Ford's gift to Shelby

By ALASTAIR SLOANE

Ford isn't saying if its latest concept, the Shelby GR-1, named after legendary American performance specialist Carroll Shelby, will go into production. The carmaker's chief designer J. Mays says it is only a "gift to Carroll".

But speculation in the United States is that the GR-1 will ultimately become the third Ford, after the recent Shelby Cobra concept and production supercar Ford GT, to resurrect the 1960s' and 70s' muscle-car era in body and soul.

Mays hinted as much at the car's unveiling at the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance, in California.

"The Ford Shelby Cobra concept was a small step in our plans for the Ford GT supercar architecture and our relationship with Carroll Shelby," he said. "And the Ford Shelby GR-1 is a giant leap towards the future."

Talk is the GR-1, a front-engined, two-seat supercar based on the architecture of the Ford GT, could be built in limited numbers after the GT's run of 1500 units is completed.

The concept is another chapter in one of the most productive collaborations in car industry history, that between Ford and 81-year-old Shelby.

The association began in 1952 and moved through the 1960s with the Shelby Cobra and 70s with the Shelby Mustang. Shelby also worked on many of Ford's track and production programmes.

But the relationship soured in the early 1980s and Shelby followed former Ford president Lee Iacocca to Chrysler.

Thereafter, he worked on many independent projects, including designing a car of his own using an engine from GM's Oldsmobile arm.

In 2002, 40 years after they agreed to produce the original Cobra, Ford and Shelby made up. Their first project was the Ford GT, which has just gone on sale in the US for US$139,995. First-up buyers include retired Microsoft executive Jon Shirley and television host Jay Leno.

Next came the Shelby Cobra concept, related to the GT and unveiled at the Detroit motor show last January.

Shelby's influence was obvious: under the bonnet was a 6.4-litre V10 engine producing 485kW (605bhp) at 6750rpm and around 650Nm of torque at 5550rpm driving the 19-inch rear wheels through a six-speed transaxle and final drive of 3.36:1. Top speed was an estimated 305km/h (190mph). Shelby said it would sprint from zero to 100km/h in around four seconds.

But response to the Cobra concept was muted. Critics said it was too slab-sided and didn't convey the essence of the original.

Nevertheless, the success of the GT programme led to the GR-1 concept and more collaboration between Ford and Shelby, including a yet-to-be-seen high-performance version of the 2005 Mustang and a tricked-up four-wheel-drive Expedition.

The GR-1 came out of the Cobra project, the brainchild of Ford's Advanced Product Creation Group, which develops concepts. The group ordered two Cobra chassis but used only one for the show car.

But Ford and Shelby were so pleased with the Cobra chassis in high-speed tests that they set aside the extra chassis for another project. That was the GR-1. It was begun before the Cobra was unveiled in January.

The GR-1 has met with widespread approval. It was penned by George Saridakis, a young designer who joined Ford in 2000 and attracted attention working on concepts for Lincoln and Mercury.

Saridakis created a sketch that his boss J. Mays liked immediately.

"George produced this completely resolved sketch - the best I've seen in 10 years," says Mays.

"When I saw it, it wasn't a matter of 'Let's do more sketches'. It was really more of a 'Let's get this into clay'.

"George nailed it in one crack. This is a designer so masterful at visualising every aspect of the car and its story that it literally flowed out of his pen. And because the design is so pure, we really believe this show car will be a hit."

Critics in the US agree that the GR-1 concept captures the hard-edged glamour of race cars of the 1960s, while creating a style all of its own. The GR-1 also uses the V10 engine from the Cobra concept.

The concept's long bonnet blends into the teardrop-shaped cabin and the car's rear haunches. The front is dominated by an air intake vent directing cooling air into the engine bay, while vents on the top surface of the bonnet expel hot air from the radiator.

The V10 engine pushes upwards into the hood's surface to expose bulges - a reminder of the car's powerful performance - while air vents at the base of the windscreen allow the motor to breathe.

Intakes and vents perforate side panels and the tail, further expelling hot air from the vehicle.

The front corners of the GR-1 are dominated by the front wheel well and trapezoidal LED headlights. The car's two doors are hinged, butterfly-like.

The GR-1 concept is 4413mm long; 1834mm wide; 1168mm high. It has a 2540mm wheelbase, a front track of 1598mm and rear track of 1558mm. The front overhang is 903mm, the rear overhang 970mm. Minimum ground clearance is 150mm. Tyre size 275/40/R19 front and 345/35/R19 rear. Curb weight is an estimated 1770kg (3900lb).