Shelby GR-1 Inches Toward Production

The story of this year’s Detroit auto show might well be hand-me-downs. But take that in a good way: Pontiac’s Solstice is lending its Kappa architecture to Saturn for the Sky roadster. And Dodge’s Viper is sharing its chassis with the potential Corvette-fighting Firepower.

And then there’s the GR-1 concept from Ford, christened last year at the Pebble Beach concours and now, Ford says, another step closer to reality. Ford is showing off the GR-1 concept again at this year’s Detroit auto show with a round of improvements, a new polished-aluminum surface and more tantalizing hints as to the production future of the hot, GT-based concept.

The GR-1 (“Group Racer-1”) first showed its sleek face last year on the grounds of Pebble Beach, conceived as the latest installment in the fifty-year history of Ford’s infatuation with cars made and modified by Carroll Shelby. Shelby, 81, who first joined up with Ford in 1952, is one of the “key collaborators” on the stunning GR-1.

Most recently associated with the 205-mph GT supercar, Shelby was on hand for the introduction of the GR-1 last summer and no doubt will make an appearance this weekend in Detroit, too, as the evolved GR-1 bows on Sunday.

Shelby’s touch is maybe most evident in the GR-1’s powertrain, now confirmed by Ford to be a 6.4-liter V-10 with 605 horsepower and 501 pound-feet of torque, hustled to the ground through a six-speed, rear-mounted transaxle and 19-inch rear wheels. Early estimates on the GR-1 concept put acceleration to 60 mph at less than four seconds, and a theoretical top speed of more than 200 mph — and from those numbers, Ford hasn’t backed down.

For Detroit, Ford has mostly indicated that the GR-1 is moving closer to production by polishing its aluminum body to mirrored perfection. The shape, penned by Ford designer George Saridakis, captures the hard-edged glamour of Sixties racecars even though it’s essentially drawn from the GT supercar’s aluminum architecture. The two-seat, front-engined fastback doesn’t rest on the GT’s haunches — it draws out a teardrop-shaped style all its own that could prove a convincing sell over the Firepower or a 500-hp Corvette Z06.

The GR-1’s suspension, Ford says, has been developed to production-ready status. The concept car sits two feet shorter than the GT, on a wheelbase cropped some seven inches. And with the reduction in size, Ford also says it focused on making the GR-1’s handling more “mature” than the race-ready GT. To that end, the track has been cut by more than an inch, and bracing between the shock towers has been added to isolate the steering more effectively than in the GT. For better weight balance, the GR-1 sports twin fuel fillers and the battery has been relocated to the rear. Tire-pressure monitors have been fitted to the 19-inch rubber.

Ford did not, in its press release, say the GR-1 would definitely be produced. But what else are you to think when they describe the concept as a vehicle “that could succeed the Ford GT once its production cycle concludes”?

Exactly. Stay tuned for more news on the GR-1 and from Ford in TCC’s first day of Detroit auto show coverage coming later today.

Source: The car connection