The $1.7M Ford GT Mk IV Looks Weapons-Grade at Sonoma Raceway

Posted on November 12, 2023

Since Ford launched the second-generation GT back in 2016, there have been several special edition models, including the Mk I and Mk II, a Liquid Carbon edition, and several different Heritage editions. None of them, though, are anywhere near as extreme as its latest—the Ford GT Mk IV. The GT Mk IV is a $1.7 million weapons-grade track monster and you can see just a taste of what it can do in this new video from Goodwood Road & Racing.

The video shows the Ford GT Mk IV making its worldwide track debut at the Velocity Invitational at Sonoma Raceway. Only 67 of these track-only GT Mk IVs will be made, so this is likely the closest many of us normies will get to seeing one.

What makes the Mk IV so much more monstrous than its predecessors? With no road rules to worry about, Ford was able to let loose and the GT Mk IV packs more than 800 horsepower from its twin-turbocharged V6. Power is no longer sent through a seven-speed dual-clutch gearbox, as Ford replaced it with a bespoke six-speed Xtrac racing gearbox, which uses an E-clutch to get moving.

Someone who appears to be from Ford told the Goodwood commentators what it’s like to drive. “It’s a spaceship,” they said. “First time I drove it, I laughed the whole back straight.”

However, the GT Mk IV wasn’t only made to provide the power and speed of a spaceship. It’s also meant to be the ultimate track version of the Ford GT. It uses Multimatic Adaptive Spool Valve (ASV) dampers, wears Michelin racing slicks, and, according to the unnamed Ford voice in this video, makes 2,400 pounds of downforce.

In the video, you get to see the GT Mk IV in action and it both looks and sounds like a proper race car. It’s so low to the ground that it looks like it would scrape its front splitter on a Skittle and it changes direction with an immediacy that you only see in Le Mans cars.

Like most of us, I’m not the kind of person that can buy a $1.7 million weekend toy. But I hope the 67 people who are lucky enough to buy one use them as intended and bring them to local track days, rather than just locking them away in vaults to collect dust and dollar signs.

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