Ford GT supercar production expands – again

There’s good and bad news this week for fans of Ford’s venerable GT supercar.

The good: Ford has extended production by another 350 vehicles, taking overall manufacturing output of the modern day marvel to 1350 vehicles.

The bad? Ford Australia won’t be capitalising on the added volume locally as the GT will continue to be restricted to left-hand drive.

Announcing the news this week, Hermann Salenbaunch, the director of Ford Performance, said the GT’s build run would now extend to 2022, two years later than planned.

"The response to our Ford GT has been unprecedented, with initial demand outstripping supply by more than six-to-one," he said.

"By extending the Ford GT production run for a limited period, we’re able to maintain the exclusivity of the ultra-desirable supercar while offering the ownership experience to a greater number of customers."

According to Ford Australia spokesman Damien Smy, the expansion of production sadly won’t be relevant to Australian enthusiasts.

“The Ford Performance GT is a showcase of innovation and technology, that’s benefitted models including the Ranger Raptor and the Focus RS,” he said. “We’ve showcased the GT at Bathurst this year, and brought it to enthusiasts at Motorclassica, but at this stage there are no plans for a right-hand drive model for our market.”

The Ford GT was first debuted at the 2015 Detroit motor show, where stakeholders confirmed production of some 500 examples. That figure was doubled in August, 2016, in light of an overwhelming orders list.