These Ford GT owners look past the buddle wrap and drive their cars

No cruise control. No cupholders. Luggage space is miniscule. 

And as those with a heavy right foot have discovered, on cold tires it can swap ends in a blink. Oh, and those unconventional doors can bonk unwary heads and limit where you park. In tight places, you can’t open the door far enough to slither out.

Other than those minor critiques, this made-in-America supercar is pretty much perfect, and its eye-popping value adds to its allure. Those who own one consider this a marvelous bonus, and those who want one view it as a major barrier.  

At age 10, Kevin O’Hara’s first love was a Matchbox Ford GT40, a gift from his mom that he still cherishes today. Decades later, when he saw Ford’s GT concept car in person, he fell in love again. 

He knew that if this car was built, he absolutely had to own one. So when Ford announced coming availability, he had a serious discussion with his wife, Shellie. Promises were made. With her blessing, he visited a Central Florida Ford dealership in 2004. 

“I had dealt with them for years and had bought maybe 10 cars and trucks there,” Kevin recalls. “So I was delighted to make a deposit and order a GT at sticker price, which was then about $160K all in. This was a huge number for me.” 

When the first GTs hit dealerships, the I’ve-gotta-have-one-at-any-cost disorder inflamed buyers, so many dealers named their price. Kevin had no clue that would-be buyers were circling, vulturelike, over “his” GT until the dealer called: “Another buyer outbid you on that car.” 

Naturally, Kevin was not happy. Things got testy. “I told him I ordered the car,” Kevin recalls, “I didn’t sign up for an auction.” 

After some negotiation, he bought it for $160,000, including shipping, and this accommodating dealer restored Kevin’s faith in Ford’s sales network. In an extraordinary effort to outrun Hurricane Katrina’s fury along the Gulf Coast, the dealership trucked this car to Florida, by itself, in a FedEx 18-wheeler. When the big rig rumbled in and Kevin’s GT rolled out, folks showed up from blocks around. His neighbors still talk about it. 

The dealer explained that Ford was shipping over only one GT, and another enthusiast had offered $300,000. Kevin responded: “I told him, ‘That is insanity. I refuse to match that offer.’ So that deal was over.”  

As it turned out, Kevin got the last laugh. That $300K offer faded. Another would-be buyer soon followed with another huge-money offer, which also disappeared. The car remained unsold for nearly a year, while initial demand cooled and prices slowly slid back to “reasonable” levels.  

Meanwhile, Kevin had started another search. After tracking prices and gathering leads from fordgtprices.com (now the Ford GT Forum) and making numerous calls to dealers nationwide, he found a red GT in Houston loaded with all the options Ford offered: BBS wheels, painted calipers, McIntosh stereo and Le Mans stripes, adding $13,500 to MSRP.

Ingress might be a little tricky–watch your head on the tops of the doors–but once inside, the Ford GT doesn’t present many compromises.

“Every time I get in that car, I can’t believe I have it,” Kevin now says. “It’s a supercar, but it’s a regular Ford. It’s well mannered, not edgy or temperamental. It always starts, it’s comfortable, the a/c works and it doesn’t overheat.” 

He’s put more than 5300 miles on it, considered high in some GT circles, since examples still show up on the market with fewer than 500. He’s driven it to Daytona and Sebring and flogged it on those tracks, pronouncing it “plenty quick.” He drives it as often as his schedule allows, enjoying early morning breakfast runs on country roads. “I’ve turned that $5000 McIntosh stereo on maybe twice,” he says. “I’d rather listen to the engine.”

Ford’s recalls include fixes for potential A-arm failure, faulty axle bolts and air bag inflators. Kevin loves to tinker and changes his own oil (15.3 quarts). He tells us it’s actually a fun procedure, although removing the belly pans to access the drain plugs gets a bit tedious. 

Mindful of tire date codes, after seven years he pulled the wheels and took them to a tire center–even though the tires looked like new. The young crew was disappointed, because they were hoping he’d show up in the GT. “They wanted me to burn the rears off for their entertainment,” he remembers.

Early in his ownership, knowing this GT was a keeper, Kevin realized that certain components might become scarce and pricey. So he started picking up parts, including coil-over shocks, interior bits and underside spoilers and diffusers. 

“I read about owners breaking diffusers by backing over low things. I paid about $500 for a complete rear diffuser; now they are going for about $8000 if you can find one,” he explains. Headlight units are $8000 to $10,000; other parts are nearly impossible to find. Automakers generally make replacements for 10 years; reportedly Edsel Ford extended that commitment to 15 years for GTs, which expired in 2022. According to the Ford GT Forum, a few creative owners are reproducing several items.

These days, an owner who bought a GT for around sticker price in 2005-’06 and still has it is much admired, deemed an investment savant or just plain lucky. This car became an instant classic, and after 20 years prices still reflect demand. 

[Ford GT: Buy one now? | Buyer's Guide]

Of course, its brilliant design and similarity to the Le Mans-winning GT40s didn’t hurt. Neither did its stellar performance. It’s a homegrown, supercharged yet drivable beast capable of 200 mph. 

The hype generated by the “Ford v Ferrari” movie and the 2017 release of the second-generation Ford GT reignited the legend to near-mythic status. After a dip to around MSRP during the financial unpleasantness of 2008-’09, values climbed back and remain in the $350K-to-$400K range–depending on mileage and condition–with a 32-mile 2006 Heritage Edition, highly prized for its Gulf livery, selling on Bring a Trailer in 2022 for a staggering $760,000. 

But can you really drive it? Jeff Larson reportedly owns the highest-mileage Ford GT: nearly 150,000 miles to date.

While many owners choose to bubble-wrap this high-flying asset, a few enthusiasts drive the wheels off theirs. Longtime Ford/Shelby expert and GT registrar Jeff Burgy has recorded the particulars of every example built. (SAAC’s “World Registry of Cobras and GT40s” includes the 2005-’06 GT.) He regularly attends GT reunions, knows many owners and put us in touch with the recognized high-mileage king of GTs.

Jeff Larson, who resides in Renton, Washington, and Palm Springs, California, has logged an astounding 148,890.2 miles (not a typo) on his 2006. “I bought this car to drive,” he says. “Week one of ownership, I drove it 1000 miles.” He hasn’t slowed since, driving his GT through 48 states and seven Canadian provinces. “I don’t have a favorite destination,” he says, “but it seems as though Chevron stations have been where I stopped the most times.”

His road trips include all the GT rallies but one. He visits friends and relatives and commutes between his homes (only 1235 miles). He admits he’s experienced a few tight squeezes getting in and out (those pesky doors) and sometimes parks it in the porticos of hotels so night clerks can keep an eye on it. In 2013, at the GT reunion in Dearborn, he received a special award from GT engineers: His was the first production GT to reach 100,000 miles, and it recorded this milestone on Ford’s famed test track. 

Jeff is an active member of the GT community, including the forum. “It’s made up of some really great folks,” he says. “Most definitely not your average car club, and in my travels, I try to visit other owners.” He describes annual rallies as “reunions, just like a family that bought these special cars,” although this family met on the internet. 

Jeff raves about his GT: “It’s one of the very best in the supercar arena. It was designed and built by men and women who succeeded building the best modern supercar in honor of the original Ford GT40s,” he says. “I am very proud to own one.” And yet he treats it as an (almost) daily driver. 

During his travels, this roving ambassador cheerfully answers questions, encourages people to sit in his GT for pictures, gives them rides, and says he has allowed about 100 people to actually drive the thing. “I always tell them, ‘Don’t do anything serious with the gas pedal unless you have both hands on the wheel and the GT is pointed straight.’” Oh my. This man must have nerves of steel.

Perhaps he does. He’s driven his GT at speed at a dozen race tracks around the country, including Laguna Seca, COTA, Indy, Mid-Ohio and Daytona, and braved a close call while running the Texas Mile. As he passed the three-quarters marker at 186 mph (reached in 23 seconds), he says, “Something felt funny.” 

He immediately got off the gas and coasted through the trap. After he rolled back to the staging area, he discovered that the right-rear tire was flat. He had apparently picked up a screw that dislodged at speed, pulling some of the wires with it. He credits his racing experience for sensing the trouble. “The car remained stable even though I had a tire going down at extremely high speed,” he notes. He’s confident that without this mishap, he would have topped 200 mph.

Through all this heavy use, this supercar has been as dependable as a Honda. “My GT has been trouble-free, no mechanical issues whatsoever,” he says. He’s had it serviced by the schedule at Bowen Scarff Ford in Kent, Washington, and by Rich Brooks at his GT Garage in Rockwood, Michigan. Normal wear items include tires (three times as many rears as fronts), oil and filters, brake pads, rotors, spark plugs, hoses and batteries. 

Why is Jeff so generous with this rare and valuable beast? He puts it this way: “Ninety-five percent of the people have never seen a GT in person, so taking a bit of my time gives them a wow moment. They feel good that someone let them photograph and sit in a GT. I feel good doing it, too.” 

And what does he tell other GT owners? “I’m looking forward to the next 150,000 miles. It’s a masterpiece vehicle. Drive it often and far.” 

Kevin O’Hara put a deposit on a new Ford GT. Then the dealer found someone willing to pay more for the car. Eventually, though, Kevin got his GT.

Rich Brooks, aka the GT Whisperer, says more than half of the GTs built have passed through his shop. “I know of four or five in the 100,000-to-120,000-mile range, but Jeff’s is the highest-mileage GT I’ve seen,” he says. “On the other end of the spectrum, a few years ago I had an original-owner, 3-mile car in the shop, and last year I had a 5-mile GT in for service.”

It will come as no surprise to enthusiasts that the service needs of a long-dormant GT depend on how it’s been stored, including the temperature, humidity and start-ups. “We tell owners to start their GT every month or so and move it,” Rich says. “They don’t have to drive it far. The ones that have been sitting for five years without moving always need a lot more work. We can always tell the cars that have been started and driven.”

Rich tells us that frequently driven GTs experience fewer problems than cars that sit. Small gauge failure happens more often with long-dormant GTs, along with leaks from batteries, oil pumps, and a/c and power steering systems, generally caused by dried and hardened seals. 

He estimates that 20 to 30% of owners change their oil and perform other maintenance, while others depend on Ford’s service. “Owners always tell me that the last thing they want to hear from a service manager is, ‘I’ve been waiting for years to work on one of these,’” he says. 

As the GT approaches its 20th birthday, about 4000 (an undetermined number have been written off) owners face this growing dilemma: Drive or not? Several years ago, a GT Forum poster who had driven his more than 30,000 miles lobbied for putting them on the road: “The reason you should drive the 2005-2006 Ford GT as much as possible is because you can drive them as much as possible. They have a truck engine, a stout transmission and an extremely well-engineered chassis.”

There you have it. A world-class exotic that drives like, well, a Ford. An exceptionally pricy Ford.

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