ran with a ford gt40 today

[moldowan]

today i swa a gt40 up ahead of me in san antonio Tx. I caught up to him and we had a spirited run, after we got a bit out of the city traffic and on a 2 way HWy with few cars on it he rolled his window down and said let go for it!
from a 30mph running start up to about 130mph or so..... my audi pulled from him in every gear and kept pulling!!!
I was shocked really, i did not think the v10 would out run that beast as my buddy owns one and stock on the dyno he pulled more than 600hp (crank)

anyhoo it made my week!!!
-marc

[exhilR8]

What a blast! That can be an awful lot of fun, especially when everybody's a good sport about it.

I have a V10, and I'm often surprised by what it can outrun, even in a straight line. Drag-optimized Cobras even (if I use launch control, which I only do if the other driver seems really enthused).

[KfabR8]

today i saw a gt40 up ahead of me in san antonio Tx. I caught up to him and we had a spirited run, after we got a bit out of the city traffic and on a 2 way HWy with few cars on it he rolled his window down and said let go for it!
from a 30mph running start up to about 130mph or so..... my audi pulled from him in every gear and kept pulling!!!
I was shocked really, i did not think the v10 would out run that beast as my buddy owns one and stock on the dyno he pulled more than 600hp (crank)

anyhoo it made my week!!!
-marc

Wow. I didn't think that the V10 would pull a GT40. (edit - I believe it's Ford GT...) I got to drive one (Ford GT) a year or so ago and was very impressed with it's straight line acceleration. Was about the only thing I was impressed with, though. You can NOT see out of those things and you hit your head when you get out of the car on the door/roof thingy.

Have you taken your car out to Hiway 16 between Kerrville and Bandera? The section over the big hill, before you get into Medina is absolutely killer. Tight, twisty, rises and drops. Sweet stretch of road. For that matter most of those little roads out that way in Medina and Bandera counties are fun rides. Head over towards Tarpley, Leakey or Utopia too. Watch for bikes on Sunday morning, though.

I miss La Fonda's (Fredricksburg & I-10) beef fajitas... No real Tex-Mex mexican food here in Hell (Ohio).

[SebringSilver]

I've ridden in one of those, and it certainly got a lot of stares. But honestly, it didn't feel very well-built on the inside. I wouldn't trade an R8 for one.

PS: Surely the OP ran against a Ford GT, and not a multiple-million dollar Ford GT40.

[Bodhii]

Here is a TOP GEAR episode featuring the famous, 4 times 24 Le Mans winner, Ford GT40 against a stock Noble M400.

( Also shows the original 1983 Audi Quatro rally champion)

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q4qocLLmijY"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q4qocLLmijY[/ame]

[moldowan]

yes it was a 2005 ford gt.
yes i have driven the bandera back roads, my father in law has a ranch out that way and it is a fun drive out there!!

Launch control??? do the v10 manual geared cars have launch control too?????? i am a bit slow on the techy stuff in my cars, don't really know how to use allthe stuff, or care really. I just like to drive, and i'm good at it (track/racing, drag strip,drifting, etc...)

[KfabR8]

Manual trans - no launch control. R-tronic has it.

16's a blast.

[doccars]

Reading the posts on the R8 vs the Ford GT was quite interesting. I am fortunate to own both. Although the GT and R8 have a similar configuration, they also differ in many respects. I am friendly with the some of the engineers and designers of the GT. It was conceived as a retro of the famous GT 40. Refined but more of a race car without a lot of the electronic nannies. It was my understanding that this was the design intent from the get go. Since it was a short production run, never intended to be produced in large numbers or for more than 2 + years. A number have been wrecked due to the car being driven beyond the ability of some drivers. I have also seen the performance vary substantially dependable on the capabilities of the driver. As a daily driver I personally would probably find it a little more demanding than an R8 and not as forgiving. This statement is not meant to be a negative or positive for either vehicle just a reflection on their separate personalities.

The R8 on the other hand epitomizes a high performance German engineered sports car that will provide a compromise as both a sports performance car and a tamed all around daily driver especially with an R-tronic (sequential gearbox was unavailable in the GT).

Since I have a predilection for mid engine sports cars, I hope see the manufactures continue to develop and engineer these configurations.

[exhilR8]

I read that the 5.2 6MT has launch control too, at least Car & Driver said so, in the 2nd paragraph of this review:

http://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/..._maybe._page_2

Launch Control Procedure for 6MT according to c & d:

1. Turn ESP off
2. Put car in gear
3. Disengage clutch
4. Floor the accelerator (should settle at 5000 rpm)
5. Engage clutch and hang on

I assume no responsibility for the use of this information by anyone...but I would be interested if Audi did include a robotic program for progressing through the gears for maximum acceleration in V10 MT models.

[mark25]

Would a V8 MT have launch control as well?