Ford GT

The second-gen Ford GT (2017-2022) was built as a Le Mans 50th anniversary tribute to Ford's legendary 1966 1-2-3 finish. Unlike the V8 predecessor, the new GT used a 3.5L twin-turbo EcoBoost V6 making 647 hp — controversial at the time but devastatingly effective, winning the GTE Pro class at Le Mans in 2016 exactly 50 years after the GT40's victory. The carbon-fiber tub, pushrod suspension, and active aero (including a deployable rear wing that doubles as an air brake) were pure race car tech. Ford only built 1,350 units over six years through a famously picky application process. In FH6, the Ford GT is a razor-sharp S1 track tool. It turns in with an immediacy that makes you forget it's turbocharged, and the active aero lets you corner with confidence that borders on arrogance. Seriously.

The Ford GT rewards prep above everything. You can't just wing a fast lap in this car like you can with an AWD competitor. Every corner needs a plan: where you're braking, where you're turning in, when you're getting back on power. Nail it and the lap time comes. Screw up by a few meters on the braking point and you're either wide and slow or sideways and slower. FH6's rewind is basically your driving coach here — hit a perfect corner, rewind to the entry, try it five different ways to find what the chassis wants. Once muscle memory kicks in, the car becomes a tool for carving lap times instead of something you're fighting.

Comparison drives tell you everything. Take the Ford GT through Lake District back-to-back with any AWD car in the same PI band. The AWD car feels easier — point, shoot, repeat. But check the delta. The Ford GT carries 5-8 km/h more mid-corner speed through every sweeper because it isn't dragging a driven front axle through the turn. That adds up over a lap. Through the fast esses at the top of Mountain Descent, the car flows curb to curb with a smoothness that AWD's front-axle drag disrupts. The tradeoff is vulnerability: rain, dirt, and kerbs that an AWD car ignores demand respect here. Pick your spots and you win more than you lose.

Launching the Ford GT is a negotiation, not a command. Too many revs and the tires disappear. Too few and you bog down. The technique: hold revs at 3,000-3,500 rpm (depends on surface), feed the clutch gradually on green, wait a full beat before flooring it. You'll lose the first 20 meters to the AWD cars every single time. By the 100-meter mark, you're reeling them back in. The Ford GT makes its time from 100-250 km/h, not 0-100. Build your drag gearing around that mid-range pull instead of chasing a launch number you'll never hit.

Handling rates at 9.3/10 for good reason. Turn-in is immediate without being darty, and mid-corner grip hangs on way past when you think the tires should've given up.

Brakes are legit a highlight — consistent, strong, and fade-resistant even in 10+ lap races. No joke.

The Ford GT has three distinct build paths. Circuit racer, drag specialist, all-rounder. Each one wants different parts and a different approach — decide before you spend. Prioritize: Race differential before engine work — getting power down clean beats having more power you can't use. Budget around 216,000 CR for this baseline.

Circuit build — Race tires, race suspension dropped to minimum ride height, anti-roll bars 2 clicks stiffer rear than front for rotation, full weight reduction, race differential. Throw on a splitter and wing for downforce — the PI cost is almost always worth the cornering gain. With bolt-on engine work (intake, exhaust, cams, turbo if applicable), PI lands around 936. Budget roughly 180,000-280,000 CR total.

Drag-strip special: drag tires, full power mods, longest gearing. Heat the tires at the line, manage wheelspin through first and second, and the top-end charge surprises AWD cars that got the jump on you.

A Racing V8 swap turns this into a tire-shredding animal. I'd only do it for drag builds or if you genuinely don't care about cornering. The weight penalty over the front axle ruins turn-in. A fully maxed Ford GT — every upgrade, no budget limit — runs roughly 280,000-450,000 CR depending on swap choices and auction house luck.

This chassis can handle more speed than the stock engine gives it. Once you've got the stock setup down, add 30-40 hp — the suspension copes with the extra pace.

Controller: set steering linearity to 44. Deadzone inside 0, outside 100. Vibration at 70%. These three settings alone are worth 0.3s per lap, fr.

Stay on asphalt. FH6 has tons of dirt shortcuts between roads, but this car's off-road rating means you'll lose more time in the dirt than you'd save.

Turn off the racing line assist once you know the track. The suggested line is too conservative — it brakes earlier and turns in later than the car's actual limit.

The rewind button is your driving coach. Nail a perfect corner, rewind five seconds, try it again with a different line. Repeat until it's muscle memory.

The 2017 Ford GT was a dominant S1 car in FH5 and it's better in FH6. The airbrake function is now visible and functional, and the low-speed traction issues from FH5 are mostly fixed. Still one of the best-looking cars in the game.