Want an actual modern take on the Ford GT? Forget that thing that Ford is actually making now, the Fordzilla P1 concept is perhaps actually more in line with the ethos of the original Ford GT. Instead of competing for the GTE Pro victory, which it took a few years back, Ford would really have to fight for the overall at Le Mans. And if you extrapolate an LMP1 class car to the street, you can do worse than that.
Apparently Ford of Europe has teamed up with its e-sports racing series racers Fordzilla to make the design for this concept car, which it calls the Fordzilla P1, a sort of Crowdsource. About a quarter of a million people voted on various aspects of car design, including seating position, cockpit design and drivetrain. Once the aspects of the car were set up, a design contest ensued, and Ford exterior designer Arturo Ariño produced the winning design, shown here.
The Fordzilla P1 is said to be the “ultimate virtual race car” with morphing body for active aerodynamics, a high-powered Ford EcoBoost engine, and judging by the video of the car in virtual action, an unusual ability to negotiate angles . Clearly, this thing is both lightweight and aerodynamically advanced to make things like that. I’m not sure what the lights in the tires are all about, but it looks nice on the screen.
It’s pretty obvious that this thing will never see the light of day like a running car, but Ford says it will build a full-scale model of the car to debut later this year. Whether that includes any of the active bodies will still be seen. Ford is also working to get this car into a famous video game. Considering his Fordzilla teams race in Forza, Gran Turismo, iRacing and Assetto Corsa, it can honestly be one of these.
The debut of this car coincided with the first night of Gamescom 2020 in Cologne, Germany on Thursday.
Is this an example of Ford’s commitment to run in the FIA WEC’s Hypercar class against Toyota and Glickenhaus? Doubtful. Is it still pretty cool to look at? Yes why not? As a concept car, Ford could do a lot less than that. Remember the GT90? That was cool. This is the next extension of it.
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