bruce canepa's take on the GT

[B O N Y]

http://www.canepa.com/SportsLuxury/Showroom/FordGTGallery.shtm

[SLF360]

Uhhh, ok, you paint the wheels black, peel off the side stripes, and........?
....paint the mirrors black, to look as fast as the Stradale carbon mirrors, I guess :lol :lol :lol

[FlorIdaho Chris]

It's just not doin' it for me. :frown

[barondw]

What is more interesting is the size of the rear tires. Can any one see iwhat they are better than my old eyes?

Dave

[DBK]

Call me crazy, but I like it. Racy. Not something I would ever buy mind you, but I'd definitely give it the thumbs up on the street.

[samthejeepman]

makes the vehicle look "old" before its time
like putting a cheap frame around the mona lisa
jmo

sam
#1451-red/white

[wonkawonka]

Don't forget the fisheye lens on the side of the side mirror. ;-)

[samthejeepman]

and i was just on my way to dans wholesale auto parts to get me a set of them there mirrors
"yeah right"

sam
#1451 red/white

[Neilda]

That was well spotted of you Wonka - I didn't even notice....

Moving the GT about in reverse gear is not easy - quite scary actually! Also the other day, I was at a road junction (bearing in mind we drive on the left over here) and had absolutely no vision of what was coming in the other direction. So I learned a new move....... open drivers door, put head out of hole in roof and drive off (slowly) with head sticking out! :lol Seriously!!

[wonkawonka]

That was well spotted of you Wonka - I didn't even notice....

Moving the GT about in reverse gear is not easy - quite scary actually! Also the other day, I was at a road junction (bearing in mind we drive on the left over here) and had absolutely no vision of what was coming in the other direction. So I learned a new move....... open drivers door, put head out of hole in roof and drive off (slowly) with head sticking out! :lol Seriously!!

Here's what I did:
My garage is relatively tricky to navigate. From the first day, I started working the car in it with only the mirrors to look at (no need to turn your head backwards, it doesn't gain anything ;)). I also would step out of the car and verify that the car was where I thought it would be.
What I found out was that I would underestimate the length in the rear and overestimate the length in the front. I also overestimated by a very large margin the sides of the car. After a few weeks I started getting a good feel for the dimensions, and now I'm ok to within a foot or 2. I'm nowhere near as precise as with other cars, but it's good enough.

[biffom]

Neilda,

I'm currently located in the US and at some point will be relocating back to the UK along with a couple of LHD cars that I do not want to part with.

I used to really enjoy driving country roads, but given the GT's substantial width, low height and LHD combination matched with narrow roads, high hedgerows and caravans - leaves me worried.

Any feedback as to what it is really like for day to day driving on British roads would be greatly appreciated.

[samthejeepman]

i'm likewise here in the states, one BIG conideration should be the windshield pillars
it is hard enough to see while driving in this country, how hard would it be over there ?????

sam
#1451 red/white

[Neilda]

Biff, here goes....!

Firstly the GT has a zero three quarter view, so it's a bit of a law unto itself for driving on the left in the UK. You can, of course, reverse it on the mirrors which is what I do for all of my cars - but that 3/4 blind spot is a big one on the GT. Angled T-Junctions (of which there are many) need handling with care.

Having driven many thousands of enjoyable miles in France in a right hand drive car - and driven the GT in the UK, I would say that it's not a massive problem to be in the wrong position.

To begin with it's terryfying, which leads to moderate fear, and then anxious calm. All in about 30 minutes. Dual carriageway or motorway driving is obviously really easy, country lanes are, as you've recognised, more challenging because you have to edge out slightly to get a view of the road ahead. Because the GT is armed with some serious acceleration, it's not difficult to enjoy on country roads. The trick is to lag back from the target car (!) a bit more than you normally would - and that gives you enough room/safety margin to edge out to take the look. You can also see up the nearside of cars - it's a novel and perfectly safe move.

The one thing that does happen is that you drift to the centre line a lot - I think because the hedge or pavement is closer than 'normal', you sort of shy away from it. Strangely, I don't do it when in France - I think it's being so used to being in the right seat perhaps. So it might not be an issue for you. I have the right hand mirror set so that I can see the centre line on the road and frequently glance at it to check my position.

It's worth stating the obvious and saying that there are no right hand drive GT's! So you have to keep it and you have to drive it over here! Why not import the GT first, see how you get on and then bring the others over? Leave them with a mate maybe until you're sorted out?

What are the other two cars? Left hand drive does NOT sell here in the UK (unless they are really special like the GT - and that's in tiny numbers). So I'd be really tempted to just bring the GT over (which you'll keep and love) and see how you get on.

Does this help? Neil.

[biffom]

Neil,

Thanks for that!

The LHD cars are a BMW Z8 and a DB6. I may end up parting with the Aston but I'm definitely going to keep the Z8 (even though the Brit press universally hammered the car!).

The drifting across into the center must really freak out your passenger :lol I recall being in London in the passenger seat of a large LHD Mercedes and involuntarily "breathing in" because it felt as if the driver was about to take the paint off down his side of the car. Hopefully I'll be somewhere between the two...

Carl.

[Neilda]

The BMW Z8 is an easy car to replace - with another Z8 - over here... The Aston is a classic, but I am a bit biased on Astons as I have a few!

[biffom]

The Z8 was never made in a RHD configuration. It was similar to the GT in that it was hand built with a limited production run. It even had a similar dealer gouging experience! I guess that the LHD market was deemed just too small to make it worthwhile.

Congrats on your DBR2 - imho it is one of the most beautiful cars ever built.

[Neilda]

Ooops! Now I feel a clot!! I didn't know that about the Z8, I've seen them around London but didn't realise they were LHD only.

So much for my advice....!

The DBR2 is lovely - a real work of art (I'm racing it at Goodwood next week - eeek!). I came within a gnats crotch of buying a D Type yesterday at auction - also a very beautiful car. I lust after the XJ13 and must have one!! So you can see that I look for a certain DNA in a car and why I had to have the GT.

Good luck with your move (back?) to the UK, it does sound like you have a few things to consider moving the cars back. Moving 3 back sounds extravagant (which is rich coming from me!) I simply mean that 3 LHD cars over here is almost one too many. If you truely love the Z8 then your original suggestion to lose the Aston seems logical. What a shame though!

Keep me posted, I'm interested to hear what you decide. Will you be based in the South East of England when you return? Obviously France is just a decent 3 iron from Dover - a LHD, some wine, the sunshine, some cheese..... need I go on?!

[Neilda]

There's a perfect replica that is officially recognised by Jaguar as an XJ13 - I unfortunately recently lost out on some bidding for it....

It will come up again - I'm sure of it!