a) The Engine
Now this complaint has been beaten to death already, but since it is also my largest one, I'll add my 2 cents.
You know all those people saying that Ford "spared no expense" and that the V6 was used because of "packaging" and "efficiency"? Yeah, they're lying to you. Ford did it to save money. On a vehicle they're charging $400,000 USD for. Think about it. Anyone can up the boost on a pre-existing turbo 6-cylinder to make more power, and that's basically what they did here. The 3.5 Ecoboost in the GT shares 70% of its parts with the one in the F-150. The motorsport pedigree of the car is everywhere except in the engine bay. Motorsport-derived engines tend to have small displacement per cylinder, and rev super high to enable maximum power with minimum displacement. 3.5 litres isn't at all small for a 6-cylinder, nor does the engine rev particularly freely. If they wanted to make a proper sporting 3.5 litre, they should have developed a 3.5 V8, rather than skimping and using the V6. Look at McLaren. They make a very similar product, at a cheaper price, only lighter, with a V8 and a better interior, and, at 3.8 litres, their previous V8 had just 300 mls more displacement. A 3.5 or smaller V8 would hardly be too big an ask, especially since they've now worked with a flat-plane crank setup. Speaking of which, it's not like Ford is incapable of building a properly charismatic power plant - just look at the Shelby GT350 - the main reason it's taken the car world by storm IS that magnificent Voodoo engine. So the packaging argument is BS 'cause they could've always made a V8 small enough to fit. The efficiency argument is also BS because when your running that much boost, your fuel economy goes to shit as soon as the turbos are spooled. And in Track mode on the GT, they're constantly kept that way, meaning you'll be lucky if you get 16 mpg.
b) The Transmission
This is less an issue with the GT's transmission and more a complaint about how Ford has wasted their transmission R&D money. They developed a 7 speed dual-clutch for the GT, which is awesome, given that DCTs are the fastest, smoothest transmissions out there. However, Ford then goes and works with the competition (GM) to develop a 10 speed torque-converter automatic. Here's a radical, money-saving, idea - why not just develop ONE high performance transmission? They could have used the money they would have saved to develop a proper engine for the GT! And if adding more gears to improve performance and efficiency across the lineup was the goal, why not just engineer a 9-speed DCT like Acura did for the NSX? Then they could have the best automatic transmission out of all the American and avoided giving GM a leg up in the process!
c) The Choice of Race Series
On one hand, it makes perfect sense. The original GT40 was created to win at Le Mans, after all. However, things get more complicated when you put them in broader context.
Firstly, all of the "big boys" in the WEC (World Endurance Championship) compete in the LMP1 class (Le Mans Prototype 1), whereas Ford runs the new GT racecar in the GTE class, which doesn't currently contain any big-manufacturer competition for Ford, allowing them to dominate. This is sad, because originally the GT40 was built to stick it to Ferrari on the Circuit de la Sarthe, but now they're not really sticking it to any big manufacturer on any track. Back in the days of the GT40, Le Mans was seen as the ultimate test of a manufacturer's 'supercar cred'. Nowadays all the supercar heavyweights fight it out in the GT3 racing series instead. If Ford wanted to truly capture the "beating the best on their own turf" spirit of the original GT40 with the new car, they would've either entered it in GT3, or started an LMP1 program instead. As it is, running in GTE makes them look afraid of competition. Thankfully, BMW is planning on entering their upcoming M8, but that won't arrive for a while, ensuring Ford at least another couple years of dominance in that class. And what are the odds that once the Beamer arrives, and the road-going GT's production run is up, Ford will withdraw from the WEC all over again, lest someone truly challenge their crown? Not only that, but questions still remain as to how the car stacks up on the track compared to the other elite supercars with which it shares a price bracket. Ones that are lighter, and more powerful. Only time will tell, but I believe that once those results start arriving, the new GT will take a giant depreciation hit indeed.
And Lastly,
d) The Interior
Look at literally every other supercar in the price range. All of them have a better interior on offer for as much or less money than is being asked for the new GT. 'Nuff said.
Rant(s) over.
It would still be a great privilege to drive one and I still envy those who can afford one, but I'm not sure that it can live up to the hype Ford has created for it in the end.
