THE new Ford GT Mk IV is the most powerful Ford GT to date and takes its inspiration from the original Le Mans-winning 1967 GT40 Mk IV, writes David Roy.
A collaboration between Ford Performance and Multimatic, this new hand-built limited edition track-only supercar features a unique twin-turbo EcoBoost engine, racing transmission, aero-focused exterior design and chassis with longer wheelbase for greater on-track handling.
Priced at $1.7m, production is limited to 67 cars which will be built at Multimatic's facility in Markham, Ontario. Applications to order the Ford GT Mk IV – Ford can no longer use the original 'GT40' name for legal reasons – from Multimatic in Ontario are now open via ford.com/performance/gt/mk-iv. Successful applicants will be confirmed in the first-quarter of 2023 and deliveries will begin in late spring 2023.
Building on the Ford GT40 Mk II's triumphant 1966 1-2-3 Le Mans finish, for the 1967 Ford GT40 Mk IV (the GT40 MkIII was a limited edition road car) Ford's development team redesigned the car from scratch with state-of-the-art technology and engineering.
Ford's engineers and Kar Kraft developed a new lightweight chassis using adhesive bonded honeycombed-aluminum construction with a more aerodynamic body and named it the "J-Car" as it was built to conform to the new FIA Appendix J rules.
Combined with the famous 7.0l 427 Ford V-8 engine and a special transaxle with its own cooling system that carried power to the rear wheels, the 1967 Ford GT40 MkIV was nine-inches longer and built specifically to dominate global endurance racing.
"The original GT40 Mk IV held nothing back for max track performance, and the new Ford GT Mk IV brings it in the same way," said Mark Rushbrook, global director, Ford Performance Motorsports.
"With an even higher-level of motorsport engineering and performance, plus a completely new carbon fibre body that is functional and striking, the Mk IV is the ultimate send-off of the third-generation supercar."
"Multimatic's brief was to create the most extreme final version of the Ford GT, and the Mk IV is the outcome," said Larry Holt, executive vice president, Multimatic Special Vehicle Operations Group.
"A unique larger displacement engine, proper racing gearbox, stretched wheelbase and truly radical body has resulted in an unprecedented level of performance. We are proud to have been a part of the third-generation GT from its inception to this amazing swan song and consider it a significant chapter in Multimatic's history."
