Well that was fun

[dbk]

Got to meet with Raj Nair today and take a tour of the basement GT studio at the PDC. Very cool to see the various iterations as they refined the design. It's also really amazing that nothing ever managed to escape that facility in the year leading up to reveal.

That's about all I can say. :lol

 

[Vince H]

Life well lived.

Vince H

 

[racelance]

Very cool Dave! Glad you got the tour...

 

[Awsum GT]

When I grow up... I wanna be Dave!

 

[Specracer]

What's the infamous line?

This thread is useless with out pictures!







Yes I'm sure no pictures were permitted......

 

[SteveA]

Let's tie him to a chair, pants him, pour drinks down him and make him look at pictures of C3 Corvettes until he spills the beans at rally 10.

 

[junior]

Good one, we can't water/alcohol board anymore, Syr Obamanos outlawed it :lol :lol :lol

 

[Matt]

Got to meet with Raj Nair today and take a tour of the basement GT studio at the PDC. Very cool to see the various iterations as they refined the design. It's also really amazing that nothing ever managed to escape that facility in the year leading up to reveal. That's about all I can say. :lol

Was there a vast departure from the earlier PHX design studies, or were the major elements of the show car always present? Also, did Raj mention when they actually got the green light to start the project? I'm curious to know if this has been a goal for the previous 7 years leading up to Lemans semi centennial, or if it was a more recent ambition.

Still hard to believe that they managed to keep it a secret until the moment of reveal at NAIAS.

 

[Cobrar]

Let's tie him to a chair, pants him, pour drinks down him and make him look at pictures of C3 Corvettes until he spills the beans at rally 10.

Let's cut to the chase -- DBK secretly relishes the Camaro brand and has a Z28 stored away in a nearby garage that he drives at night.

There - the secret is out!

 

[MAD IN NC]

Let's cut to the chase -- DBK secretly relishes the Camaro brand and has a Z28 stored away in a nearby garage that he drives at night.

There - the secret is out!

NSFW - Found DBK on you tube with his CamaRow

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_2Z4PHH1Mzo

 

[Cobrar]

Just amazes me that DBK can look Raj in the eye and pretend he's a Ford guy. ;- ))

 

[dbk]

Was there a vast departure from the earlier PHX design studies, or were the major elements of the show car always present? Also, did Raj mention when they actually got the green light to start the project? I'm curious to know if this has been a goal for the previous 7 years leading up to Lemans semi centennial, or if it was a more recent ambition.

Still hard to believe that they managed to keep it a secret until the moment of reveal at NAIAS.

No, the departures weren't vast. More like subtle variations on a theme. There was way less variation with PHX than between the early Petunia cars and the finished 05 GT. Those hardly even look related. The new car mainly has a lot of little refinements you would expect in pursuit of aerodynamic efficiency, cooling, etc. The front end was fairly different early on, but we're still talking degrees here. The fact that the car looks so good while being so performance oriented is a pretty stunning achievement.

Definitely a very recent ambition.

 

[STORMCAT]

we gota buy you one of those Spy camera Pens !!:secret::secret:

 

[ChipBeck]

Dave,

Great for you, us, and the Forum that Ford is keeping you in the loop.

Chip

 

[Matt]

No, the departures weren't vast. More like subtle variations on a theme. There was way less variation with PHX than between the early Petunia cars and the finished 05 GT. Those hardly even look related. The new car mainly has a lot of little refinements you would expect in pursuit of aerodynamic efficiency, cooling, etc. The front end was fairly different early on, but we're still talking degrees here. The fact that the car looks so good while being so performance oriented is a pretty stunning achievement.

Definitely a very recent ambition.

So were there any development mules (frankenstein mustangs or the like), or were/are/will all the test cars be Phoenix GTs?
Knowing what you know, is there any chance of Forum members getting a tour of the manufacturing/assembly facility?

 

[AJB]

I spent 3 years in one of those 'Underground Basement Studios' when I was the Body Engineering Program Manager on the DN-101 ....which was code for 'Ford Taurus / Mercury Sable.'

They are so far underground , that we had a 'weather-board' in the main conference room so that we knew what was going on "Above-ground".

Actually the Taurus Team itself (and I am sure the FGT Team as well) was very self policing and protective to avoid any leaks . I recall the first real photo was when Jim Dunn climbed a tree in Nevada on one of our ride evaluation trips and caught several of our late level prototypes on the road.
They appeared the next month is several of the mags..
andy (ajb)

 

[Kingman]

All kidding aside.......did you get to sit in it?

If so, impressions?

 

[Raj Nair]

Got to meet with Raj Nair today and take a tour of the basement GT studio at the PDC. Very cool to see the various iterations as they refined the design. It's also really amazing that nothing ever managed to escape that facility in the year leading up to reveal.

That's about all I can say. :lol

Glad you enjoyed it.

Raj

 

[bonehead]

^^oh man. Feels like the principal just walked in and we all have to behave

 

[Cobrar]

It's way too late for that, you're at post 2100+. ;- ))