- #FORD AS BUILT DATA MODIFICATIONSD TO CHANGE SETTINGS ARCHIVE#
- #FORD AS BUILT DATA MODIFICATIONSD TO CHANGE SETTINGS PLUS#
Cockpit-adjustable hydraulics varied the ride from “very low-frequency plush to a firmer highly damped Corvette-like setting” according to a document Saxty found.
#FORD AS BUILT DATA MODIFICATIONSD TO CHANGE SETTINGS PLUS#
To do that, the chassis design engineers Ford chose – Canewdon Consultants in Essex, England – gave GN34 an unrivalled spec for the time: forged aluminium unequal-length upper and lower wishbones at the front plus a Quadralink rear with twin lower arms and a tension strut from SVO’s race cars. Again, they decreed that GN34 had to outhandle the lot. Through Ford’s slalom, the RX7 was fastest, followed by the 944 Turbo, Countach, Turbo Esprit, 911, ’Vette and Supra, with the Testarossa and newly arrived 328 eighth. 86 and the 944 Turbo and RX7 Turbo equal with. When SVO measured rivals’ lateral acceleration they found the Corvette, with 0.89g, was grippiest, followed by the Countach with. SVO’s GN34 team – now swelled from 30 to 100 – worked to an eight-point plan covering the reasons buyers bought sportscars. The engineers didn’t want to launch with a Ford V8 because it was “too Corvette” for buyers used to Porsche and Ferrari engines.
Later, SVO planned to add Ford’s new 4.6-litre modular DOHC V8 engine and all-wheel drive. It would mate with a close-ratio five-speed transaxle. The extra weight from the design changes forced Yamaha to enlarge the high-revving V6 from 3.0 litres to 3.6L and lift its power from 170kW to 209kW. The Yamaha V6 that Ford had commissioned for the 1989 Taurus SHO wasn’t ready so the mule used a twin-turbo Ford V6 and ZF five-speed gearbox. In September ’85 Italdesign shipped over the Maya II EM mule, built to approximate how GN34 would drive. In August 1985 the three rival models, all painted red, were arrayed for a beauty parade in Detroit. The Ford International Studio in Detroit and Ghia in Turin raced to pitch in their designs. Italdesign responded with two cars: styling model Maya II ES and Maya II EM, a mechanical prototype for evaluation and development.įord’s own designers were hardly going to be trumped by an outside supplier. Ford asked Giugiaro to (a) make it look different and (b) viable for production. Contracts were swiftly signed, SVO sent over a Taurus 3.0-litre V6 powertrain and when Maya appeared at the Turin show in November ’84 it was a Ford-powered runner.īut Maya looked too much like the Lotus Etna that Italdesign had offered Lotus as an Esprit replacement. Guess what: the Italian design and engineering outfit was already building a concept called Maya that matched Ford’s desires. Time for Ford to play, too.īody design kicked off early in 1984 when Ron and three colleagues flew to Turin to see Giorgetto Giugiaro at Italdesign. Sector entrants ran from the US$15,000 Toyota MR2 to the US$70,000 Ferrari Testarossa but the biggest volume and profit was around the US$30,000 mark (US$70,000 in today’s money) dominated by the Chevrolet Corvette and Porsche 944. In the early ’80s, Ford analysts predicted that sales in the so-called G-class – dedicated sportscars – would jump from 88,000 to 120,000 a year by 1990 in the USA alone.
#FORD AS BUILT DATA MODIFICATIONSD TO CHANGE SETTINGS ARCHIVE#
Engineers handed over photographs kept private for decades a Ford archivist discovered a cache of GN34 material in Detroit and Steve ferreted out more in the archive of Ghia, the Ford-owned Italian studio where the car was designed. Bit by bit, as former Ford designer Steve traced and talked to GN34’s creators, the car’s story emerged. Its existence was unearthed by author Steve Saxty while he was researching his new book Secret Fords Volume Two, published this week. Now, freshly uncovered information, specifications and photographs show how serious Ford was and what an impact GN34 could have had. It would be the world’s best – styled in Italy, British-designed chassis, SVO engineering, quad-cam Japanese V6 power, state-of-the-art assembly in Europe, and all aimed at beating Porsche and Ferrari.ĭown the years, rumours and snippets about the car have sprinkled the web but the facts have been secret until now. Through the ’80s, a skunkworks team of Ford Special Vehicle Operations engineers conceived and developed a supercar called GN34. Too good to be true? Well, it came close to reality. The Ghia-designed targa body looks the business, too right up there with the Testarossa for a third of the price. Not to mention everyday useability thanks to good vision, convenient access, a proper boot… and Ford-size bills. And its Yamaha-Ford V6 sounds like a ripper. It’s grippier than even a Testarossa or Countach and out-handles everything through a slalom – F1 champion Jackie Stewart helped develop it. You’ve had a 911 before, you’ve considered a Chevrolet Corvette for its macho looks and grunt, and a Porsche 944 Turbo, which handles better.īut what about this new mid-engined Ford, said to best every other sportscar, at any price?
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