GT500 announced

[McDoodle]

Ford of Europe officially supplied 101 Ford GTs - these were converted to European spec by Roush (I managed the engineering and the project) at the Nurburgring in 2005. The UK cars were put through IVA (SVA) at the time to gain UK registration. Mainland European cars were individually approved by the country they were destined for - TuV for Germany was the toughest process and generally that approval was then accepted by other territories. Each car was individually inspected and supporting crash documentation, noise and emission testing was done. A painful and slow process and not something I imagine Ford would consider for Mustang.

The GT was a completely new car though, was it not? Out of interest, does it make any difference if they are just bringing in a new variant of a car they already have approval for, like the Mustang? Do they have to do all the testing again? .... not arguing, btw - just asking

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[Entai]

As far as I am currently aware, Yes they have to do all the testing again, if the "new" vehicle differs considerably from the existing type approved vehicle in certain areas.

For instance, the GT350 and forthcoming GT500 while being basically variants of the current Mustang GT, vary considerably in areas such as the power train, in particular with regard to emissions, noise etc, so would need testing again from scratch, not just in the areas in which changes have occurred.

It then depends upon the number Ford wish to import as to the type of testing required.

Importing more than 1000 vehicles I believe they have to go for the full monty European Community Whole Vehicle Type Approval (ECWVTA). This includes full crash testing and full compliance with safety and emissions standards across Europe.

Less than 1000 (IIRC) but more than 250 then you can test under the European Community Small Series Type Approval (EC SSTA), this tests if the vehicle meets safety and emissions rules, with EU-wide acceptance, but no crash testing.

Both of which mean importing/selling only that number throughout all of Europe.

Between about 75 and 250 but importing purely to sell only in the UK, then you test under National Small Series Type Approval (NSSTA).

Less than the 75 for just the UK then, as above, it's easiest to carry out an Individual Vehicle Approval test for each individual vehicle (IVA), again these last two approval types, do not include any crash testing, but approval is only valid in the UK, so if you wish to move to another country and register your car there you most likely would have to undergo further testing to meet that countries regulations etc.


I am reasonably certain that is all still true, but it was a few years ago since I was heavily involved in VCA testing, so I might be a bit rusty.

 

[McDoodle]

As far as I am currently aware, Yes they have to do all the testing again, if the "new" vehicle differs considerably from the existing type approved vehicle in certain areas.

For instance, the GT350 and forthcoming GT500 while being basically variants of the current Mustang GT, vary considerably in areas such as the power train, in particular with regard to emissions, noise etc, so would need testing again from scratch, not just in the areas in which changes have occurred.

It then depends upon the number Ford wish to import as to the type of testing required.

Importing more than 1000 vehicles I believe they have to go for the full monty European Community Whole Vehicle Type Approval (ECWVTA). This includes full crash testing and full compliance with safety and emissions standards across Europe.

Less than 1000 (IIRC) but more than 250 then you can test under the European Community Small Series Type Approval (EC SSTA), this tests if the vehicle meets safety and emissions rules, with EU-wide acceptance, but no crash testing.

Both of which mean importing/selling only that number throughout all of Europe.

Between about 75 and 250 but importing purely to sell only in the UK, then you test under National Small Series Type Approval (NSSTA).

Less than the 75 for just the UK then, as above, it's easiest to carry out an Individual Vehicle Approval test for each individual vehicle (IVA), again these last two approval types, do not include any crash testing, but approval is only valid in the UK, so if you wish to move to another country and register your car there you most likely would have to undergo further testing to meet that countries regulations etc.


I am reasonably certain that is all still true, but it was a few years ago since I was heavily involved in VCA testing, so I might be a bit rusty.

Cheers for that. Very interesting. So if Ford had carried on the GT350 into 2018/19 (where many of the parts are now used on the MY18 GT, with the exception of the engine) then theoretically if they had allocated 1000 cars to the EU they could have just done a small EU test? ....

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