Ford gives GT buyers a second chance

22 August, 2016

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“If you’re like me and you got rejected with your Ford GT application (just kidding), then you’ve got a second chance!”

I didn’t get rejected from buying a brand-new Ford GT, because I don’t have either the coin or the credentials. However, for those who did apply and did get rejected, Ford are giving you the opportunity to apply to own one of their latest GT supercars … again.

However, the third year of production will be for those who were on the waiting list last time as having first dibs. The fourth and final year of production will be for those who were initially rejected, as well as for new applications.

Why would you want a Ford GT you might ask? Well, here are some specs to drool over. Instead of running a V8 engine as you might think, Ford thought they’d install a 3.5-litre V6 600hp engine with two turbos, named the ‘EcoBoost’. Using an EcoBoost engine was to reflect the direction in which the company is currently heading, using smaller displacement turbocharged engines in a bid to reduce fuel consumption and emissions — in a Ford GT? Yeah, I thought it was odd as well.

Maybe I’ll start working on my application now for when I win the lottery this year!

NZ Classic Car magazine, March/April 2025 issue 398, on sale now

23 February, 2025

An HQ to die for
Mention the acronym HQ and most people in the northern hemisphere will assume this is an abbreviation for Head Quarters. However, for those born before the mid-’80s in Australia and New Zealand, the same two letters only mean one thing – HQ Holden!
Christchurch enthusiast Ed Beattie has a beautiful collection of Holden and Chevrolet cars. He loves the bowtie and its Aussie cousin and has a stable of beautiful, powerful cars. His collection includes everything from a modern GTSR W507 HSV through the decades to a 1960s Camaro muscle car and much in between.
In the last two Holden Nationals (run biennially in 2021 and 2023), Ed won trophies for the Best Monaro and Best Decade with his amazing 1972 Holden Monaro GTS 350 with manual transmission.
Ed is a perfectionist and loves his cars to reflect precisely how they were on ‘Day 1,’ meaning when the dealer released them to the first customer, including any extras the dealer may have added or changed.

You’re the one that I want – 1973 Datsun 240K GT

21 February, 2025

In the early 1970s, Clark Caldow was a young sales rep travelling the North Island and doing big miles annually. He loved driving. In 1975 the firm he worked for asked Clark what he wanted for his new car, and Clark chose a brand-new Datsun 240K GT. The two-door car arrived, and Clark was smitten, or in his own words, he was “pole vaulting.”
Clark drove it all over the country, racking up thousands of miles. “It had quite a bit of pep with its SOHC 128 hp (96kW) of power mated to a four-speed manual gearbox,” he says. Weighing in at 1240kg meant the power to weight ratio was good for the time and its length at almost 4.5 metres meant it had good street presence.
Clark has been a car enthusiast all his life, and decided around nine years ago to look for one of these coupes. By sheer luck he very quickly found a mint example refurbished by an aircraft engineer, but it was in Perth.

Ford gives GT buyers a second chance

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