The Ford GT began as a concept car designed in anticipation of the automaker's centennial year and as part of its drive to showcase and revive its "heritage" names such as Mustang and Thunderbird. At the 1995 Detroit Auto Show, the Ford GT90 concept was shown. At the 2002 auto show, Ford unveiled a new GT40 Concept car. Camilo Pardo, the head of Ford's "Living Legends" studio, is credited as the chief designer of the GT and worked under the guidance of J Mays.
The GT is similar in outward appearance to the original Ford GT40 cars, but bigger, wider, and 3 in (76 mm) taller than the original 40 in (100 cm); as a result, a potential name for the car was the GT43. Although the cars are visually related, structurally, there is no similarity between the modern GT and the 1960s GT40 that inspired it. Three production prototype cars were shown in 2003 as part of Ford's centenary, and delivery of the production Ford GT began in the fall of 2004.
A British company, Safir Engineering, who built continuation GT40s in the 1980s, owned the "GT40" trademark at that time. When they completed production, they sold the excess parts, tooling, design, and trademark to a small Ohio company called Safir GT40 Spares. This company licensed the use of the "GT40" trademark to Ford for the initial 2002 show car. When Ford decided to make the production vehicle, negotiations between the two firms failed. The production cars do not wear the GT40 badge.
Brakes are four-piston aluminum Brembo calipers with cross-drilled and vented rotors at all four corners. When the rear canopy is opened, the rear suspension components and engine are visible.
The mid-mounted 5.4 L Modular V8 engine is all-aluminum with a Lysholm twin screw-type supercharger. It features a forged rotating assembly housed in an aluminum block designed specifically for the GT program. A dry sump oiling system is employed, allowing the engine to sit low in the car's frame. The DOHC 4-valve heads are a revision of the 2000 Ford Mustang SVT Cobra R cylinder heads (with slightly increased wall casting thickness in the exhaust port). The camshafts have unique specifications, with more lift and duration than those found in the Shelby GT500 or 2003–2004 Ford Mustang SVT Cobra. Power output is 550 hp (410 kW; 558 PS) at 6500 rpm and generates 500 ft·lbf (678 N·m) of torque at 3750 rpm.[8] A Ricardo six-speed manual transmission is fitted featuring a helical limited-slip differential.
