Detroit show car has a Liquid Blue paint

WCF reader Yasid Oozeear of YasidDESIGN has envisioned the new Ford GT in the classic Gulf livery.

It would make sense to see the Gulf livery on the all-new Ford GT as it would be a great way to remember Ford's triumph at Le Mans in 1968 and 1969. Ford did offer a similar paint scheme on the 2006 GT Heritage Edition which had a Heritage Blue with Epic Orange-striped exterior.

Porsche did just about the same thing by providing an optional Martini livery for its sold-out 918 Spyder as a connection to the Porsche 917 Martini Racing which won at Le Mans in 1971.

Getting back to the 2017 Ford GT, it's currently on display in Detroit at the North American International Auto Show with a lovely shade of blue which Ford calls "Liquid Blue." The bad news is that it will not be offered on the production car as the company says it's a multi-layer showcar paint only. While in the past some of their show car paints were eventually used on production cars, at the moment Ford doesn't have any plans to allow customers to choose Liquid Blue for the new GT which will enter production late 2016.

What is the 2017 Ford GT without it's motorsport heritage? History was made when the legendary Gulf Racing Ford GT40 won at the 24 Hours of LeMans two years in a row (1968, 1969). To date, the GT40 is arguably the most iconic American racing car in history.

While the 2017 Ford GT represents the American carmaker's commitment to its future in motorsports, some diehard GT40 fans decided to keep it old school and introduced the new supercar in classic racing war paint.

Jonisbal and Yasid Design (via Worldcarfans) recreated the Ford GT in Gulf Livery. What really stands out in the two renderings are the classic knock-off wheels that are synonymous to the 1970s. Jonsibal introduced a more classic Gulf livery that feature the classic curve that tapers the orange bumper to meet with the orange stripe that flows across the length of the car. While the Yasid Design Gulf Livery Ford GT has a sharper front end, the design also features some classic sponsorship decals to give it more vintage flavor.

Finally, a rendering from CarWow features a stunning Ford GT in Martini Livery. Martini is better known for sponsoring Porsche during it's golden era, but the iconic livery translates just as well on a Ford. Unlike the Gulf renderings, the Martini Ford GT features full-on modern motorsport details including aggressive aero splitters and GT spoilers. The wheels also look like modern light-weight magnesium center lock wheels.

Which livery do you prefer most for the Ford GT? Is there a different livery you would like to see for the new Ford supercar? Let us know in the comment section below!

The car industry appeared to be euphoric at the 2015 North America International Car Show (NAIAS) held in Detroit this month with expectations of another robust year of sales. The show, which is the most influential in the US, coincided with the cheapest fuel for six years of less than two dollars a gallon. There was a sense of a feel good factor among industry officials except perhaps in segments experimenting with electric and fuel-cell cars.

The real star of the show this year was the Ford GT sports car. Unlike European car shows, Detroit did not reveal notable new super cars. However, there were plenty of stars and a number of creative concepts. The Acura NSX was noted for its nice design package, but the 2016 Ford GT was without question a show stopper. The GT stunning design was the talk of NAIAS and surprised the media and visitors alike.

The Ford GT was built in secret for 16 months at the basement of the Ford Product Development Center and only 10 executives in the company knew about the project. Until the car was revealed in Detroit no one managed to steal any spy shots of the car. The surprise factor was complete at the show.

Some American journalists did not like the fact that the GT will be powered by a V6 EcoBoost engine instead of a traditional American V8. However, the car is a genuine tour de force and it took home the “Eyes on Design” award for best production car.

Mark Fields, Ford’s CEO said at the show: “We want to make cars that make people’s hearts pound; and if this does not make your heart pound, you may need to go see a doctor!” He does not expect the GT to sell in volume but it illustrates what Ford is capable of .The twin-turbo 600-horspower car goes into production next year. The company has not revealed its price.

Ford and XBox have released a new promotional video which takes us behind of scenes of the automaker's design studio in Dearborn, Michigan.

Designed to highlight the Ford GT's inclusion in Forza Motorsport 6, the video gives us a unique look at how the new supercar was created.

While the car has modern styling, Ford Americas Design Director Chris Svensson said "When we analyzed the original GT 40, there were some very, very strong key elements that we felt were intrinsic to make sure that when people see this car, it's very obvious what it is."

The clip also reveals some interesting details including the fact that the car's carbon fiber dashboard is actually a structural component.

As a refresher, the Ford GT features a mid-mounted twin-turbo EcoBoost V6 engine that develops more than 600 bhp (447 kW). It is connected to a dual-clutch seven-speed transmission which promises to deliver "near-instantaneous gear changes."

The GT supercar project bore the “Phoenix” codename while it was being developed by Ford. The car was apparently concealed in a basement and only a handful of employees had access.

Automotive News reports that they didn’t even use electronic keycards, but real old-fashioned keys instead. The entire project was shrouded in secrecy up to the point where those involved were not allowed to talk about it with their families at all.

"A lot of people probably knew something was going on, but no one actually knew what the project was", Moray Callum, Ford's global design chief, told the news site. "This was probably a once-in-a-lifetime chance to get to do a vehicle like this. I'm still pinching myself that we're actually doing it."

This kept the hype high and leaked information to a minimum and GT made quite the impression when it was revealed in Detroit last month, especially since we really didn’t know what to expect; it definitely stole some of the Acura NSX’s shine at the motor show. The GT was actually unveiled a few hours before the Japanese car and that counted too.

Work on the car began in late 2013, and according to Moray Callum,"Usually, we like to encourage, especially on important programs, wide input from around the world, but on this one, we sort of realized both in terms of time and the element of keeping it quiet that we probably had to change the process here, so we picked a small group of designers."

We can’t wait to see it out and about!

Ford is absolutely killing it right now. It has only been a little over a month into 2015, but the American carmaker has already unveiled a brand new Ecoboost Raptor performance pickup truck, a radical Shelby GT350R halo Mustang, and most recently a global Ford Focus RS with AWD.

Its most important vehicle of all is undoubtedly the wicked 2017 Ford GT supercar that was unveiled at the 2015 Detroit Auto Show last month. Last week, Ford and Forza Motorsport 6 shared an insightful 6-minute video that highlighted some of the major design and engineering aspects of the new American supercar. If you took a closer look at the video, you will notice an Easter egg as well.

At 1:49 of the Forza Motorsport 6 video, the two designers are squatting next to the Ford GT for a closer look at its front end and headlight design elements. Behind them is a curious rendering board that features what looks to be the design of the Le Mans racing-spec Ford GT.

Now, a more detailed rendering from rc82 workshop has surfaced. While the overall profile of the standard Ford GT and its Le Mans racing version is very similar, the race spec Ford GT features a dorsal fin as well as an enormous rear wing tor maximum downforce.

Because the Ford GT still retains much of its street car profile, it is somewhat tame compared to the dedicated LMP1 racing cars. At the same time, the dorsal fin design also makes the rendered Ford GT racing car too wild for the GT class.

Stay tuned as we expect to learn more about the real Ford GT racing car that is expected to compete at the 24 Hours of Le Mans later this year.

Ford's 2016 GT supercar is making its second appearance on US soil at this week's Chicago Auto Show, with a new color twist.

Instead of the Detroit show car's racing blue hue, this one is finished in a more purposeful "Liquid Silver" color with matte black double-racing stripes and gloss-black alloy wheels.

In related news, Canadian media are reporting that Ford confirmed production of the new GT at a company in Markham, Canada, named Multimatic, with Ford’s president of the Americas Joe Hinrichs telling The Star that the privately-held global auto parts supplier was chosen "because of its expertise in carbon fibre".

Hinrichs also told reporters that while pricing and production numbers will be announced at a later stage, Ford will make "fewer GTs and they will cost more than the previous GT" because of its carbon fiber construction that's more expensive than the older aluminum model.