1,024HP Galpin GTR1 is what a Modern Day Ford GT Could Have Looked Like [w/Videos]

This year’s Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance wasn’t all about mainstream automakers presenting their new studies or limited edition model; one of the most interesting exhibits at the world-class event was the Galpin GTR1, a 1,024hp coachbuilt Ford GT.

Designed by Van Nuys-based Galpin Auto Sports, the supercar is based on the Ford GT and shows “what the GT may have looked and performed like had it continued its evolution.” Ford built some 4,000 examples of the GT from 2004 to 2006.

I have to admit I wouldn’t mind if Ford made a GT that looked like this in 2013. The car has an all-aluminum hand crafted body that is 5 inches (127mm) wider compared to the Ford GT – which means it’s a very wide car.

Built by concept car builder Metalcrafters, the Galpin Ford GTR1 features jeweled headlights and taillights, carbon fiber accents and 20-inch forged aluminum knockoff wheels. It also retains the Ford GT’s signature elements like the double stripe that spans the entire body, the huge bonnet air scoop and the lateral air vents.

On the inside, the GTR1 features a machined aluminum instrument cluster, a McIntosh sound system, and hand crafted leather trimmed seats, dash, door panels and headliner.

Power – 1,024 hp to be exact – comes from a mid-mounted twin turbocharged 5.4-liter V8 engine that also delivers a gigantic 739 lb-ft (1,000 Nm) of torque. Galpin says the car can reach speeds in excess of 225 mph (362 km/h) and sprint from 0 to 100 mph (161 km/h) in just 6.8 seconds.

Stopping power is ensured by special brakes with six-piston calipers and full carbon rotors. An initial batch of six Galpin Ford GTR1s will be built, each priced at just over $1 million (€747,550). If everything goes according to plan, another 18 may follow bringing the total to 24.

By Dan Mihalascu

PHOTO GALLERY

VIDEO