Ford is one of the largest car brands in the world, and they've made some fantastic cars over the years. It was Henry Ford who revolutionized the car industry with the production line. But in all honesty, that's not very interesting. What is interesting is things like the 1966 Le Mans, where Ford won. That was a first for not only the marque but also for America. Other things like rallying and touring car racing, where Ford was dominant. Ford may be one of the most common car brands in the world, but they're also one of the fastest.
Ford was the company that brought power to the people, literally. Back in the day, if you wanted to go fast you had to buy a supercar, until Ford came along. Ford started to make affordable fast cars that were practical and easy to live with. Cars like the Mustang in the USA or the Escort RS in Europe. To make things even better, Ford has owned a few large companies over the past few years that have built some ridiculously fast cars. Here are the fastest cars the Ford group has ever built.
9 Ford GT Mk1
The Ford GT Mk1 (not the GT40) was launched back in 2004 and let's face it, this is one of the sexiest man-made objects ever. It's low, timeless, beautiful, and wild. Even inside, it looks and feels fantastic. However, strip all of this beauty away, and you find an engine from a pickup truck with a supercharger attached to it. It was also inspired by one of the best race cars of all time, the Ford GT40.
The 5.4-liter supercharged V8 pushed out 550hp and 500 lb-ft of torque. All of this was sent to the rear wheels via a 6-speed manual gearbox. It's a scary car to drive, and it will hit 60 in 3.8 seconds before topping out at 205 mph.
8 Ford GT Mk2
In 2016, Ford launched the second-generation GT. It was wildly different, due to the fact its design wasn't inspired by a 1960s race car. Nevertheless, it sure did go like a race car. Under the hood was a 3.5-liter Ecoboost twin-turbo V6, the same as found in an F-150 pickup truck. However, unlike the F-150, the engine in the GT is so much more brutal.
This car pushes out 647hp and 550 lb-ft of torque. All of this is sent to the rear wheels. As a result, this car can hit 60 in 3 seconds and top out at 216 mph. This is a fast car, and it is based on a race car that won its race class in Le Mans, meaning it has some serious pedigree.
7 Ford GT40
Quite possibly one of the best race cars ever made. Everybody knows the story between Ferrari and Ford. Basically, the GT40 won Ford and America's first-ever Le Mans victory back in 1966 and then further three up until 1969.
It packs a monstrous naturally aspirated V8. The winning cars in 1966 and 1967 had some wild 7-liter V8s. This was sophisticated European racing done American rock and roll style (despite the first three-generation cars being built in England).
6 Ford Sierra Cosworth RS500
Power to the people! Why should all the Bourgeoisie in their Ferraris and Porsches have all the fun, while us peasants get left behind in our rubbish Rovers and woeful Toyotas? This was on the mind of every British gearhead in the 1980s. Of course, hot-hatches existed, but in no way shape or form were they as fast as a supercar. If you wanted supercar speed, you needed supercar money, until the RS Cosworth came along in 1986.
In a nutshell, the RS Cosworth obliterated these Ferraris, and it allowed your local builder to afford something that could outrun the police - something these cars often did since they got stolen a lot. In 1987, 500 special Sierra Cosworth's were built to homologate the racing versions. It was called the RS500 and honestly, it was so fast that nothing could touch it. It had larger turbos and a larger intercooler. Peak power was at 224hp stock, but the engine could easily be tuned to push numbers of 500hp.
5 Ford Escort RS Cosworth
After Ford had embarrassed the 1%-ers in their Ferraris with the Sierra Cosworth in the 1980s, they decided to do it again in the 1990s with the Escort RS Cosworth. This was an AWD whale-tail monster that packed a 2.0 turbo 4-cylinder under the hood with 224hp. However, this engine was easily tuneable, so power was infinite for this car. It all depended on how much money you wanted to put into it.
It looked fantastic. Those wide arches, fat wheels, and that whale-tail spoiler. All of a sudden, the humdrum Ford Escort was transformed from a boring family car to something that made a Lamborghini look dull.
4 Ford Mustang Shelby GT500
Muscle is what Ford does best, and cars like the current GT500 Mustang prove that. It has a 5.2-liter "Predator" supercharged V8 under the hood with 760hp and 625 lb-ft of torque. That's a lot of power, but you can have more. The Signature Edition (SE) model has 800hp, which is hypercar territory.
The car features a 7-speed dual-clutch transmission rather than some traditional simple manual gearbox. This car hits 60 in 3.3 seconds and flat out will do 180 mph. Not the fastest top-speed, but this is due to the fact Ford has invested their time elsewhere in the aerodynamics and handling department. So this car can go fast around corners. It's one of the fastest Mustangs ever.
3 Ford Mustang Shelby GT350 R
Before the current GT500, there was the GT350, most especially the R model. It uses a flat-plane crankshaft configuration rather than cross-plane. Plus it has a 6-speed manual gearbox which is the only gearbox choice available.
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It's a track-focused car with a track-focused chassis. However, it sounds incredible. Like a proper muscle car. The R model has carbon-fiber wheels, the first-ever for a production car. It also has wider Michelin tires and better aerodynamics.
2 Ford Mustang Shelby GT500 Super Snake
This is a very rare car. The 1967 Mustang Super Snake was completely wild in every single way. It had a Le-Mans winning V8 under the hood with 520 horsepower. Yes, you read that correctly. A 1967 car with 520hp. It hit 60 in under 5 seconds, which even today is outrageously fast.
A stronger gearbox was fitted too as well as better cooling and suspension. As a result, this car became very sought after by collectors, and it sells for millions these days at auctions.
1 Ford RS200
Another race-car special on the list, this time from the mad world of Group B rally. This was a mid-engined four-wheel drive supercar with 444hp in Group B specification. It was scary to drive because it was lightweight, short-wheelbase, and very very fast.
You could buy one of these for the road if you had the cash in the 1980s. It was a race car for the road, with between 350hp and 450hp. The engine was a 1.8 liter straight-4 turbo in road form and rally form. The body was also made of fiberglass, so it was very light.