An eager Ford engineer and an experienced coachbuilder have joined forces to lop the roof off the Blue Oval’s winning GT – and renamed it the GTX1 – as part of this year’s SEMA show.
An eager Ford engineer and an experienced coachbuilder have joined forces to lop the roof off the Blue Oval’s winning GT – and renamed it the GTX1 – as part of this year’s SEMA show.
The showcar is the brainchild of a Ford engineering supervisor, Kip Ewing, who conceived the roadster idea while working on the Ford GT coupé launch.
After doing much of the initial design sketches and computer modelling himself, he received the blessing of performance arm SVT boss Hau Thai-Tang, and Ewing was granted the chance to bring the GTX1 roadster, inspired by the 1966 GTX1, to life at the SEMA show.
Marc Gerisch of Gennaddi Design Group in Milwaukee was chosen to build (or deconstruct) Ford’s latest exotic, while a host of other aftermarket suppliers exhibiting their wares at SEMA assisted with the kitting out of the car.
The showcar uses a Ford Racing exhaust system, Brembo brakes, dynamic damping, adjustable coil-overs and carbon fibre Ford GT custom Sparco seats.
The car has an innovative roof system of four individual hard panels that can be arranged as a coupé or full convertible. And since all four lightweight panels can be stowed on board, the chances of being caught in a downpour are slim.
The rear engine cover has been designed to feature ” barriers” that flow from the seatbacks for a catching side profile, while the engine bay cover offers a view of the car’s powerful 410-kW 5,4-litre supercharged V8.
Lucky GT owners in the US will soon be able to arrange a similar conversion for their car’s, simply by giving the Gennaddi Group a call.
