Lifestyle
$200,000 ride
HEIDI ULRICHSEN
Winter 2007 |
“It will be a memory I’ll cherish forever,” said Narozanski, the general manager of the Belanger Ford Lincoln Centre.
“It’s very exciting. It gives me goosebumps. Just sitting in the car makes me envision a racetrack. Driving it is an experience that only a select few people will have.”
The Chelmsford dealership currently has one of these “street legal race cars” on display in its showroom. The limited edition car has a sticker price of just under $200,000. Only 200 Ford GTs were made for sale in Canada to celebrate the 40th anniversary of a historic event in automotive history.
The hand-assembled car is based on a race vehicle made by Ford in 1966 for the Le Mans 24-hour race. The design of the car is similar to its original counterpart, but some changes have been made to adhere to current safety standards.
“As I understand the story, at the time, Ford Motor Company tried to buy the Ferrari Motor Company so they could expand on an international scale,” he said.
“When Ferrari said no, Ford Motor Company challenged its engineers to build a race car that beats a Ferrari, and they did.
“Thus, the GT 40 was born. The name comes from Grand Touring, and the height of the car is 40 inches. Somehow, throughout the years, they lost the rights to the name GT 40, and that’s why it’s now called the Ford GT.”
The Ford GT is capable of going 330 kilometres per hour, and has 550 horsepower. It goes from 0 to 110 kilometres per hour in 3.8 seconds, and brakes from 110 kilometres per hour in 117 feet.
The vehicle on display at Belanger is white with blue trim, but the Ford GT was also made in red with white trim, blue with white trim, grey with white trim, yellow with black trim and blue and orange with numbering.
Because the Ford GT was built for speed, it has very few extra amenities so weight is reduced.
There is air conditioning and a CD player, but trunk space (located in the front of the vehicle) is limited. No spare tire is included, but the car comes with an inflation kit.
The engine is located in the rear of the car.
“One of the nice things about the design is the way the rear engine access opens, it’s like a showcase. It opens so you can see an engine. It’s fantastic. They thought of everything.”
Most of the Ford GTs have already been bought, so the one on display at Belanger is rare, said Narozanski.
He invites people to come to the dealership and look at the car.
“There’s a lot of potential customers, both local and throughout Canada. There’s a lot of car enthusiasts in Sudbury - Ford enthusiasts or just racing enthusiasts. It’s also good for investors because it’s a limited-edition car, and it will appreciate in value.”
Some Ford GT owners may actually rent time on professional racetracks to drive their cars at capacity, he said.
“I’m sure people race their cars, but not in a smash-up derby race,” he said.
“The one problem with the Ford GT as opposed to a Mustang is that you can replace the Mustang. That’s what makes the Ford GT such a desirable car - it’s irreplaceable.”
For more information, go to www.belanger.com.
