Thursday, May 1, 2008

Bizarre Sports Car: Ford GT


More and more of the newer supercars are being designed to be more practical. Yes they are still capable of going much faster than the speed limit and can go from 0-60 mph in less than 4 seconds. But despite being built for the race track, these supercars also have the comforts of normal cars that provides enough practicality for everyday use. The benefits, after all, of practicality makes a car more appealing for purchase.


The Ford GT is one of those supercars. Inspired by the GT40 that garnered incredible success during the 70's, the Ford GT looks the same. The difference could only be seen when the two cars are side by side. The Ford GT is 3 inches higher than the GT40. The difference may seem small but three inches allow more people to fit in the car that are not necessarily as fit as prime racing drivers.


The interior is spacious for a car of its kind. The seats are comfortable. Visibility is decent. Gear changing isn't punishing (unlike the Countach). And the engine, despite being a monstrous 5.4L 550hp V8 mounted just at the back of the passenger, isn't bothersome for the passengers because the cabin does enough to mute the engine noise to tolerable decibel levels.



The car handles preety good and the suspension and shock absorbers are calibrated to be comfortable enough unlike full racing specs.


So yes, the Ford GT is a supercar that has practicality integrated into its design so that it can be used on a regular basis.


There is a problem however with all that practicality bit. First of all, the Ford GT is quite tricky when it comes to gas mileage. Sure,the brochure states 12MPG city, 19MPG highway. But those figures can only be achieved through a very controlled drive. Get seduced by that raw power a little bit by accelerating quickly here and there without necessarily going over the maximum speed limit and your gas mileage could easily go down to 4MPG. With a 17.5 gallon fuel tank capacity, the car's range is quite limited.


Secondly, there is another problem with the design of the door. Part of the roof of the car is actually part of the door. Hence, if you park it inside a parking lot where other cars are parked side by side, chances are, you wouldn't be able to get in/out of the car because of that extended roof on the door. Well you could, if you're flexible enough to duck below the roof and squeeze your legs inside the slight gap so you could slip inside/outside of the car. Unfortunately, going through so much trouble just to get in/out looks quite embarrassing that is not fitting for an owner of a supercar. The only parking place where you can avoid such troublt is if you park the Ford GT parallel a sidewalk. Hence, the places where you can actually take the car is also limited.


In some ways, the small dilemmas the car presents negates the impressive practical aspects of the car. For all its user friendliness, you still can't use it on a day-to-day basis.

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