A vehicle born out of pure spite, the original Ford GT40 is a legendary automobile that was bred for the singular purpose of showing Enzo Ferrari that he couldn’t mess with the Blue Oval. More than 50 years after this awesome car made its debut, it still finds ways to captivate us, even if you remove all the turns and drama of Le Mans racing.
The lucky blokes of XCar got their hands on a 427-powered Ford GT40, a newer Ford GT with the supercharged 5.4 liter V8, and a…GT70? What the hell is that thing?
The GT70 was a limited-production car built by Ford of Britain and intended for rally racing. The 1,700 pound, V6-powered GT70 with all of 85 horsepower was meant to be an answer for the rally-dominating Lancia Stratos. But surely doesn’t stand a chance against two V8-powered supercars, right?
With 550 horsepower from its supercharged 5.4 liter V8, the Ford GT is the obvious favorite to win, despite being the only “road car” of the trio. The two purpose-built race cars, meanwhile, get left in the dust at the starting line, and it quickly becomes a race to see who finishes second to the more modern Ford. If you’re an original Ford GT40 fan, you might not like the results though. Don’t say we didn’t warn you.
Keep in mind both the GT40 and GT70 were made for road courses, not drag racing, while the Ford GT is more of an all-around supercar, that like it’s predecessor, when it debuted showed Ferrari the tail lights for a fraction of the cost. Still, it’s not everyday you get to see a million dollar drag race between contemporary and historic supercars, even if the results seem fairly predictable. What other classic race or road cars would you like to see compete in a drag race?