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Ford steals show with new GT

Ford has utterly stolen the Detroit Motor Show 2015 (the North American International Auto Show to give it its correct title) by unveiling its new Ford GT, which will hit a limited number of showrooms in 2016 to mark the 50^th anniversary of Ford’s 1-2-3 at Le Mans in 1966.

The stunning-looking supercar is the spiritual successor to the GT40, and although some design cues in the new car can be traced back to the original, such as the low profile, the long nose and the huge air intakes in front of the rear wheels, this is a totally fresh, modern design and it drew huge crowds in Detroit.

It can be hard to see what a 600bhp, twin-turbo V6 supercar has got to do with average motorists, but Ford’s halo model will feature a lot of technology that’s likely to filter down to more affordable cars in its range.

The fact that it’s an Ecoboost engine, for a start, could pave the way to even more performance being squeezed out of the other Ecoboost engines in the Ford stable – the award-winning, three-cylinder 900cc Ecoboost has already been tuned to previously-unheard of levels for such a small engine.

Further, the new GT uses cutting-edge weight-saving technology that, again, will be finding its way into more cars as manufacturers seek to find new ways to reduce emissions without sacrificing performance or safety.

You have to feel for Honda, who picked the same show to show off the production version of their long-awaited new NSX. The original NSX has built up a legendary reputation, not least because of Youtube videos of Ayrton Senna blasting one around Japan’s Suzuka circuit whilst wearing slip-on shoes…

However, its successor was thoroughly upstaged by the GT on Ford’s home turf. It was just a case of unfortunate timing, and with road tests due soon, we’ll get to find out whether Honda’s first all-new supercar since 1990 can live up to its predecessor’s reputation.