One to Buy: 160 mile Midnight Blue Metallic 2006 Ford GT
After the enormously successful GT programme that ultimately yielded four back-to-back Le Mans wins and a plethora of other significant victories, Ford was generally happy to offer its customers high performance iterations of mainstream models as opposed to purebred exotics.
However, the wait for a successor to the original GT finally came to an end when a second generation variant entered production during 2004 after having made its salon debut at the Detroit Motor Show back in January 2002.
Tapping into the popular early 2000s trend for retro design, this latest machine was a true homage to the original but proved much more commercially successful with a little over 4000 units sold by the time production was discontinued in 2006.
Of the six exterior colours offered to customers, arguably the most handsome was Midnight Blue Metallic which many customers elected to combine with painted white centre stripes.
Today, just such a car, and with a remarkably low mileage, is on offer at the DK Engineering showroom in Chorleywood, Hertfordshire.
One of six new GTs sourced from the US by a Ford dealership in Madrid and then converted to European specification by Roush EU, this particular machine was also optioned with the desirable forged BBS wheels, red brake calipers and McIntosh audio system that featured a four-channel amplifier, an 8-inch subwoofer and a tweeter in each door.
A two owner example from towards the end of production in 2006, it has covered just 160 miles and represents a rare opportunity to acquire what is effectively a delivery mileage Ford GT.
Reprinted below is DK Engineering’s description:
160 Miles
Four Option Car
EU specification
Ford allocated 101 examples to be built to EU specifications. Differences were slight and the cars tended to have fewer options than the USA supplied cars. Of the 101 examples; the three primary markets were the UK, Switzerland and Germany with 28, 21 and 19 allocated respectively.
Spain was originally allocated just one example. Feeling unfairly served, a Ford dealership in Madrid turned their focus to the USA and managed to purchase 6 cars from different dealerships in three different colour combinations. Each were highest specification four-option cars and were transported from their supplying dealers with delivery mileage to Madrid.
Ford tuner Roush EU were delegated to carry the conversion of the original 101 EU examples to conforming specification and as such, were tasked with converting each of the 6 cars. It was cheaper to fly out the technicians and components to Spain than transport the cars to the UK, so they remained in situ.
A hefty tax was need to then register the cars in Spain which meant instead that the cars would go into long term storage. In 2012, the dealership offered each of the delivery mileage cars to the now renamed marque specialist GT101 in Colchester, UK.
A client of theirs had wanted a delivery mileage example to join their existing car, but ended up buying four of the cars and importing them to the UK. The cars were put into storage in the UK and then independently sold over a number of years.
This 2006-built example has just 2 registered keepers from new, residing within two prominent collections. It was registered for the first time in 2018 in the UK having never been registered previously.
A four-option example, this Midnight Blue car is fitted with painted top stripes in white as well as matching side stripes, although the side stripes are decals on all Ford GTs. Additionally this example is optioned with the upgraded, lightweight BBS forged wheels, upgraded McIntosh stereo with subwoofer and red painted brake calipers.
With just 160 miles from new, this UK registered Ford GT has been serviced twice by DK since the sale to its current keeper and presents as a rare opportunity to acquire a delivery mileage example.
