Why is the Ford GT so important?
The new 2005 Ford GT is the street-racer version of the legendary Ford GT40, the car that allowed Ford to dominate Le Mans, and the rest of the European race circuit in the late 1960s. Never before in its 33 years of this endurance event had this race been won by an American-built car. When was the new GT introduced and when will it be available in dealerships? Codenamed Petunia, the Ford GT debuted at the Detroit auto show in January 2002. Bill Ford, Ford Motor Company Chairman, gave the go-ahead for production of the new model a few months after its unveiling, and the first three cars were revealed in June, at Ford’s 100th Birthday Party, in Dearborn, Michigan. One of the three, a white-with-blue-pinstripe model, was made exclusively for Bill Ford. Ford expects to build some 1500 cars that will be available as 2005 models next year. Why was the original called the GT 40? GT stood for “Grand Touring” and the 40 referred to the car’s height in inches. Because it was so low, Ford instal
