This Fully Loaded 2005 Ford GT Was Kid Rock's Ride, Now Selling for $600,000

The Ford GT is a car that needs little introduction. Introduced into the world by the Blue Oval carmaker as part of its centenary celebrations in the early 2000s, the beast was supposed to be a nod to the GT40 that landed Ford the coveted 24 Hours of Le Mans for four years in a row in the 1960s, including the incredible full Ford podium at the French endurance race in 1966. And it was also supposed to push Ford into a new era of high-performance cars - and for all intents and purposes that's exactly what happened.

It is one of the rarest cars created by mankind, spanning just two generations. The first one came to be in 2005, after being previewed two years prior by a concept released to celebrate the company's 100th anniversary. As part of this first generation, which was only available as model years 2005 and 2006, only a little over 4,000 examples were produced.

Ford returned to the GT in 2016, launching the second generation of the model in a bid to once again reignite people's interest in high-performance cars made under the guidance of the Dearborn company. In this generation just over 1,300 examples were made.

The GT we have here before us is part of the first generation of the model, having been produced exactly in the model's first year on the market. It's also one of the rarest of its kind, as it's part of a limited production run of just 669 examples made with this body paint scheme that year.

That would be Mark IV red pretty much on all body panels, made even more special by the white stripes that run on the hood, roof, rear of the car, doors, and side panels. The American flag is also proudly displayed right behind the front wheels.

Speaking of wheels, we're dealing with forged lightweight pieces made by BBS. They spin under the power provided by the car's stock engine, an engineering beauty that offers no reason to be tampered with in any way.

The engine is Ford's mighty aluminum V8 that displaces 329.5ci (5.4 liters) and runs a 2.3-liter Lysholm screw-type supercharger with an intercooler. Connected to a Ricardo 6-speed manual transaxle and breathing out a stainless exhaust system, the powerplant is capable of developing 550 horsepower.

That's more than enough to accelerate the thing from a standstill to 60 mph in 3.5 seconds and shoot it to a top speed of 205 mph (330 kph).

This particular example of the GT comes with an ebony interior that is modern enough to feature an air conditioning system, but most importantly, it is fully loaded with all the four options Ford offered at the time. That would be the racing stripes and the BBS wheels I already mentioned, but also red-painted brake calipers and a McIntosh stereo sound system.

Like all other cars of its kind, this Ford GT was not driven particularly hard. Its odometer shows just 3,110 miles (5,000 km) of driving distance, which means an average of about 164 miles (264 km) per year since the car was made.

We don't know Kid Rock's exact history with this car (stuff like if he was the first owner, but for how long it held on to it), but that's one of the highlights of the car as it gets ready to go under the hammer in early May. That, and its incredible condition, which is more that visible in the photos that were made public.

The car is listed by auction house Mecum as one of the main attractions of the sale that will take place starting May 10 at the Indiana State Fairgrounds in Indianapolis. We're not told the exact size of the reserve set for it, but we do know its present owner hopes to fetch at least half a million dollars for it or, if things go great, even as much as $600k.

To make sure the offer is as enticing as it can be, a Ford GT poster is thrown into the mix. It's not just any poster, but one signed by Camilo Pardo, the man responsible for the design of the car a couple of decades ago.

We will keep an eye out for development on this ex-Kid Rock Ford GT and come back with news after the hammer falls.