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Edited after 6AM for the embargo.
Let me first start off by thanking @ford and @fordperformance for the #gt500tracktour experience. What a great event and opportunity to get to experience this car just a little before its release. Everyone from Ford was very welcoming and accommodating, and you could immediately tell they were very proud of the product they had produced for our driving pleasure.
I’m going to approach my review as an enthusiast. I’m not a pro driver (although my inner voice says so), and I am not an automotive journalist. I will provide you with what I experienced through the day. If there is something missing that you want to know, just ask and I will do my best to answer, or I will direct you to another source that may have the info you are looking for.
I arrived a little early as I had traveled in from Nashville the day before and found myself anxiously waiting in my hotel room early in the morning, so I hopped in the car and drove over to the track. I’m glad I didn’t wait. I was able to capture some great images of the car as the sun was rising above the Nevada desert and settle in by reading through some of the details about the car in the garage area.
Let’s talk looks first. My first impression of the car came when I saw a black (my color) CFTP roll off the road course and park in the paddock. Wow, the car was impressive. The stance, the width, the wing, it all came together. This was actually the first time I had seen the car in person, and I was not disappointed. Yes, there are a few things aesthetically I wish the car had done to it. I think the fins that we saw on some of the mules front fenders should’ve stayed. They were removed because they did not provide any additional benefit. My opinion is, as long as they didn’t hurt anything, I would’ve liked to see them stay. I think it would help show the depth of the front fenders. They are wide, but that doesn’t always come across in pics, plus fins just look cool to me. The other thing missing from some early renderings is a gap between the headlight and front fender. This is now solid. It’s blacked out, but how cool would it have been to see some daylight there? Anyway, those are minor complaints. In person the car is menacing.
After getting some pics of the car and hearing it on the track at full tilt as the Ford Performance Racing School drivers were doing some shake downs, we were welcomed by Jim Owens and others to walk through the day’s agenda and rules. We then broke off to our various groups where we had the opportunity to experience the car on the road course, drag strip, and hear detailed information about the engineering of the car.
I was fortunate as I was in the first group to go to the road course (my primary interest), and I was in the set of cars to get out on the track. I say I was fortunate because we had the chance to actually get on the cars a little as we were following one of the FP Racing School drivers around the road course. Unfortunately, I heard from others that they never had the chance to push the car at all. The day being filled with people of various levels of driving experience didn’t necessarily line up well for some, resulting in a fun, but slower track experience. Everyone did get a chance to do hot laps in the passenger seat with FPRS instructors, resulting in big grins across the board. And for those more concerned about the performance aspect, the hot laps gave us the chance to witness the car being pushed hard.
My assessment of the car on the road course boils down to it being a very balanced and confidence inspiring machine. Of course the elephant in the room is weight. The car is on the heavy side, but somehow the engineers dialed in some magic to prevent this from being part of the experience. The only place I felt the weight in the least bit was under heavy braking. I intentionally braked late in a few zones to test this, and you could feel the car working, but never overworked. The brakes are massive on this car, and they do their job. The grip is phenomenal. Obviously the plus sized the wheels on the CFTP from those that are found on my R may help, but I think that was primarily done more for aesthetic reasons, to fill space on the car as it is wider than my R. One of the FPRS drivers and I were talking later in the day at the drag strip, and I think he coined it right. The car has residual grip. In other words, the car stays planted and stuck well beyond where you think it should be. On a few turns, I came in a little tight to the line and with slight corrections to the steering and throttle, was able to bring the car around very easily. The car just behaves. Again giving you confidence behind the wheel.
The other elephant in the room is the transmission. Many of you out there are upset at the lack of a manual offering. Let me say it this way…if your goal is to go fast, then the DCT is for you. If your goal is row through the gears, practice your heel/toe, rev match, etc…then this might not be the car for you. I would highly recommend you give it a try before making that final assessment. The car shifts very well. Quite intuitive on the track. I would say it gets it right 9 out of 10 times. On occasion I did want to reach for the paddles and either hold a gear or shift down at a slightly different point, maybe less than 10% of the time. However, I behaved and let the car manage through the shifts. It was pretty amazing. The logic worked into the transmission allowed me concentrate on other areas of the course. And the sound…OMG the sound. Many of us are familiar with DCTs and how they help create an audible experience, especially in cars like the 458 Speciale or GT3RS, but combining a DCT with this 5.2 CPC Supercharged beast, oh my. Like Gods of Thunder raining down from the sky reminding us mere mortals that we are not worthy. Again, I get it if you’re a loyalist to the save the manual society (I’m a card holding member), but give yourself the chance to drive this car. Like the voodoo that my R makes with its wonderful flat plane crank motor, the DCT in the GT500 makes some voodoo of its own that will leave you with a smile bigger than Joaquin Phoenix’s Joker.
The drag strip was fun. We didn’t really have an opportunity to do anything outside of the prescription that was written for us. Drive up to staging area, press brake, mash the go pedal, release brake, and the let the launch control manage everything. So even with a somewhat subdued trial of the drag strip, the car did not disappoint. The weather was cool, lows 60s, a bit windy, street tires, no heating up of the tires, and still a good time was had by all. Although we didn’t have any official timing done for us, I was able to see my speed when I crossed the line. Every runwas right as 130 +/-. This was confirmed by a few other attendees, so I feel confident that is what this car will run with no drama and basically anyone behind the wheel. By the way, the cars ran all morning. Never stopped, continuous loop of going down the lane, coming back to stage and doing it all over again and again and again. You get the point. Yes it was a cool day, but these cars ran like that for 3 hours.
Ultimately it was a very fun day. No one left disappointed as they were able to get to experience a great car and quite honestly, even better people from Team Ford. I did get a chance to chat with several engineers and they were all very open and accommodating so if you have a specific question, ask it, and like I said I’ll do my best to answer it. Hope this provides some of the feedback you have been looking for about the new GT500. What a great time we live in to get to experience cars like this one.
Oh, by the way, for those interested, the official time for 0-60 we were given is 3.3 and 10.7 in quarter mile at 131. Not too shabby
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