Matthew DeBord/BI Wow!
- We finally got to drive Ford's epic, Le Mans-winning supercar in 2017.
- The stylish, powerful, innovative GT didn't disappoint.
- It now joins the pantheon of incredible Ford vehicles - and rises to the top.
Last week, Business Insider named its 2017 Car of the Year: the Porsche Panamera.
A few cars we truly loved in 2017 weren't eligible for the award because they weren't driven by at least two of our reviewers. One of these was the Ford GT, a $400,000-plus supercar that Ford debuted at the Detroit auto show in 2015 and that went immediately into simultaneous development as a race car and a road car. Why? So it could contend for the 2016 24 Hours of Le Mans crown - taking a shot at winning the legendary endurance race 50 years after Ford has finished 1-2-3 with the original GT.
I wrote a book about the car and followed the 2016 racing season, with Ford defying the odds and capturing the Le Mans win. I also got a chance to drive the road car when Ford first rolled it out for the media. I was the only member of our
In my review of the new GT, I said it was the best car Ford has ever built, and I didn't hold back the props: "Beautiful. Fast. A joy to drive. Technologically advanced. Staggeringly expensive. Exclusive. And the winner of the toughest race in the world."
I added: "Ford didn't simply outdo itself with the GT. It set a standard of excellence that it might never beat."
The Ford GT lingers in my imagination, so even though it couldn't be Car of the Year, I haven't forgotten it. Quite the opposite. Here's why.
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