These are interesting times we live in. While currently blessed with an absurd amount of horsepower and performance, available from virtually every manufacturer, we enthusiasts can see the writing on the wall. CAFE standards are about to go from strict to absurd, and like it or not we’ll be served up hybrid or turbocharged small displacement engine options as our only alternatives. Want a V8? Sucks to be you, because you’re not getting one for much longer, except in a select number of halo cars sold in low volumes at high prices.
With that in mind, I greet Automobile’s speculation that Ford is working on a modern supercar to replace the Ford GT with some skepticism. In fact, Automobile’s Eric Tingwall even admits that his theory is based on a vibe, and not on any sort of tangible proof. When asked by Tingwall, point blank, if Ford was working on a successor to the GT, Ford’s Derrick Kuzak (head of global product development) replied, “Well, I think there are certain things we don’t want to talk about in terms of four-year product plans, if that’s OK.” That hardly sounds like a wink-wink, nudge-nudge to me, but I wasn’t at the table so I can’t say for sure.
I did ask Ford’s J. Mays the very same question at last summer’s Ford Explorer reveal, and (ironically) got a very similar answer. It does Ford no good to talk about a car that may or may not exist and may or may not ever see the light of day. Did Nissan reap any benefit from announcing the Mid4, building excitement and then killing it off? How about Audi with their Avus concept, which remains perhaps the most stunning concept car ever designed? Ford executives have to have plausible deniability when it comes to super-secret-squirrel projects, because no one, not even Alan Mulally himself, knows what the future has in store for automakers.
It’s a wild ass guess, but I’ll say this: any halo supercar will require a sanity check of looming CAFE regulations. If the anticipated goal of 39 MPG by 2016 (for passenger cars) remains in place, Ford can’t afford to build a supercar, even a hybridized one. If the automakers can get some relief from the NHTSA, then I’d think there may be hope for a Ford GT replacement. This much is certain: it won’t use conventional drivetrain technology, and it won’t be affordable by mere mortals.
Source: Automobile
Kurt Ernst has been passionate about automobiles and driving nearly his entire life. His early years were shaped working in the family service station, though his real passion was auto racing. After graduating from the University of Colorado, Kurt spent a year club racing with the Sports Car Club of America, before focusing on a business career in marketing and project management. Later, his passion for writing and the automotive hobby found him freelancing for a variety of automotive news sites, including Automotive Addicts and Motor Authority, where his work was syndicated and appeared in several national publications. Recognized as an expert in the automotive field, Kurt joined Hemmings Motor News as an Associate Editor in 2013, and in the years since has progressed to Editor, Hemmings Daily; Managing Editor for Hemmings Motor News, Hemmings Classic Car, Hemmings Muscle Machines, and the Hemmings Daily; and now, Managing Editor, Hemmings Auctions. Kurt was instrumental in organizing the Hemmings Motor News Concours d’Elegance from 2013-2019, and has served as a judge at this event and The Vintage Racing Stable Concours d’Elegance. A Skip Barber Racing School graduate and prolific writer, Ernst is also skilled in copyediting, project management, brand development, and public relations.
