Ford GT90

Ford GT90
Overview
Manufacturer Ford Motor Company
Production 1995
Body and chassis
Class concept supercar
Related Ford GT40
Jaguar XJ220
Powertrain
Engine quad-turbocharged V12 engine DOHC
Transmission five-speed manual
For other uses, see Ford GT (disambiguation).

The Ford GT90 is a high performance concept car developed and manufactured by American car maker Ford Motor Company. It was unveiled in January 1995 at the Detroit Auto Show as "the world's mightiest supercar". Performance included a top speed 235 mph (378 km/h) completing a quarter mile at 140 mph (225 km/h) from a 720 hp (537 kW;730 PS) quad-turbocharged V12 engine DOHC, the exhaust of which was claimed to be hot enough to damage the body panels, requiring ceramic tiles similar to those on the Space Shuttle to keep the car from melting.

The mid-engined car is a spiritual successor to the Ford GT40, taking from it some styling cues, such as doors that cut into the roofline, but little else. In regard to angles and glass, the Ford GT90 was the first Ford to display the company's "New Edge" design philosophy. The GT90 was built around a honeycomb-section aluminum monocoque and its body panels were molded from carbon fiber.

The GT90 was built by a small team in just over six months and, as a result, borrowed many components from another high profile stablemate—the Jaguar XJ220. The all-round double wishbone suspension and the five-speed manual gearbox came from the Jaguar, while the engine was a 90-degree quad-turbo V-12.

The GT90's 48-valve V12 was a six-litre engine which, if Ford had ever produced it in volume, might have produced up to 720 hp (537 kW), thanks to four Garrett AiResearch T2 turbochargers. The engine was based on the 90-degree Ford Modular engine family. For this one-off showcar, the last two cylinders of 4.6-liter V8 engines were removed, and the engines were welded together. This yielded a 90-degree V12, with 90.2 mm bore and 77.3 mm stroke.

Jacques Nasser, then a Ford executive and eventually CEO, was very proud of the car, and kept a model of it on his desk, as seen in a documentary on the U.K. television network Channel 4 on the Firestone tire incidents.

It also appeared in the video games Need for Speed II, Sega GT 2002, Ford Racing 2, Ford Racing 3, Gran Turismo 2, Rush 2: Extreme Racing USA, TOCA Race Driver 2, TOCA Race Driver 3, Project Gotham Racing 3, and Ford Street Racing. The car was featured in original Top Gear in a 1995 issue, while the car was still planned to enter production.

Performance

Specifications

Engine

External links