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Ford New Models 2004 Mercury Brand Lincoln Concepts
© 1999-2004
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Ford: The making of the Ford GT 40
To build the low-volume supercar, Theodore assembled a team of performance engineering experts and supplier partners with the skills to deliver and the knowledge to get things done within Ford while operating outside the established system.
Core supplier partners include: Lear, the interior systems experts; Mayflower Vehicle Systems, which specializes in aluminum chassis and body systems; Roush Industries, developing the powertrain, and Saleen, experts in low-volume niche manufacturing systems.
The Dream Team The production version of the GT40 concept will be built for speed - on the road and in the system. The project serves as a lightning rod for consumer excitement and a catalyst for change within the Ford system.
With Theodore leading the vision, the development work is led by:
The vehicle development program began as a small skunkworks group of enthusiasts who toyed with designs for a Ford supercar on and off for several years.
When Theodore joined Ford in 1999, he brought with him the knowledge and expertise to create small product teams within a larger organization. His model of such a team allowed a focus on cutting through the bureaucracy and delivering creative products. And, when he discovered and joined the early skunk works team, he added credibility and clout that they never had. The first step toward developing a program for the car was to create excitement through a concept car. With Vice President of Design J Mays already dreaming up designs, the Ford GT40 concept car development went into full swing in the summer of 2001. Mays led the concept car design from its inception, appointing Ford's Living Legends Studio designer Camilo Pardo as chief designer of the project.
The concept debuted at the 2002 North American International Auto Show in January 2002. Response was overwhelming and, in February, Ford announced it would produce a version of the car for the street as a symbol of its upcoming centennial celebration. Building the Team To be the conscience of the team, keeping one eye on the customer and the other on the competition, Theodore tapped Neil Ressler, formerly Ford's chief technical officer and vice president in charge of advanced engineering and motorsports development. Ressler, who retired in 2000, has a global reputation as a performance vehicle guru and, at Ford, was the engineering visionary behind the Special Vehicle Team (SVT). Ford's SVT unit, under the direction of Coletti from its inception, produces high performance versions of production vehicles including the Mustang Cobra, F-150 Lightning and the all-new 2002 SVT Focus. Coletti, who provides day-to-day direction to the team, and Ressler went through the Ford Product Development organization to choose the engineering and business management talent to match the task at hand. The operation meant securing some of the best talent who were not fully committed to other critical product programs. "This was a 'physician first do no harm' proposition," says Ressler. "In some cases, we had to horse trade and plead with program managers to get some key people on-board. Of course, one of the best ways to tap top talent without affecting other programs is to look to the bench." Ressler is not the only recent retiree to join the team. In order to deliver the program on time, fully committed business managers, such as purchasing director Gary Quick, were needed. Ressler knew that Quick was fully versed on the Ford purchasing system and had a reputation as a "Mr. Fix-It" with suppliers. It's this mix of Ford engineers and business managers, retired and active, and core suppliers that will set the car apart from the typical Ford program and will serve as a test bed itself for different approaches to Ford's product development system. Dream Team Supplier Partners With the team in place, finding the right mix of Tier I suppliers was the next priority. The team worked through the system to match their needs and gain approvals in record time. The Dream Team includes the following core suppliers:
By joining the project, some of the partners who are natural competitors with each other are learning to work hand-in-hand under the daily direction of Coletti and Hanneman. All key players are collocated at the Dream Team's Dearborn headquarters, a modern technical center owned by Roush Industries, which also separately houses Ford's SVT team and Roush's aftermarket, OEM and Roush Racing powertrain development operations. "In order to meet our needs, we had to quickly cut through a lot of the red tape that typical programs have to deal with," says Coletti. "The leadership knows what it takes to do a car like this and we know the right people who, in turn, know their stuff. We went out and signed them up and we got support from Mr. Theodore and management. That put us ahead of schedule right from the start." Fast Development, Easy Access In order to shorten development and production time, the team found suppliers with core operations located within a 275-mile radius of its Dearborn headquarters. "This is taking the 'just-in-time' inventory theory to every aspect of the development," says Coletti. "It's 'on-demand' access to every key person, place and thing related to the program. There's no need to fly to Japan to review a part or a process at a supplier. They're all within driving distance." Completing The Living Legends Lineup The production version of the Ford GT40 concept, a modern edition of the historic, two-seat supercar, will add new excitement to the Ford brand when it debuts in 2003 and goes on sale in 2004. It joins Thunderbird, Mustang and the Forty-Nine concept as part of Ford's "Living Legends" lineup. Production capacity, vehicle specifications, performance numbers, pricing and the name of the production vehicle will be revealed at a later date. Ford GT40 Timeline
photos: Ford Motor Corp.
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