Product Explosion Enhanced by GT40

Ford Motor Co. has new product and is developing an attitude to go with it. “We want to dispel this notion that Ford's product pipeline is empty,” says Chairman and CEO Bill Ford Jr. “That got out there. Kind of got a life of its own. And it didn't matter what we said or did, that became a truism.”

The executive promises a “product explosion,” with plans to introduce: 20 new products in North America annually; 45 new products in Europe in five years; 20 new Premier Automotive Group models in five years; 36 new Mazda products in three years; and 25 limited-edition vehicles for North America this year and next.

Ford will build a production version of the GT40 concept unveiled in Detroit in January, says Chris Theodore, vice president-North America product development. Heading the development is John Coletti, director of Ford's Special Vehicle Team, with the help of Neil Ressler, former vice president-advanced engineering, who comes out of retirement.

Assembly of the GT40, to be priced over $200,000, will be at a dedicated production facility with “some” union involvement, likely in Michigan.