40th anniversary GT and R-spec option

[M&Ms]

Originally Posted by henry 351

If Porsche won't warranty a car after used for track work, I doubt Ford will....mind you does the FPV "driver education" day count?

I think "drive days" are ok but "track days" are not.

[Tropicsnude]

I'm just peeved that they've copied my stripes and now I'll get accused of trying to make mine look like an anniversary GT !!!
I just can't win

[Squalo]

I haven't read all pages in this topic, but I'll throw my 2 cents in anyway.

Firstly, the car itself - well it looks good, and I'd be happy to own it.

Now, to what could have been - does it not make sense for Ford to have made something of an effort to showcase itself to the US parent like Holden has been doing ever since the reborn Monaro?

Why not take the BF GT, add the AWD hardware from the Territory (yeah I'm aware that the suspension is different but the AWD hardware was tested in Falcons before the Territory mules were built), and call it a GT-HO? Maybe bump the power up a little (to compensate for the extra weight and drivetrain losses) or a lot (by adding a supercharger).

Now THAT would have been a fitting celebration of a 40 year heritage, and we'd have the HO back to boot.

[Polyal]

At the end of the day while it is a milestone, its still only 40, I would hope that something big would be in store for the 50th!

[Fordman1]

Originally Posted by Squalo

Now THAT would have been a fitting celebration of a 40 year heritage, and we'd have the HO back to boot.

That would never happen. The cost of development (engineering & testing) for a small number of sales in the current financial situation Ford are in, mean it would be impossible to cost justify.

It would cost MANY millions of dollars to do that -the cars would cost $200,000 each. The powertrain and sheetmetal changes would be HUGE !!

[XAGSV8]

Originally Posted by Squalo

Now THAT would have been a fitting celebration of a 40 year heritage, and we'd have the HO back to boot.

It would never happen because of the cost involved. Ford also do not own the rights to the HO name as well.

[Bossxr8]

Originally Posted by XAGSV8

It would never happen because of the cost involved. Ford also do not own the rights to the HO name as well.

Yes they do. Its the GT40 name that Ford don't own, hence the current Ford US GT couldn't be called the GT40 because the parts company that owns the name wouldn't sell it to Ford, unless they were payed a ridiculous amount of money for it. Ford wouldn't be held to ransom and declined.

[Full Noise]

This car is an absolute disgrace. Ford / FPV hang your heads in shame.

I bet the legal department at Ford tried every trick in the book when they came up with the garbage that adorns the rear doors of this abomination.
Interesting that when an anniversary model is released, the numbers are usually before the name, in this case they are after the name.

Hmmmm… 40th anniversary GT doesn’t quite have the same ring as GT 40th anniversary.

Originally Posted by Bossxr8

Its the GT40 name that Ford don't own, hence the current Ford US GT couldn't be called the GT40 because the parts company that owns the name wouldn't sell it to Ford, unless they were payed a ridiculous amount of money for it. Ford wouldn't be held to ransom and declined.

Originally, Ford sold the rights to the name, as well as the rights to continuation numbering of the chassis, to Safir Engineering, originally based in the UK, then sold on to the USA. Since then Safir split off part of the company (Safir Parts) but maintain they held the rights to the name, but then each company started doing “deals” with people for the rights to use it, and so starts all sorts of litigation. Bob Wood (Safir US) and Peter Thorpe (UK) both lay claim. Ford’s lawyers tried to buy it back from Bob Wood but could not afford the asking price.

The price put to Ford in the USA for the return of the name was rumoured to be around 90 million US.

It’s interesting that in Joe Kenwright’s media release Here that he refers to the Le Mans wining cars that inspired the stripe package. This car is not a GT 40’s ar$ehole and doesn‘t deserve to be mentioned in the same breath, however, I’m sure it will be a collector’s item when Ford Australia get dragged through the courts.


Cheers,
Danny

P.S. Thanks to Frank Catt for the info about Safir.

[Jayden]

I think the real bastards here are the ones who would try and ransom the GT40 name for 90 million US back to the company that made it all what is is.

besides im sure anybody important isnt going to mistake this car for a GT40.

[Full Noise]

Originally Posted by Jayden

I think the real bastards here are the ones who would try and ransom the GT40 name for 90 million US back to the company that made it all what is is.

besides im sure anybody important isnt going to mistake this car for a GT40.

Like I said, it was rumoured. The figure was most likely a lot less, however, I wouldn’t put it past Ford’s lawyers to try and get the name back for next to nothing. Throwing a ridiculously high figure out into the public arena (by persons unknown) could be a way of making Ford look like the good guys here.

Also, when Ford sold the rights to the name, I’m sure that they would have got more than $50 for it. Ford can’t take all of the credit for the name as there were quite a few companies involved in the GT 40 programme. Ford UK, Ford France, Lotus and most importantly, Eric Broadley the man behind Lola.

[Full Noise]

Just one other thing, Jayden. What’s the problem with the owner of the name asking a high price, regardless of who’s looking to purchase it?

Ford sold it, simple as that. If they valued the name so much, the greedy buggers should have never sold it in the first place, hence 30 + years later it came back and bit them on the ar$e. Why would a manufacturer sell the rights to the trademark of one of the most successful race cars in their history unless they wanted a quick buck? Not only that, the knuckleheads at Ford in Dearbourne, Michigan didn’t even realise that they didn’t own the name anymore. That’s why the first concept GT (the yellow one) had GT 40 plastered all over it. How embarrassing for them.

What if Ford wanted to buy a GT HO Phase III from a collector? Would he be under any obligation to give the car back to Ford for $5300? After all, that’s what they charged him and they created it. Somehow I don’t think that you would accuse him of profiteering just because he asks for $250 k plus.

Here’s a hypothetical for you.
Say that Ford sold the name (Falcon) to Joe Bloggs and discontinued the model. Then thirty years later, Ford UK decide to build a limited edition Feista Falcon. It’s not the car’s main name, however, Joe Bloggs would have every right to be unhappy about it.

[Squalo]

Originally Posted by Barraxr8

That would never happen. The cost of development (engineering & testing) for a small number of sales in the current financial situation Ford are in, mean it would be impossible to cost justify.

Yeah, I have to agree that it's never going to happen. Nice to dream, though, and I'd be a serious potential buyer of such a car (am thinking of replacing my VT Berlina with a BF GT, and the Ducati 1098 I plan to buy at the end of this year would be history if an AWD GT was available for under $90k).

[HarveyMilton]

The thing we have to understand here is there are no car enthusiasts at Ford Australia. Unfortunately, the place is run by bean counters. The 40th Anniversary car should have been gold, charcoal interior, retro style shifter to mimmick the XRs. FPV is a revenue based company as well, no sense of tradition. In fact, you'd be hard pressed to find anyone at Ford Australia or FPV that are familiar with Gts circa '67-74.
As for a GT-HO? Don't hold your breath.

[Full Noise]

Originally Posted by DOC

Had a chat today with Simon ( new car sales at stillwell's here in adelaide today ) and they have been allocated 3 of these to thier dealership and 2 have allready been sold with 1 remaining so they won't last that long.

What’s the bet come June 30 that Ford will be offering a substantially reduced price on these vehicle because they want to or can’t get rid of them?

I’m more than happy to be proved wrong, however, with the new model out soon, time will tell.

Black and gold is not everyone’s cup of tea. My MK II GT-P sat on the showroom floor for nearly six months. I was fortunate because it was exactly the same as the one I intended to order.

I’d not discounting what your mate said in any way, but I could go to every FPV dealer in Melbourne and I bet that they’d all say that they could sell twenty of them.

[billsta]

True mate my brother was looking for one in sydney through a few dealerships and they were being really cocky about availability and pricing, they didn't take him seriously He went in the day after the car was unveiled at the Melbourne motor show so he ended up buying another car and so far this week every dealereship has called him to get him to buy one seems as though they are not moving as quickly as they said they were......

Personally I'm disappointed in the offering but really at the stage Ford and FPV are at we can't really expect much else till Orion....who knows if Orion's going to satisfy the enthusiasts.

[DanielXR8]

Originally Posted by billsta

True mate my brother was looking for one in sydney through a few dealerships and they were being really cocky about availability and pricing, they didn't take him seriously He went in the day after the car was unveiled at the Melbourne motor show so he ended up buying another car and so far this week every dealereship has called him to get him to buy one seems as though they are not moving as quickly as they said they were......

Personally I'm disappointed in the offering but really at the stage Ford and FPV are at we can't really expect much else till Orion....who knows if Orion's going to satisfy the enthusiasts.

Thus the Ford dealer network took a sure sale and converted it into a missed opportunity. Ask Tom Gorman though about problems with Falcon and he rabbits on about the price of petrol. If only that was Fords biggest problem.

When are Ford going to realise their dealer network is a disgrace and customer service needs a big lift across the board.

Daniel

[Brute6]

Originally Posted by Bossxr8

Yes they do. Its the GT40 name that Ford don't own, hence the current Ford US GT couldn't be called the GT40 because the parts company that owns the name wouldn't sell it to Ford, unless they were payed a ridiculous amount of money for it. Ford wouldn't be held to ransom and declined.

I'm pretty sure that Wayne Draper holds the rights to the two letters - H.O.

[DOC]

Originally Posted by Full Noise

What’s the bet come June 30 that Ford will be offering a substantially reduced price on these vehicle because they want to or can’t get rid of them?

I’m more than happy to be proved wrong, however, with the new model out soon, time will tell.

Black and gold is not everyone’s cup of tea. My MK II GT-P sat on the showroom floor for nearly six months. I was fortunate because it was exactly the same as the one I intended to order.

I’d not discounting what your mate said in any way, but I could go to every FPV dealer in Melbourne and I bet that they’d all say that they could sell twenty of them.

LOL your probably closer to the truth than what was fed to me.

I remember the same story with the Enforcers and Devils, yet there were plenty of Enforcers laying around for some time and a few Devils as well.

[metalmania]

Not only selling off the GT40 name years ago is stupid on Ford's behalf but more recently selling off Cosworth is another stupid thing. They obviously have not learnt from the past.

[henry_ford]

we were allocated 2 and 2 only to sell at the dealership i work for. both sold within 3 days of release.... both at rec retail price...

[BadMac]

Just heard all 200 sold out (news is a couple of days old, so sorry if its already been posted).

[FPV329]

Originally Posted by DanielXR8

Thus the Ford dealer network took a sure sale and converted it into a missed opportunity. Ask Tom Gorman though about problems with Falcon and he rabbits on about the price of petrol. If only that was Fords biggest problem.

When are Ford going to realise their dealer network is a disgrace and customer service needs a big lift across the board.

Daniel

I ordered and paid a $5000.00 deposit on a BF GT-P when we all thought they would be BA MkIII ( about 3 months ahead of release ). FPV made the dealer give my deposit back and refused the order.

FPV is not my favourite organisation much anymore.

[Bossxr8]

Originally Posted by Brute6

I'm pretty sure that Wayne Draper holds the rights to the two letters - H.O.

But not GTHO and anyway, Waynes HO stands for Homologated Options, which is different to Fords meaning of those initials, Handling Option, even though it was most likely supposed to be High Output. I'm sure the insurance companies and the building supercar scare put an end to that meaning.

[Fordman1]

Just got home from the shops and drove behind a brand new Black GTP.

Some of you guys need to get real that car was freaking awesome !!


I would love to get a GT....

[Falchoon]

Originally Posted by Inline6

Maybe a Walkinshaw (Performance Add-Ons Type jigger) style aftermarket mods company could work for Ford/FPV, like it does for Holden/HSV. Where they modify exhausts/suspension/etc, and you keep your warranty.

Isn't this what Herrods were doing and what John Bowe is doing now?