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This vehicle was a special
SEMA (specialty equipment manufacturers association) vehicle. The Ford
GT was left with no budget for expansion after the A-arm recall but
Ford SVT engineer/designer Kip Ewing had a dream to make an open-air
version of the GT. He passed some sketches to key people at Ford of his
vision of how that transformation should look with little success. He
then decided to craft a small model of his design for approval. Having
shown the model to Hau Thai Tang, director of SVT, he gained the
support he’d been seeking.
Kip contacted Mark Gerisch, from Genaddi Design Group, regarding the
project. Mark has a history of working on cars that others are often
afraid to work with, and a long history of taking the top off of some
of the world’s finest vehicles. Mark’s response?,
‘Don’t make another call, I’m your
guy.’ Kip and Mark spent some time in design collaboration
with the designs that Kip had done. The car was done as an open-air car
with no top. Mark came on board with a design for a multi piece
removable hard top that he’d been anxious to do for years,
the GT gave him the perfect platform to finally realize that design.
The GT was taken to
Mark’s shop in Wisconsin where work was immediately begun to
have the modifications ready for the deadline of the SEMA show in Las
Vegas.
The result of the design being imagined by such a skilled engineer is a
perfectly sculpted compliment to the already beautiful lines of lead
designer Camillo Pardo’s GT. At top speeds; windows and top down, one can enjoy the open air of the finest
convertible currently made. No additional wind noise is heard and the
beautifully flowing rear buttresses flow down to the clear panel over
the amazing power plant of this supercar. The shape and flow allows a
person to drive full speed with so little wind coming into the
passenger area that a long haired person could actually wear their hair
down and enjoy the drive with no mess of knots to brush out at their
destination. And if the weather is not perfect, you can always strap on the soft top.
The core of the soft top is made of a three-piece carbon composite mold. These sections are professionally upholstered with a black canvas covering that allows the top to fold into 1/3 of the actual size. The ability of this top to fold allows it to easily be stowed behind either seat.
Additionally, one can park in a conventional parking space and still
have the ability to exit the car when they are unable to open the doors
to a full 90 degrees while maintaining the definitive GT40 style door
aesthetics. Blind spots are reduced and the more than happy driver can
finally be seen in the car of everyone’s dreams.
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