultimate achievements in design, technology, performance, aspiration and (of course) price. For Bugatti, it was the Veyron. For Aston Martin, it’s not the $2 million+, track-only Vulcan. For Lexus, it’s the LFA. And, for Ford, it’s always been the GT. The auto giant announced a new Ford GT for 2016 at NAIAS this year in Detroit. Now, as the release of the supercar grows nearer. Ford is using its apex predator as the showpiece for all of its development tech — from materials and fuel efficiency to aerodynamics and automation.
Automotive journalists gathered at the Ford Research and Innovative Center in Palo Alto, Calif. for another peak at the GT and a more thorough look at the advanced work that went into its creation.
With cars constantly becoming more electronic and more mechanical across all price levels, every automaker must dip into the Silicon Valley world for talent. So Ford set up research and development centers around the world at its Dearborn, Mich. HQ, Aachen, Germany and here in the backyard of Stanford and San Jose Ford also maintains its Design Centers in Irvine, Calif. Shanghai and London.
The latter was a key move for Ford in an effort to draw top tech talent into its fold. The Michigan-based automaker put together a 125 person division in Silicon Valley so young bright minds wouldn’t have to shuttle between Dearborn and California. Many amidst the new crop of delicate millennials — especially those who grew up with soy milk for blood in California – are sore afraid of moving to Michigan (where snow covers the lake beaches half the year — but where folks can still legally water their lawns).
Ford began really focusing on building innovation and technological advancement directly into its vehicles in the last few years. Annual Further with Ford conferences at the Dearborn campus for media highlight each year’s latest changes. But, one term dominated Ford engine creation – Ecoboost.
Ford focused on forging its vehicles out of lighter materials wherever possible and relying on Ecoboost engines (smaller power plans with fewer cylinders linked to horsepower boosting turbochargers) to improve fuel efficiency.
Related: NAIAS 2015: Ford Performance Cars
That same concept finds its way into the Ford GT, allowing a super car expected to push well north of 190 mph to function with an unheard of V6 – while many of its sisters rely on a V12. With enough carbon fiber and aluminum in the sculpted Ford GT body, those six cylinders can do the job.
In addition to those new lighter materials, the GT will also rely on supreme aerodynamics to reduce drag and make high speed life easier on that pumped up V6. In addition to sculpting the car’s frame repeatedly in wind tunnel tests, full size simulators examined a computer model version of the Ford GT before it headed to production. There are eight full size, virtual reality simulators around the world.
Of course, a car as advanced as the Ford GT lives and dies on its technology — the kind of gadgetry that Ford built its Silicon Valley facility to exploit. Software and code subroutines control everything from the engine’s timing to the door handles. So the design of the car’s computer systems must be perfect — and the testing of the code and subroutines running it all must be absolutely exhaustive. There can be no bugs because there’s no time for reboots or code fixes when the Ford GT is tearing up the track.
When the Ford GT finally arrives in a few months, it will be the peak of Ford technology to date. We’ll have to wait and see if all of that adds up to an elite car on the road and out on the track.
