When is a production car faster than the race car that its based on?Why, when its the US$1.2-million Ford GT Mark II.Now, were all familiar with the Ford GT, the car that quite literally rocked Detroits Cobo Hall at the North American International Auto Show in 2015.What was less well-publicized or properly explained was that the GT was not a supercar on which a racer was later based, but rather a race car which was then civilized for the street. And, believe it or not, it is the road car thats the more powerful trim.You see, the Ford GT competes in the ACOs GTE LM class, which has very strict rules to promote close competition. So, while the race car gets all manner of chassis upgrades lower weight, better suspension and a whopping dose of downforce its the road car that has all the power, boasting no less than 647 turbocharged ponies while the race version, again restricted to promote close racing, barely makes do with 500 hp.Ultimately, the race car will be faster around a closed course, but, in a straight line, the street car will leave it in its dust. What if, asked Hau Thai-Tang, Fords chief product development officer, we could unleash the full performance potential of the Ford GT without any artificial performance limitations dictated by racing sanctioning bodies? Well, the result would be the GT Mk II, the wildest combination of power and performance ever to wear the Blue Oval.Designed solely for the track but without regard to any racing rule book, the Mk II boasts the street cars engine in this case, massaged to 700 horsepower with water-jet-cooled intercoolers, a straight-through exhaust system and new pistons mated to the race cars chassis.That means 400 per cent four times! the downforce of the already-aerodynamic street car. The production cars mamby-pamby adjustable-height suspension so you dont drag expensive carbon-fibre bits over curbs has been done away with, the whole chassis now 90 kilograms lighter and 50 millimetres lower. Michelin Power Sport race tires mean the Mk II easily generates over two Gs of cornering force.Inside, youll find a Sparco racing seat with a six-point safety harness. The passenger seat is optional. Oh, and by the way, Ford is only building 45 of them.All of which means you better get in line right now, ready to part with US$1.2 million. And, before you start complaining about the price, Ford points out that other unlimited track-only cars can cost much more. Ferraris FXX will set you back at least three mil, Aston Martin wanted $2.3 million for its Vulcan and even the McLaren Senna will set you back almost $1.4 million greenbacks. In other words, bespoke track playthings dont come cheap.And, oh yeah, the whole thing is still built in Markham,
Origin: Ford’s ridiculous GT Mark II stuffs 700 hp into a Le Mans-spec chassis