group of retired Ford engineers has created an interesting new speedster, the GDT (the Gene Dickirson Team).
It uses the chassis and V8-based powertrain from a 1994 C4 Chevrolet Corvette, and a bunch of other Ford parts, but neither radio nor cupholders. The V8 pushes out around 300bhp and 340lb-ft of torque, which gets the 1,500kg speedster to 60mph in 5.7 seconds, with a Vmax of 170mph. The one-off is likely to cost in the region of £200,000 when it is finally auctioned off.
The motivation behind the machine is Gene Dickirson who put together the nine-strong team about six years ago. He had always wanted to design and build a car from scratch. So he and his team have designed and built around 2,000 components and constructed the car's electronics.
November 2005 saw the car's completion, since when 700 test miles have passed beneath its wheels. The plan is to sell the car so the team can start on another.
Well done them!