A video of a Ford GT caning it around the Nürburgring surfaced on YouTube over the weekend and, according to Road & Track, might mean Ford is going for a lap record attempt in its 647-horsepower supercar.
R&T points out that this particular blue GT wears the U.K. license plate “GT17 FOE” meaning it’s very likely the same car Ford has trotted out at several motorsport and publicity events including the Goodwood Festival of Speed. We’d also like to point out that the same plate appeared on the blue car that Jeremy Clarkson drove when he had it on the “Eboladrome” test track in the U.K. on the second season of The Grand Tour. Along with that, it’s pretty transparently an abbreviation for “GT 2017 Ford of Europe.” So we’re gonna have to agree with Road & Track on this one: this is definitely a factory-owned car.
What’s more, the Ford in the video appears to be running in full-attack Track Mode which drops the entire car by almost two inches (quite dramatically). The publication also points to the presence of what is very likely telemetry-gathering equipment on the car’s roof as evidence that this isn’t just some leisurely, team-building day out for the employees of Ford Performance.
In July, Lamborghini reportedly smashed the Nürburgring production car lap record with its upcoming Aventador SVJ with a time of 6:44.97. The camouflaged, V12 Lambo apparently pumps out 759 horsepower and sends it to all four wheels. With a 112-horsepower deficit and only two driven wheels, the Ford GT has its work cut out for it…that is, if it really is going for a record here. We’ve reached out to Ford for comment and will update this story once we hear back.
UPDATE: When probed on whether or not the company is aiming for a record run with the GT, a Ford Performance spokesperson didn’t confirm or deny anything but simply responded, “We test many vehicles around the world but do not discuss details.”