cntchds

I was having a discussion the other day about the GT's and how they took 1-2-3 in LeMans back in their day, and that got me thinking. Why would Ford not shell out a couple race prepped Ford GT's for LeMans? If it's so they won't be beaten horribly, then that is pointless. I don't know about you guys, but I think seeing a new one racing where the old ones thrived would be an amazing sight to see. Pretty soon there will be no Fords at LeMans seeing that they're selling Aston Martin.

Peter

Moosetang

Why would they? The GT40s already have the amzing success story, why spend Millions to try and go against established teams again, and risk tarnishing the GT's image with failure?

199

well the car has to live up to its name otherwise its useless,

TomServo92

I don't know about you, but I could find many "uses" for the GT!

cntchds

Thanks 199, I totally agree. If they don't expect that it would do well in the situation the originals were built for, does it really earn up to the name? Just interested in seeing opinions, not trying to stir up dust.

Peter

Moosetang

Um, no. The 1966 Le Mans and 2006 Le Mans are completely different animals. You could pull a MK. II GT40's slicks off, throw on road tires, and drive it to the hotel after the race. While the GT classes are given some restrictions similar to public regulations, all Le Mans entries are purpose-built racing machines or heavily converted Bodies In White. Suppose Ford went out there and did all that, what relation would those cars ultimately have to the GT? How far beyond the GT's $120K sticker would those cars rise?

Building the origional GT40 was about repaying Ferrari's snub by building a world-class racecar that could spank it on the track. Buying the modern GT is about having a world-class supercar that completely spanks a similarly-specced Ferrari (with the added bonus of being less expensive). That's enough common heritage for me.

cntchds

Although I agree to an extent that it was not built to be a racecar... Why wasn't it? Right now Ford is racing Astons in LeMans which ultimately would not be any less expensive than using GTs. Soon Ford won't even own Aston anymore, so why not start a purpose built GT team? Yes, yes the GT run is over sadly so I guess this is the wrong time to discuss anyway.

Peter

TomServo92

The fact that they're racing Astons is probably one of the reasons they aren't racing GTs. I'm sure it was a corporate decision to make Le Mans Aston's "domain" in the racing world.

Moosetang

And those Racing Astons cannot be bought for the road. For the third time this was about a Street program. ANY racing program would require new cars seperate from the street cars, so the consumer Ford GT would still not be racing.

You want to see what affect the Le Mans treatent has? This is the baseline, club-spec Racing Aston: http://www.astonmartinracing.com/ENG/dbrs9 Do you really, REALLY want a GT with that treatment?

cntchds

The DB9 is a road car. The DBRS9 is the car you can buy that is a full fledged 'race car,' made for having people race it, people, who did not necessarily have race experience, in mind. The DBR9 is a completely purpose built racecar. I've avoided this conversation simply to avoid meaningless babble.

The DB9 is not an extremist in terms of speed, aerodynamics, or in simplicity inside the cabin. The Aston is, no doubt, a comfortable sportscar. The GT however was meant to be seen in the "supercar" range. The GT was compared to the Enzo and the SLR. What do they compare the DB9 to?

I asked why not, because I have no doubt that a prepped GT could perform better than a stripped down DB9. Why wouldn't it? It's lighter already than a standard DB9. It's more powerful. It also could be used as a huge "look at us" for Ford. Most people don't even know that Aston is owned by Ford, so while they are watching DBR9s zoom by they are thinking "I wish I had money to buy an Aston" instead of watching a GT drive by and thinking "this is why I bought a Ford!"

I'm not trying to get into it with you Moosetang, but I do believe that your understanding of my question is somewhat off. I was asking why there wasn't a completely race prepped GT ever made to try it's hand in racing. Not asking why the GT was not just taken out to a track as-is. As for your example, Yes I would love to see a Ford GT stripped down, getting it's engine tuned to be 20% more efficient, and stripped interior with a roll cage. I think it would look amazing in racing guise.

To each his own.

Peter

cntchds

I know they wouldn't race both, the question was more of asking why they chose Aston to race instead of the GT.

Peter

TomServo92

My guess (and it's only a guess) is that Le Mans has a certain prestige factor. Given that Aston is a prestige brand, it seemed like a good match.

cntchds

I guess we'll never really know the true reason. This was only meant to be something to ponder over for a few days.

Would have been cool to see a GT running with Ferrari's and the like again though... What ever happened to that stripped down blue one (shown I think in SEMA last year) that was going to race in the Rolex series?

Peter