30 Ford GT chassis discovered after 15 years
GT1 wants to use it to build racing cars with 1,500 hp
A Michigan businessman bought 30 Ford GT chassis and converted them into 1,500 hp race cars.
Ford built the first generation of the GT from 2004 to 2006. In front of the rear axle, the sports car has a longitudinally installed 5.4-liter V8 that delivers 550 hp. A total of 4,038 copies were made, of which just 101 were intended for the European market – at a price of 177,000 euros each. The car was said to be sold out – but Michigan businessman Fred Calero found that Ford had 30 2006 GT chassis still stored in an air-conditioned warehouse. These should serve as spare parts dispensers if necessary. Apparently Ford didn’t need the chassis – now Calero bought them.
After the purchase, Fred Calero founded the GT1 company based at the M1 Concourse in Pontiac, northwest of Detroit. There, Calero and his team would like to use all of the chassis to build non-road-legal track-day cars. The bodywork of the racing cars is made entirely of carbon by hand by GT1 employees. Also, Calero appears to have secured the production tooling and homologation paperwork from former Swiss racing company Matech Concepts. Matech specialized in building a GT3 version of the Ford GT. The GT1 takes over the suspension points and the axle kinematics from the Matech GT1 constructions.
7.0 liter turbocharged V8
As an engine, GT1 wants to install a Roush-Yates RY45 unit that delivers up to 1,500 hp. The 7.0-liter Roush-Yates V8 is based on the FR9 EFI engine that sits under the hood of Nascar race cars, among others. In the GT1 it rotates at up to 9,000 rpm. Two Garrett G35-900 turbochargers, which can withstand temperatures of up to 1,316 degrees Celsius, should even make an output of up to around 1,800 hp possible. The titanium valves come from Formula 1 valve supplier Del West.
In addition, GT1 uses a Matech racing chassis, which is considered one of the best. Four-way dampers specially developed for the GT1 by racing specialist Multimatic are designed to optimize performance. The forged SS1R monoblock rims come from specialist Forgeline, which also supplied the rims for the second generation of the Ford GT built between 2016 and 2022.
Eight to ten months construction time
When GT1 will deliver its first GT racers is just as little known as the price. However, interested parties can already open an online configurator and select their preferred equipment there. GT1 needs eight to ten months to build a racing car.
Conclusion
US businessman Fred Calero has discovered that Ford still has 30 factory fresh chassis from the first generation Ford GT. He has now bought these chassis and turns them into non-road legal track-day vehicles. To do this, he draws on the tools and know-how of the former Swiss racing specialist Matech Concepts. The racing car’s engine is said to have an output of around 1,500 hp.