Ford GT40 Concept

"There is no luggage space behind the seats and no room for a set of golf clubs anywhere in this car," says Mays.

The GT40 took the Le Mans competition and the world by storm in the late 1960s. But perhaps the most surprising thing about the original GT40 racecars was their striking styling. Surprising because the cars were engineered to do one thing: win Le Mans. The mechanicals came first, aerodynamics and air-management came second, and the design followed. But the cars struck a dynamic pose with curves and scoops and wheel wells wrapped around the mechanicals.

The GT40 concept is an "organic and geometric" design achieved by creating smooth, natural intersecting surfaces accented by simple, subtle lines that appear and then seem to disappear depending on one’s viewing angle and available light sources. The geometric reorganization of the prominent headlamps adds the modern effect. The headlamps symbolize the car’s heritage as a 24-hour endurance runner, but are key in creating the car’s contemporary image through the use of a combination of fiber optics and HID projection beams.

The cowl is an exercise in complex surface development that flows from the bulging curves of the fenders to the angular cooling vents. As in the original, the cowl is front-hinged and opens to reveal a storage area and a view of the front suspension components. The wide windscreen stretches from front corner to front corner at the A-pillar base and tapers slightly toward the roof creating a wide, Mark I-style tumblehome. The windscreen is dramatically raked back from the leading edge to the roofline.

The GT40 concept offers excellent ingress and egress with the wide-opening doors and two center-mounted fuel cells that allow the driver and passenger seat positions to be moved outward, closer to the sides and shallow sills. The two racing fuel cells run longitudinally down the center tunnel and are filled by polished fuel caps at the base of the windshield.

Along the sides, just behind the doors, are the vents and scoops that allow the mid-mounted engine to cool and breathe. All the air collectors on the vehicle’s perimeter are scooped, protruding out like jet fighter intakes. All the intakes on top surfaces, the front and rear cowls and C-pillar, are vented.

The two-piece rear canopy is hinged at the rear, as on the original. While most vehicles are designed to look great with all the access panels shut, the effect resulting from opening all the doors and cowls on a GT40 is part of the design in and of itself. Opening the rear canopy exposes the MOD 5.4 V-8 engine. The 500-horsepower engine is fitted with twisted lengths of stainless steel header pipes, a polished aluminum supercharger, braided stainless steel fuel and cooling lines with anodized aluminum fittings, and capped with beefy valve covers that read "Powered By Ford." The front tires are 18-inch Goodyears, while the rears are 19 inches to exaggerate the rear-end rake.

The new GT40 is a left-hand-drive two-seater featuring leather Recaro bucket seats. Aluminum grommets that allow occupants more ventilation are embedded into the stitching. For easy access, the adjustable handle to control seat position is located on the front of the seat, rather than below. A console runs the entire length of the GT40 passenger compartment. It houses the six-speed, short-throw shifter, CD player, and a leather-wrapped armrest. The interior color theme is two-toned: black and silver. The console, sill plate, handbrake lever, shifter, safety belt buckles, and pedals are aluminum.

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