Congratulations and welcome to our little group of Happy Ford GT Owners! Here’s to many miles and years of fun driving and communications on our Forum!
And when he says wingman, none more qualified!!!Welcome to the GT Club. You've got great taste in cars . There are a couple of us in Lake Norman and 2 of us in Greensboro North Carolina. Reach out if you want a wingman.
Quick update. The car arrived just as the sun was coming up. I wasted no time getting a quick 30 mile rip through the early morning countryside. Knowing the combination of 29 degree weather and 15 year old Goodyears don’t mix, I never went more than 1/3 throttle. There will be plenty of time to safely explore limitations, this morning was simply a “get to know you” exercise. We’ll advance the relationship further as time goes on. Here are my first thoughts:
1). The car itself was exactly as described...flawless. For all practical purposes, it looks showroom fresh. Even the drivers side seat bolster doesn’t give up its age. I truly cannot believe that it’s 15 years old. The casual observer who doesn’t know cars, would certainly assume it was purchased new yestereday.
2). It drives exactly how it did in my dreams. It tracks perfect. Feels raw and “race car-ish”, but effortlessly gobbles up bumps in the road at the same time. The engine has phenomenal grunt and sounds heavenly (although I might be doing some exhaust work to extract just a little “more” out of it). Of course, I love the old school bolt action tranny. I also love the analog nature, complete without driving nannies. Talk about end of an era. Perhaps most surprisingly, absolutely no squeaks or rattles. I can’t even believe it. My brand new 812 had peculiar noises from the very first drive. So did my Performante. I was able to get the latter to quiet down, and I’ll work on the former during its first service in May.
3). It’s a super tight fit. That probably understates the matter. Much tighter than I remembered from sitting in one while in Miami for the Super Bowl. I‘m going to need to investigate seat lowering. At 6’6” 255lbs, I am at the bleeding edge of the outer limits in terms of fitting in the car. Comfort is not even on the table. I wrenched my neck while leaning over to avoid being guillotined when shutting the door.
4). Driving the car feels oddly less conspicuous than either the Lamborghini or the Ferrari. Maybe it’s just me, but even though the car is priced similarly, it has a everyman quality to it.
In the next couple weeks, I’ll come back and provide more thorough driving impressions. One thing is for certain, I am rusty with a hand shaker, and never mind heel and toe....
Maybe Chip could move the replies dealing with Bernie's passing to a stand-alone topic. It is worthy of one of its own.
RIP.
That’s how I see the GT. I don’t expect a big run up in value, nor do a see much of a retraction either. To me, the car will stay somewhat steady, which is what it’s done for the last decade or so. I hope this info helps you and anyone else who might stumble upon it. Finally, I really regret not getting one sooner. I will be making up for lost time.
As you know, I'm a little more bullish about future pricing (I have a Lamborghini....so I'm bullish about alot of stuff...LOL). I will take issue with the statement that prices have been steady the past decade. Recently, I posted my price chart from my original 2012 search, and it is nothing like today's market....and I'l go further to say even the market 3 years ago has big differences.
Let me ask, as a ballpark, how much did all the paint protection stuff cost?