What's the story on SN?

[bitzman]

Any serial number nuts out there like me? Almost forgotten, back in '02 whn J Mays (Ford's head deisgner) showed the Concept GT40 to some Detroit Auto Show employtees he said it was going to continue the seerial numbers of the old GT40s

Buyt when the '03 Centennial models came out there was a new numbering system though the one I inspected (supposedly built for Bill Ford Jr.) had a decal that said it was a 6-cyl! So jump to 2005 and Ford says they are saving the first 15 cars (or maybe it was nine cars) for internal use but then they announce Jon Shirley (microsoft) bought the first one availalbe to the public, it being the 10th car.

So my question is: What are the serial numbers ranging from so far as far as cars for the public. I predict those '03 Centennial cars will never be on the market. Also anybody know how many they built so far? I know there was a period when they were holding a bunch for replacement of A-arms so they lost the 9 cars a day output level during that period.

Finally, Automobile Aficienado, supposedly a sharp new magazine, said they were going to make 4500 Ford GTs. I am afraid they didn't do their research. That would have been the number if they would have had an '04 model year but at 1500 cars max capacity for '05 and '06 that makes 3000 cars total.
I heard the last one they can make legally is up to Dec. 31st '06 or is there new info?

Thanks for any clues. Why do I care? Because I am just that kind of guy, always researching cars , how many they made of this and that. Can't remember my sister's birthday but I can tell you there were only three Mirage GT40s, etc.

 

[dbk]

As far as I know, the #001 Vin was taken off the car it was originally placed on and put on to Bill Ford's white/blue car. The original car was re-painted and sent out to be a tour/show car. Or at least this is what I was told at SSV. I'll check and see if that car really has that VIN later this week... I think you are right as far as the "9" number goes...

 

[ENZO BTR]

My understanding is that they were originally thinking 1,500 cars a year for three years, they they revised to 1,750 a year for two years because of the '07 safety/crash requirements.

But when I visited the factory they told me they were making about 2,000 a year for '05 and '06, maybe a bit more. But after I put "4,200" in my factory tour story I was asked to put the word "approximately" in front of it, and I got the sense that they still wanted wiggle room to change that number -- again.

I think they might pull a Carrera GT on us. Meaning Porsche cut the CGT production numbers and claimed it was for safety/legal reasons. I strongly believe Porsche was watching the market for $450,000 Porsche's dry up, and they hated the idea of those cars getting a reputation for sitting on dealer lots and/or having to be discounted (it seems there is already at least one in each AutoWeek being sold for between $410,000 and $430,000 -- all with very low miles).

So, I wouldn't be surprised if Ford suddenly cut the total number to something around 3,000 -- we all know there are plenty of GTs out there already for sale at approximately MSRP.

Just my theory. :confused I have no concrete evidence to back any of it up.

 

[bitzman]

The fewer they make ,the more they're worth

I don't know when you took your tour of the plant but Auto Aficienado, a magazine edited by Larry Crane, had a nice story on the Ford GT in their recent issue ('05 issue) but they too erronously said 4500 Ford GTs would be built.

I think that figure of 4500 was a calculated leap of faith that was perpetuated early when Ford promoted the three Centennial cars as '03 models. Everyone then assumed there would be '04s.

But by late '03 when there were no '04 Ford GTs heading toward showrooms, reporters should have started subtracting 1,500 cars from the earlier 4500 figure based on production capacity.

Actually the cut in the total benefits Ford dealers. The less cars out there, the more each one out there is worth. Translation: Even by the time they get their last Ford GT, Ford dealers will at least be able to fetch MSRP, which is unusual in these days of heavy discounts toward the end of a model year.

And of course the wild card for collectors investing in a GT for the long run is the Canadian and European cars. Supposedly Ford has to stop making U.S.-spec. Ford GTs because they don't meet some '06 regulation. But if that same regulation doesn't apply in Canada and in the rest of the world then Ford could still go on building them for those markets (much as the Pantera was built for nearly 20 years after Ford stopped importing them) . And then eventually you would have the curious situation where Americans who still want a Ford GT but missed out on the U.S. models would buy one outside the U.S. and try to bring it in. It should be much easier than bringing in a Euro. market Pantera because, like Bruce Springsteen, the new Ford GT was born in the USA.