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Pontiac-based GT1 births its first 1,400-horsepower hypercar based on the Ford GT
Posted by Talbot Payne on November 11, 2024
Pontiac — From the 1,063-horsepower, Formula One-inspired, hybrid Mercedes-AMG One to the 1,900-horsepower electric Pininfarina Battista to the screaming, 1,063-horsepower twin-turbo V-8 Corvette ZR1, this decade has seen an explosion in all-new mid-engine technologies promising unheard of hypercar performance.
But there is nothing quite like the old-school performance of the 1,400-horsepower GT1.
The first customer for the Pontiac-based, limited-edition hypercar startup took delivery this week. The GT1 marries two Detroit performance icons — the mid-engine Ford GT and push-rod, 427-cubic inch NASCAR Roush V-8 — to create one of the most explosive cars on the planet. The Detroit News got an exclusive look at the instant classic, its V-8 growling, when it rolled out of the garage for the first time at M1 Concourse before shipping to Indianapolis.
The brainchild of Michigan entrepreneur Fred Calero, GT1 began as a barn find in 2019 — the same year the Academy Award-winning “Ford v Ferrari” made Ford’s mid-engine Le Mans prototype a household name. As The Detroit News first reported in 2022, Calero discovered the last 30 chassis made for the 2005-2006 GT supercar — chassis kept out of an obligation to owners should a car require an extensive rebuild or be totaled.
Working out of a garage at the private M1 Concourse auto club, Calero and his elves are stuffing each chassis with a twin-turbocharged NASCAR engine and state-of-the-art suspension and aerodynamics technology. The results: head-turning 1960s GT40 design powered by head-snapping 21st-century speed.
“We toyed with a lot of different powerplants. We (went) with something that paid tribute to the 1966 Le Mans winner and the 427-cubic-inch pushrod, old-school, big V-8,” Calero said in his M1 garage. “There is something to be said for new modular engines producing tremendous horsepower. But from sheer cool factor, this is pretty cool.”
Each of the 30 limited-edition cars is a canvass onto which owners can paint their dream hypercar. Options are endless: an homage to the black #2 1966 Le Mans-winner, or the classic Gulf oil colors of the ‘68 winner, or the special-edition #98 paint job created by 2005 GT designer Camillo Pardo as a tribute to racer Ken Miles.
The first GT1 out the door is bound for a car collector in Canada (he prefers to remain private) who imagined his GT1 as an exotic show car dressed in tinted-red exposed carbon fiber, twin gold stripes and gold pinstriping. GT1 dubbed the tinted red color Eau Rouge after the famous corner at Belgium’s Spa racetrack.
The owner picked up his $1.3 million GT1 in Indianapolis. It’s a work of art that will hit 60 mph in less than three seconds with a top speed north of 200 mph.
“It was a laborious process looking at what we could do with the carbon-fiber body,” Calero said. “We looked at different colors and . . . landed on this tinted burgundy. We think it looks amazing, especially in the bright sunlight.”
Under the blazing red skin of the GT1 Chassis #1 is 58 years of automotive history.
When Ford created the GT40 in 1966 to take on Ferrari at the world’s greatest sportscar race in Le Mans, France, it birthed a legend that defines the company to this day. The GT40 lifted off six decades of Ford performance, including four straight Le Mans victories, the GT racing success of the Ford Mustang, two more generations of mid-engine GT production cars, another Le Mans win in 2016, and the debut this year of a global GT3 Mustang racing program.
The GT40 design isn’t getting older, it’s just getting better. The car’s timeless design inspired the 2005-2006 and 2017-2022 GTs – both of which Calero owns. Developed in parallel with the 2016 race car that won the Le Mans GT class on the 50th anniversary of the 1966 GT40 win, the 2017-2022 GT was on the bleeding edge of supercar performance.
The 2005-06 generation, be contrast, was never a factory racing machine, and so its personality is more malleable. Witness the GT1.
In the engine bay sits the pushrod 427-cube engine — the same size as the 1966 Le Mans race car. Built by Livonia-based Roush Yates, the so-called RY45 straps twin turbos to its back to make up to 1,400 ponies. That’s nearly three times the 550-horsepower V-8 originally in the 2005 GT. That power is translated to the track via huge 20-inch rear rims wrapped in 13-inch tires, 19-inch rims up front with 11 inch-wide tires, and state-of-the-art shocks developed by JRI.
“We think that . . . a beautiful body from Camillo and space-age chassis is a good start,” smiled Calero. “Our intention was not to create our own car. Matech, a team out of Switzerland, had campaigned (a similar race car) at Le Mans in 2010. We have the chassis (and) body. . . so we started to put pieces together with a lot of engineering from a lot of people. (There’s a) great ecosystem of suppliers based not far from here in Pontiac.”
Calero developed a test mule and put it through over 2,000 miles of testing in order to establish the performance cred expected of a $1 million-plus collectible.
The advent of high-performance electric vehicles has ignited a historic rush of startup auto companies, but GT1 is at the forefront of another one of the auto industry’s hottest trends: retrofitting classic cars with state-of-the-art tech.
Los Angeles-based Singer reskins 1989-94 Porsche 911s with carbon-fiber shells propelled by steroid-fed flat-6 engines. Revology in Florida stuffs classic 1967 Shelby Mustang GT350 bodies with a modern V-8 and electronics.
The GT1 team based its upgrade on Geneva-based Matech’s six race-prepared 2005 GTs that competed in Europe from 2010-11. Ex-Ford GT engineer Jim Dunham joined the GT1 team, applying Matech advancements like a front splitter, widened front track and updated, gooseneck rear wing.
“There is something about the silhouette of the original GT,” said Calero, who boasts a Porsche Cayman GT4 and Ferrari 458 Challenge car in his personal collection. “Ford does such a good job with their retro-designs, whether the Bronco or the GT. Its shape is timeless, and we had to be careful we didn’t do too many changes that would take away from the ‘66 look.”
But for the fashionable distressed leather that Chassis #1 owner chose for the carbon-fiber bucket seats, the interior is race-car spartan with electronic displays and yoke steering wheel. Successful pro race driver Johnny O’Connell helped refine the test mule.
It made its public debut at Indianapolis’s Performance Racing Industry trade show, wowing the 2023 Amelia Island and Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance events.
Each owner will have their GT1 authenticated by Ford Performance before they can pick from options including seat material, livery, wheel colors, dive planes and more. Cool factor comes standard.
Henry Payne is auto critic for The Detroit News. Find him at hpayne@detroitnews.com or @HenryEPayne.