Photo: RM Sotheby's
When it was brand new, the 2005 Ford GT retailed at $139,995. This particular example of the breed is expected to fetch more than double that figure at the RM Sotheby’s Fort Lauderdale auction, with the consignor offering the supercharged V8-powered American supercar at no reserve.
The rationale behind the $300,000 to $350,000 estimate comes down to mileage, with this 2006 model year showing 10.8 miles on the clock. “In other words, the owner bought the car and left it locked in the garage for all these years?” I’m afraid that’s what it’s going on with this Ford GT.
Chassis number 401960 is finished in white and features three of the four options Ford offered for the original GT. In no particular order, these are the racing stripes, BBS forged alloy wheels, and red-painted brake calipers. What that means is, the owner skipped the McIntosh sound system in favor of the base system with two Rockford Fosgate speakers.
Who could blame the guy considering the 5.4-liter DOHC V8 sounds like it eats 3.5-liter EcoBoost V6 engines for breakfast? Though not as powerful or as technologically advanced as the V6 in the modern GT, the supercharged Modular V8 harks back to an era when the GT40 called the shots the at the world’s premier endurance race: the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
With 550 horsepower and 500 pound-feet on tap, the original GT can break traction at the 315/40 ZR19-shod rear axle at the slightest tap of the right foot. The newcomer, on the other hand, is set up to offer the most traction and grip possible, thanks in part to over-the-top aero solutions.
Another way the old brawler makes for a more enticing proposition than the high-tech successor is the transmission. You won’t find any paddle shifters in there, but an honest-to-God six-speed manual developed by Ricardo with an aluminum shift knob and a helical limited-slip differential.
Ford finished 726 first-generation GTs in white, making this fellow one of the rarest of its kind. Yellow-painted models are the most precious, with FoMoCo delivering 171 examples finished in this color. That being said, good luck finding a yellow GT with less than 10.8 miles on the odometer.
Chassis number 401960 is finished in white and features three of the four options Ford offered for the original GT. In no particular order, these are the racing stripes, BBS forged alloy wheels, and red-painted brake calipers. What that means is, the owner skipped the McIntosh sound system in favor of the base system with two Rockford Fosgate speakers.
Who could blame the guy considering the 5.4-liter DOHC V8 sounds like it eats 3.5-liter EcoBoost V6 engines for breakfast? Though not as powerful or as technologically advanced as the V6 in the modern GT, the supercharged Modular V8 harks back to an era when the GT40 called the shots the at the world’s premier endurance race: the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
With 550 horsepower and 500 pound-feet on tap, the original GT can break traction at the 315/40 ZR19-shod rear axle at the slightest tap of the right foot. The newcomer, on the other hand, is set up to offer the most traction and grip possible, thanks in part to over-the-top aero solutions.
Another way the old brawler makes for a more enticing proposition than the high-tech successor is the transmission. You won’t find any paddle shifters in there, but an honest-to-God six-speed manual developed by Ricardo with an aluminum shift knob and a helical limited-slip differential.
Ford finished 726 first-generation GTs in white, making this fellow one of the rarest of its kind. Yellow-painted models are the most precious, with FoMoCo delivering 171 examples finished in this color. That being said, good luck finding a yellow GT with less than 10.8 miles on the odometer.
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