The Track-Only Ford GT Mk II Borders on the Obscene

At this year’s Goodwood Festival of Speed, Ford drew a lot of heavy breaths when it unveiled the track-only version of its supercar, the Ford GT Mk II. Topping at 700 hp and costing USD1.2 million, the car is more potent than any factory race car that the Blue Oval has ever built.

Suffice to say, the Ford GT Mk II drops any hint of being road-legal. It doesn’t comply with any standard set by any racing series, so to say that Ford went wild with what the GT Mk II can do is an understatement.

The car's aerodynamic manipulations include a front splitter complete with fender vents and diveplanes that work in tandem with a large dual element top-hung rear wing to boost its downforce by 400 percent compared to the street GT version. Hard-gripping Michelin Pilot Sport GT tires are added to the mix, allowing the car to pull a lateral of over 2.0 g (short for gravity).

Ford says that the car is able to generate 800 to 860 kgs of downforce at 240 kph, which is more than half of the car's total weight of 1,390 kgs.

In the weight-loss department, the Mk II is 91 kgs lighter than the street-spec GT, thanks mainly to the removal of the adjustable ride height and drive mode systems. A fixed low ride height and five-way adjustable Dynamic Suspensions Spool Valve (DSSV) dampers compensate for the loss.

The sparse interior comprise custom Sparco racing seats, MoTec data acquisition system, and not much else. For those who want to add comfort while having someone tag along for the ride, a passenger seat and racing-duty AC system come as available options.

Performance-wise, Ford pushes the GT's muffler-less 3.5-liter twin-turbocharged V6 to do 700 hp. A Getrag dual-clutch transmission allows for seamless shifts.

Ford says that will only make 45 GT Mk II units so as not to harm the resale or collector value.