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Ford's 2016 GT: Iconic car born in a Dearborn basement

A secret underground laboratory evokes images of mad scientists or multibillion-dollar particle colliders to mind, not sports cars. But Ford (F) went to great lengths to keep its 2016 GT quiet and built just that.

In an unassuming basement corner of Ford’s Product Development Center in Dearborn, Mich., is an unmarked door that leads into the design lab, formerly a large storage closet. During the early stages of design, only 25 employees had access to the room and often worked at night or on weekends. They weren’t even allowed to tell their families what had them keeping such odd hours. The project had a codename: Phoenix.

The secret is out now, but there’s still a shroud of mysterious buzz surrounding the GT. When Yahoo Finance arrived for our exclusive tour of the design studio, we were escorted down multiple hallways, through back courtyards and down a very large elevator (made for transporting cars) to the room where the GT had come to life -- many of the Ford executives escorting us were visiting the lab for the first time and didn’t know what to expect themselves. When Moray Callum, VP of design at Ford, greeted us, he showed us the physical key he had to use to open the door -- key cards aren't secure enough.

The GT is a iconic car for Ford. First produced in the 1960s, the GT40 won the sports car endurance race 24 Hours of Le Mans four times in a row from 1966 to 1969. In 2004, the GT was revived to celebrate the centennial of the company. The current iteration of the GT was created to celebrate the 60th anniversary of Ford’s first Le Mans win—the new model is expected to compete in the French race next June.

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Only 250 models of the 2016 GT will be produced and will be priced to compete against Ferraris and Lamborghinis. While Ford won’t disclose how fast the cars will go, Callum assures that they’ll be “fast enough to lose your driver’s license many times over.” Cars at Le Mans typically go over 200 miles per hour.

Though limited in production, the vehicle is very important to Ford. “In a lot of ways, it’s a test bed,” says Callum. “We’re really proving out some new technology in this car in terms of manufacturing and other processes.”  The engine in the car is a developed engine from the F-150 truck, for example. He points out that the 2004 GT was built out of aluminum, a change that eventually trickled down to the F-150 pickup truck. The new GT will be built from carbon fiber “so you may be getting more carbon fiber in production vehicles in the future.”

In the video above Callum gives Yahoo Finance Editor-in-Chief Andy Serwer an exclusive walk through the GT design process. Watch to see how the GT evolved from a foam model to what it is today.

Related:

Ford CEO must balance creeping car technology and consumer privacy

Ford CEO: 2015 a 'breakthrough year' for the company

 

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