Yahoo Autos 2017 Ford GT at Lightning Lap 2018
Lap Time: 2:45.5
Class: LL5 | Base Price: $494,750 | As-Tested Price: $525,750
Power and Weight: 647 hp • 3381 lb • 5.2 lb/hp
Tires: Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2, F: 245/35ZR-20 (95Y) R: 325/30ZR-20 (106Y)
You are not experiencing déjà vu. This is not the first time we’ve lapped a Ford GT at VIR. It’s not even the first time we’ve lapped this exact GT at VIR. Last November, in a single-day, single-car test we dubbed Lightning Lap 11.5, we turned a 2:43.0 on the Grand Course, which was then a new record for us. Thinking we could run quicker with more than a day’s exposure, we invited the 2016 Le Mans GTE Pro–class winner back. Considering there are still pages to go in this year’s coverage and there’s a 2:45.5 at the top of this one, you can guess how that went.
All the signs were pointing in the right direction. The GT felt familiar. The brutal torque pouring from the twin-turbo 3.5-liter V-6, the ferociously sharp handling, and the nearly perfect steering feel and feedback-all present and accounted for. But a quicker run wasn’t in the cards, and it wasn’t because of any of the problems we had before, which included a fuel-pickup issue, a weird hydraulic software glitch, and worn brake pads. No, this was all down to Mother Nature.
Back in November, the weather was much cooler. The GT just couldn’t make the same power this time around in the May heat. The GT was down 6.9 mph on the front straight. On the back straight, the deficit was 3.8 mph. Our cornering speeds were similar between the two sessions, but in looking at the data, the speed trace clearly follows a shallower arc. For the record, we were a tenth of a second quicker through the flowing infield this time.
It goes to show how much influence ambient conditions can have on track performance. People with better ears than us say that the sounds coming from one of Antonio Stradivari’s masterpieces change with temperature and humidity. It’s a shame the GT is such a sensitive machine, because it feels even faster than it looks-and it looks mighty fast. Lap record or not, it drives like a masterpiece.
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