How the Ford GT Influenced Future Ford Tech
Since work began on the 2013 version of the Ford GT, the company's executive vice president of Product Development and chief technical officer had three goals in mind with its development. The first is to make the Ford GT a testing ground for its research and development team, the second is to push the limits in its engineering, and the third is to win Le Mans 24 Hours in the ultimate test of endurance and efficiency.
Of course, Ford was able to do all of these things and the technology that was developed since then has helped moved the company forward in innovation and technology. Let's take a look at how the advanced technology in the Ford GT was later implemented in Ford models, today.
High-output EcoBoost engines
The performance technology in the GT's high-output 3.5L EcoBoost engine has made a substantial impact on Ford's vehicle lineup. For years, the company aspired to constantly engineer the Ford GT to next-level performance specs with every iteration. With the latest model introduced for 2019, the GT's 3.5L EcoBoost engine could produce up to 647 horsepower and 550 lb-ft. of torque. Of course, this kind of power isn't completely commercialized, but Ford models like the F-150 Raptor have the same high-output technology and can push out a 450 horsepower and 510 lb-ft. of torque.
Lightweight and aerodynamic bodies
Long before Ford began implementing aluminum bodies in their vehicles today, the company already achieved using this kind of lightweight construction with the GT back in 2005. Back then, the Ford supercar was revolutionary in its use of an all-aluminum build to reduce weight and increase aerodynamics and performance. Today, the same aluminum construction can be seen in the F-150 since 2017, making it the first pickup truck in the market to do so, while the Ford GT now uses an even lighter carbon-fibre build.
Human-machine interface (HMI)
If you've taken a look at most of the vehicles in Ford's Performance Vehicle lineup, you'll notice a lot of these models have an all-digital and customizable dashboard that lets you track the data you want, like speed, oil temperature, tire pressure, etc. Nowadays, these digital dashboards are more easily commercialized than ever before, but racetrack cars like the Ford GT have been using it for years. Performance vehicles like the Ford GT need digital dashboards to get the most accurate performance data readings, and now that the technology has been made available in most cars today, even ones outside of Ford's lineup!
Interested in learning more about Ford's technological breakthroughs? Look below to see some of our other pages to learn more about some of the ingenious technology behind Ford's most iconic vehicles.
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