Ford GT
The Ford Motor Company, founded in 1903, has developed a number of iconic cars over the years. The Ford GT is one of those memorable nameplates. The GT was initially developed as a concept car to commemorate Ford's 100 year anniversary. The secretive design effort was codenamed Petunia. The car was designed in homage to the Ford GT40, victorious with the 1-2-3 victory over Ferrari at the 24 hours of Le Mans in 1966. Six weeks after the unveiling of the concept car Ford announced there would be a limited production run of the car for the 2005 and 2006 model years. Initial production plans were for 4500 GTs but actual production numbers ended up being just over 4,000 vehicles.
The Ford GT is an amazing vehicle - both in terms and styling as well as performance. Backed by a 5.4L supercharged V8 the top speed of the GT is 205 mph. 0-60 times are in the range of 3.8 seconds. The body was assembled using a superplastic-formed frame, aluminum body panels, and a variety of other specialized light weight components. Cross drilled and vented rotors with four piston aluminum Brembo brake calipers keep the GT's 500 lb ft of torque under control. A Ricardo six speed manual transmission and a helical limited slip differential help keep the GT glued to the track. Legend has it that a modified GT broke the record for the fastest street legal vehicle with a documented top speed of 310.8 mph!
With that kind of power, it is not surprising that a number of Ford GTs have not made it back to the garage after a spin around town. One such GT was purchased as a salvage title car by Angels Camp resident Dan Schimpke. The previous owner used a high end storage facility in Southern California and had an employee transport the car for a smog test. En route to the testing location the driver lost control of the car and incurred enough damage that the car was totaled. At the time of the accident the car had only 2,800 miles on the odometer. Dan Schimpke was born bleeding Ford blue. Dan's father spent his career at Ford Automotive Assembly as Service Engineering Manager. Dan found his calling after moving to California from Michigan in 1981. He is a car guy through and through and has spent virtually his entire career in the automotive repair business. In fact, in 1987, Dan became co-owner of Beverly Coachcraft, a very high end auto body repair company based in Los Angeles.
Dan and the salvage title GT were a match made in Ford heaven. With Dan's extensive skills and resources, the repair of the GT began in earnest in 2023 with Dan doing all the work himself with the exception of paint which was done by his paint team at Beverly Coachcraft. The fit and finish on the car is a testament to Dan's knowledge and talent. After completion, the GT has seen track time with a professional driver at the Long Beach Grand Prix circuit with the conclusion that the car is 100% and then some. Cudos to Dan and his amazing handiwork bringing this gem back to life and sharing it with us up here is Calaveras County. By the way, next time you see the car, be sure to check out the license plate - PTUNYAH.
