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Ford Almost Made a Mid-Engine Ferrari Fighter in the 1980s. Here’s What Happened


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https://www.thedrive.com/news/43374/ford-almost-made-a-mid-engine-ferrari-fighter-in-the-1980s-heres-what-happened?fbclid=IwAR0E-CnX3IxSipMjoItipRm-m-S1nd6i1d8h6iGJRI9p6P08oNWIAz1eB9M

 

This car got me into cars, even though it wasn't the one being reported in the magazines at the time...which is covered in the article also. Lots of interesting history and how the Yamaha V6 engine aka SHO engine wasn't part of this program either...

 

 

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I remember the GN34 program.  I believe this was when Don Peterson was CEO.  AutoWeek magazine actually ran a spy picture of a partially covered GN34 that really caught everybody's attention.  I always wondered why it never was produced.  But funding is everything, and in hindsight, the money was probably better spent on the vehicle that eventually became the Explorer.  

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4 hours ago, ausrutherford said:

 

Define "Affordable" with the C8 ?

I mean, a starting price of 60 grand for a v8 powered 500 hp mid-engine car is pretty affordable for what it is lol. That's assuming you can find a c8 for 60 grand or so, which is certainly possible regardless of what some people say. 

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On 12/6/2021 at 8:52 PM, ausrutherford said:

 

Define "Affordable" with the C8 ?

 

Yeah, try to find a C8 under $100,000. That is not affordable to most living on a budget. And much more expensive C8s are about to be unleashed. I also notice C7s have gone up a lot in price......most I see are in $70,000 range. Now compared to a Ferrari, yes they are much cheaper. But C8 is approaching Porsche 911 in price. For $125,000, I would go for 911. 

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On 12/7/2021 at 1:12 AM, DeluxeStang said:

I mean, a starting price of 60 grand for a v8 powered 500 hp mid-engine car is pretty affordable for what it is lol. That's assuming you can find a c8 for 60 grand or so, which is certainly possible regardless of what some people say. 

 

Really? Central FL is full of C8s and even used is over $100,000. Chevy dealer near me has 3 used 2020 C8s with at least 8,000 miles and all priced over $100,000. I get it that options really bump up the price, but base C8 is almost impossible to find. 

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The larger of the two mid engine car would have been very interesting thing if Ford actually made it.

 

The smaller one looked really frompy kind of like a Ford version of Fiero. 

 

BTW, Ford did make a mid engine sports car during this exact same time. RS200 was really a Group B race car but Ford had to sell them to real customers for homologation purpose. 

 

I don't know how true it is that Lutz killed the Ferrari fighter because he wanted to do Explorer. I think the truth is probably more that RS200 had motorsport budget and Ford Europe didn't need 2 (or actually 3 if you read the article) mid engine sports cars. So the one that had motorsport budget got the green light.

Edited by bzcat
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3 hours ago, bzcat said:

BTW, Ford did make a mid engine sports car during this exact same time. RS200 was really a Group B race car but Ford had to sell them to real customers for homologation purpose. 

 

I don't know how true it is that Lutz killed the Ferrari fighter because he wanted to do Explorer. I think the truth is probably more that RS200 had motorsport budget and Ford Europe didn't need 2 (or actually 3 if you read the article) mid engine sports cars. So the one that had motorsport budget got the green light.


The problem with the RS200 theory is that it predates what was going on with the GN34 by at least 4-5 years and Group B racing only lasted one season after the RS200 competed in it. 
 

Have to keep in mind that development time in the 1980s was measured in half decade to a decade. They couldn’t turn stuff around in 36 months like they did with the Ford GT. 

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3 hours ago, silvrsvt said:


The problem with the RS200 theory is that it predates what was going on with the GN34 by at least 4-5 years and Group B racing only lasted one season after the RS200 competed in it. 
 

Have to keep in mind that development time in the 1980s was measured in half decade to a decade. They couldn’t turn stuff around in 36 months like they did with the Ford GT. 

 

That's true. Maybe this was more or less conceived as a possible replacement to RS200, but without the racing budget. The last part being my main point. 

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A Corvette fighter would have been great, even though the styling on that thing was not great. I'm sure for the time it was pretty cool, kind of like the Taurus when it came out. Everyone raved about it's aero-look styling and all, but you look back now and it is pretty tame and boxy. The GN34 sports car would have been an interesting starting point to see it evolve.

Edited by traxiii
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5 hours ago, traxiii said:

A Corvette fighter would have been great, even though the styling on that thing was not great. I'm sure for the time it was pretty cool, kind of like the Taurus when it came out. Everyone raved about it's aero-look styling and all, but you look back now and it is pretty tame and boxy. The GN34 sports car would have been an interesting starting point to see it evolve.

 

I mean, just about anything from the 80s could be described as "tame and boxy".

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