Lynx Motors is bringing back Matech’s wild Ford GT race car for the road

In 2010, Swiss team Matech Competition launched an FIA GT1 racing version of the Ford GT supercar (the one from the 2005 and 2006 model years, that is). Now two companies are partnering to build a road-going version called the Lynx GT1.

Texas-based Lynx Motors announced Thursday in a press release that it plans to sell 28 examples of the GT1, and they will be built at the Zionsville, Indiana, shop of Graham Rahal Performance, the dealership and tuner owned by IndyCar driver Graham Rahal.

 

Unlike the Le Mans-winning GT40 that inspired it, and the successor GT supercar that won its class at the French endurance race in 2016, the 2005 Ford GT was never intended to race. But after production ended, Matech Competition built some cars to run in the FIA GT1 World Championship, which launched in 2010 and also featured the Audi R8, Lamborghini Murciélago, and Nissan GT-R.

The series only lasted for three seasons, and the Ford GT didn’t produce any memorable results during that time, but it should make for an impressive road car. Lynx Motors promises to carry over the race car’s widened carbon-fiber bodywork and aerodynamic elements from Matech.

Each of the roadgoing Lynx GT1s will use a Ford GT chassis that Matech originally bought for its race cars. The additional 28 chassis were not part of the revived GT’s estimated 4,038-car production run. The engine will be axxxxx GT’s supercharged 5.4-liter V-8, which made 550 hp in stock form, to more than 1,200. Lynx will pair it with a Ricardo 6-speed manual transmission. In addition, three of the original racing engines are available. These are twin-turbo 7.0-liter V-8s making 1,400-1,500 hp that is sent to the rear wheels through a Sadev 6-speed sequential gearbox.

The cars shown here are already built versions based on the race car, and they are for sale separately. The Lynx website lists the Gulf Racing livery at $1.7 million. Lynx’s Jeff Jennings told Motor Authority that the GT1 will start at $1.2 million and range up to $1.7 million depending on based on how individual cars are specced. For instance, a base car will lack the big rear spoiler and dive planes. The cars will come with Indiana VINs.

Lynx provided the above rendering of the interior, which features analog gauges, a shifter mounted dead center instead of canted toward the driver, and a phone charging pad complete with Apple CarPlay in the center of the dash. Buyers will be able to choose seats from Recaro, Sparco, and Manthey Racing, and they’ll pick between three- and five-point harnesses. Jennings said buyers will be able to choose their interior colors, as well as their own gauges and trim.

Jennings said two of the production run have been sold, and the build time should take eight months. He noted that each of the 28 cars will be one of one in how it’s specced.

—Senior Editor Kirk Bell contributed to this report.