- Ford GT90
The Ford GT90 was a
concept car manufactured by theFord Motor Company . It was unveiled in January 1995, at theDetroit Auto Show as "the world's mightiest supercar". Claimed performance included a top speed 500 mph (804 km/h) from a 1440 hp (1074 kW) quad-turbocharged V12 engine , the exhaust of which was claimed to be hot enough to damage the body panels, requiring ceramic tiles similar to those on the space shuttle to prevent this.The mid-engined car was a spiritual successor to the
Ford GT40 , taking from it some styling cues, such as doors that cut into the roofline, but little else. All angles and glass, the Ford GT90 was the first Ford to display the company's "New Edge " design philosophy. The GT90 was built around a honeycomb-sectionaluminum monocoque and its body panels were moulded fromcarbon fiber .The GT90 was built by a small team in just over six months and, as a result, borrowed many components from another high profile stablemate—the
Jaguar XJ220 . The all-rounddouble wishbone suspension and the five-speed manualgearbox came from the Jaguar, while the engine was from another member of the Ford family.The GT90's 48-valve V12 was a six-litre engine which, if Ford had ever produced it in volume, might have produced up to 1440 hp (1074 kW), thanks to four
Garrett Systems T2turbocharger s. The engine was based on theFord Modular engine . Two LincolnV8 engine s each had portions removed, namely the last pair of cylinders from the rear of one engine and the first pair of cylinders from the front of the other engine and the cut down engines were welded together. In total, this yielded a 90-degree V12, with 90.2 mm bore and 77.3 mm stroke. It is one of the cars that can be driven in the gameNeed for Speed II . It is also available to drive inGran Turismo 2 ,Sega GT 2002 , Ford Racing, Ford Racing 2, Ford Racing 3, Ford Street Racing,Project Gotham Racing 3 , , TOCA Race Driver 2, and Ford vs. Chevy.Jacques Nasser , then a Ford executive and eventually CEO, was very proud of the car, and kept a model of it on his desk.In the Top Gear episode first broadcast on October 26th 2003,
Jeremy Clarkson stated "I actually drove this and it was horrid. It had a top speed of 40 (mph ) and it handled like it was in a cartoon".References
* John McCormick "No White Elephant" "AUTOCAR", 9 August 1995.
* Top Gear - Series 3 Episode 1 aired 26/10/2003Links
[http://fordgt90.oxyhost.com]
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