The 2017 Ford GT Gets 647 hp, 348 km/h Top Speed, and an All-Digital Cluster

Is the 2017 GT the fastest Ford ever built? It sure appears to be that way. Hosting an impressive 647 hp at 6,250 rpm and 550 lb-ft of torque at 5,900 rpm, the soon-to-be-released vehicle looks like it can hit 0-100 km/h in 3 seconds or less, much like the cars in its category. And with a top speed of 348 km/h, the 2017 Ford GT is easily the fastest production car in the American car maker’s entire history.

“Our expectation has always been that the EcoBoost V6 would perform exceptionally well in the Ford GT – both in terms of power as well as aerodynamic efficiency,” said Dave Pericak, Ford Performance global director. “We tested and developed this powertrain through the Daytona Prototype race car that ran in IMSA for two seasons, last season racing with Ford GT. We are extremely pleased with how it performs, both on the track and on the road.”

A literal heavyweight in its class

The mid-mounted 3.5-liter V6 twin-turbo engine features a 9.0:1 compression ratio and attached to a 7-speed dual-clutch gearbox. As a rear-wheel drive vehicle, power reaches the wheels via limited slip differential. The car’s dry weight is 1,385 kgs. This comes as huge a surprise, considering the vehicle uses a carbon fiber monocoque body with very limited passenger space. The good news is that in Ford’s own testing, the speed of the vehicle effectively belies its weight.

During testing at Canada’s Calabogie Motorsports Park, Ford pitted the 2017 GT against a 1230-kg. McLaren 675LT and 1379-kg. Ferrari 458 Speciale. Using the same driver for each car, the GT managed a 2:09.8 clock time around the 5-km. track. This was faster than what the McLaren and the Ferrari achieved, with each clocking in at 2:10.8 and 2:12.9, respectively.

"We achieved a lot of weight savings with the carbon fiber monocoque and the aluminum structure," Ford's Executive Vice President of Product Development and Chief Technical Officer, Raj Nair, said in an interview. "But as we did the simulations and testing on the mules, we thought it was worth reinvesting some of that [weight> into the active systems, specifically the active aero and the active suspension."

Five active driving modes

The 2017 Ford GT can do what no other production supercar can—change its aerodynamics and suspension on the fly, depending on which of the five drive modes (Wet, Normal, Sport, Track, and Vmax) the driver selects. Each wheel has two different spring rates, allowing the driver to run a single spring or two springs in a series. Two ride heights are available for the choosing via the Track and Vmax modes. These modes drop the car suspension to nearly two inches. Combine these with the adaptive damping capabilities of the Dynamic Suspensions Spool Valve (DSSV) dampers and you get a car with a suspension system you can alter with the turn of a knob.

All-digital dashboard display

The 2017 Ford GT also receives an all-new 10-inch digital dashboard display for the first time, in stark contrast to the original’s all-analog gauges. The on-screen data is fully customizable, with images varying between the five driving modes. Ford Performance developed the fully digital system alongside digital experience company Conjure Ltd. and electronics manufacturer Pektron. The new digital console boasts of bright and crisp graphics with easy-to-view data that permits the driver to focus on the road while cycling through the Ford GT’s different modes.

"Driver focus and attention are key with such high performance,” said Jamal Hameedi, chief engineer of Ford Performance. “We’ve designed the GT with a sleek digital instrument display that changes depending on driving mode in ways that are important and usable to the driver."

The 2017 Ford GT's place of manufacture is in Canada’s Multimatic in Markham, Ontario. Ford looks to make 250 units of this new model per year. Each car belonging to the first batch is now on its way to a proud owner.