The GT is a car you drive on its torque and Ford has spaced its gears accordingly. At 100mph in top, there’s less than 2500rpm on the rev counter. In-gear times are meaningless taken out of context. When we say the GT will do 50-70mph in fourth in 3.7sec, it has to be remembered that this is a gear that will also take you past 180mph; the same gear in a Ferrari 360 Modena is good for no more than 120mph.
The width of these ratios makes the GT’s outright performance all the more astounding. Its 0-60mph time of 3.5sec can be put down to there being no need to change gear, but it needs two shifts to hit 100mph and still gets there in just 7.8sec.
Then again, the GT does have one of the sweetest gearshifts we can recall. You just aim the lever with a punch from the elbow and it slots home as if it were born for it. Allied to a gentle clutch, it is simplicity itself to convince any passenger there’s a consummate professional at the wheel.
Yet amid general delight, there is genuine disappointment. Now that its exhaust complies with federal noise regulations, there is no sign of the classic Detroit thunder you might expect with such a car. Ford is working on an aftermarket sports exhaust and, if you are one of its 28 lucky customers, you simply have to have it.
On the UK’s unique blacktop, the steering column rattles over bumps, while mid-corner ridges can actually deflect the car a fraction. It tramlines significantly, too. Then again, few cars reach the heights of driving pleasure attained by a GT on the right road. Grip levels are astounding, and once they’re breeched, the GT slides beautifully and more progressively than any mid-engined car has a right. We’d prefer a shade more weight and feedback from the helm and rather less kickback, but such is the feel from the chassis you never need to think where to point the front wheels – the GT has already told you.