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Ford’s GT Supercar About to Become Less Exclusive as Automaker Ramps Up Production

Ford’s luxuriously exclusive $500,000 mid-engine GT supercar just became a lot less exclusive.

Ford announced on Thursday that it will be making a lot more of its highly exclusive $500,000 car to meet the growing demand

Ramping Up Supply

The carmaker announced on Thursday that it will be making a lot more of its highly exclusive $500,000 car to meet the growing demand. Ford currently makes around 1,000 of these 647-horsepower beauties a year, but it is planning to increase production by 35 per cent for all the models up until year 2022.

Ford GT is one of the most desirable cars in the world and its exclusivity is a part of its appeal. Launched in 2016, the supercar has drawn applications from over 6,500 prospective owners. Ford’s head of performance department at Dearborn Proving Grounds, Hermann Salenbauch, said that the company is facing an influx in demand, outpacing supply by six-to-one, which is amazing news for the carmaker considering the steep price tag on the luxurious vehicle. Salenbauch added that Ford is glad to ramp up production to meet the demand by excited customers.

The car was originally created to help Ford get back into the 2016 Le Mans endurance race after it had first won the 24-hour racing event 50 years ago with the classic GT40 sportscar. After claiming victory in the 2016 French race, demand for Ford GT went soaring through the roof, and customers lined up on the carmaker’s dealerships to reserve the highly anticipated 2017-2020 model with scissor doors.

Growing Fanbase

The luxury sportscar has a base price of $450,000 but that didn’t slow down the fierce demand. Ford’s first GT racing car, launched in 2005 was an extremely exclusive model available only in the United States, but in 2017, the carmaker released its state-of-the-art twin-turbo V-6, which was sold to customers around the globe including Mideast Africa and Europe.

Ford’s performance manager in North America, Jim Owens, says that the iconic GT will forever be known as the car which worsted Ferrari at the Le Mans race. The 2016 event only brought more recognition to Ford and its beastly toys including the Raptor pickup truck, Mustang GT500 and Focus RS – but the GT is definitely the halo car of the automaker’s Performance division.

Ford announced that it will open orders for 350 more GT cars on November 8 on its official website, but buying this impressive supercar isn’t as easy as it may seem. Prospective owners have to go through a complicated application process which requires them to prove that they truly are worthy of the car’s ownership. So far, the car has amassed a fan following from a number of notable celebrities including Kurt Busch from NASCAR, DJ and music producer Deadmau5 and wrestler/actor John Cena.

Ford announced that it will open orders for 350 more GT cars on November 8 on its official website

Effect on GT’s Exclusivity

While many GT fans are excited to finally have the chance to buy their dream car, some of the existing owners aren’t too happy that Ford is ending the Sportscar’s exclusivity by making more than 1,000 units, as promised initially.

Buffalo-based Lauren Fix bought the 2017 model of GT with custom livery and titanium exhaust. Around the time, Ford was only making 14 units of this coveted supercar – now it is selling 138 of them every year. Fix said that the GT’s exclusivity was one of the biggest reasons why she bought it, and now that the company has started manufacturing more of this model, there is a risk that the car could lose its value very soon.

Other owners like analyst Karl Brauer from Kelley Blue Book weren’t as concerned. He said that an increase in GT production will not have a negative effect on its value. When Ford started making the model a decade ago, there wasn’t a lot of demand for the supercar, hence its decision to make only a handful of units. But the car has now gone global and its demand has increased exponentially, which is why it makes sense for Ford to increase supply to keep up with the growing demand.

A slight increase in the GT’s supply won’t affect its exclusivity – in fact, it will grow the excitement even more, explained Ford’s Saltenbauch.

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