New Ferrari 488 Earns First WeatherTech Championship Pole (New Battle Between Ford And Ferrari)

IMSA ^ | 30 Apr, 2016 | International Motor Sports Assoc.

[MtnClimber]

The Ford GT race program is a factory effort with Chip Ganassi racing running the cars. Chip also has Indy Car and Nascar racing teams.

[stboz]

Hot damn! Factory Ford vs. Factory Ferrari!

I feel young again.

[MtnClimber]

Next stop is Le Mans for the 24 hour race. The corvettes have been dominant in the GT class, but they did not seem to do so well on the new Michelin tries. I think Ford is also running two cars in the European series. Could they run four cars at Le Mans?

[stboz]

I wish Ferrari well, but I hope the battle is of epic portions with Ford being the winner.

[MileHi]

The 1960's Ford GT40 also used a truck engine.

Do you mean the small blocks?

[MtnClimber]

I checked the 2016 Le Mans entry list.

http://www.motorsport.com/lemans/news/full-2016-le-mans-24-hours-entry-list-671807/

Indeed, FOUR Ford GTs and only TWO Corvettes and TWO Ferrari 488s.

[MtnClimber]

In 1966 and 1967 they ran 7.0L V8. In 1968 and 1969 they ran 4.9L V8.

[MtnClimber]

And all four years were victories, breaking Ferrari’s win streak.

[MileHi]

In 1966 and 1967 they ran 7.0L V8.

The 427? I didn't know if they ran big blocks at Le Mans. Thanks.

[MtnClimber]

Ford had a hard time selling enough GT40s for homologation in the 1960s and had to sell some for less than cost. Today they sell at auction for over $1M. In 2005-2006 a special run of Ford GTs looking much like the GT40 were produced. There were 4,038 produced at an MSRP of around $150,000, but dealer premiums were charged. Today those sell for around $500K. The new Ford GT will have limited production, I think I saw production of street cars around 400 and price starts at $400K.

[MtnClimber]

The Ferrari 488 seems like a really great street car. Twin Turbo 4.0L V8 making 660hp. The race cars have to add restrictors so the street cars are more powerful than the race cars. They cost much less than the Ford GTs at the $250K range base price, but the back order time is now 2 years, I checked.

[MileHi]

Ford had a hard time selling enough GT40s for homologation in the 1960s and had to sell some for less than cost. Today they sell at auction for over $1M.

Yep, like other Fords that were under appreciated in their time. I think Ford had some of the same trouble getting enough units sold for NASCAR rides that just dominated the circuit. Then NASCAR made them gag the side oilers so chevy could keep up.

[MileHi]

That would be all the car you need for speed!

[MtnClimber]

I am looking for a newer fast car. Looking at McLaren 570S or 650S, Audi R8, Lamborghini Huracan, Ferrari 488 or Porsche 911 Turbo. I had a 911 Turbo from 1986 which was one of the ones always trying to kill you. I currently have a 2013 Audi S6 with 4.0L V8 twin turbo. Car and Driver clocked it at 0-60 in 3.7 seconds. I like it and will keep it when I buy a weekend driver.

[MileHi]

Very cool, hope you find the perfect seat for, well, you know. We miss the Mustang GT/CS. It became an F-150 for her to drive. The 25 minutes of washboard to get home would have ruined it.

[Yardstick]

Did you find the “trying to kill you” reputation to he deserved? IIRC the story was that the turbo was laggy and would come on in a turn and break the back end loose.

[jpsb]

I was there and watched that!

[MtnClimber]

The reputation was deserved. It had the nickname “widowmaker”. It gave you confidence going into a turn, but you could realize you were going too fast and if you lifted on the gas, the engine drag would break the rear tires loose and the rear weight would make it swap ends. It was fun, but evil.

[MtnClimber]

Wow, that must have been great to see!

[jpsb]

It was Ford 1, 2, 3! The French were not all that happy :)