Yumcha

Yeah, you knew they would do a comparison between these two...I'm waiting for Car magazine to do a four-way comparison of the Porsche Carrera GT, SLR, GT, and the Enzo...that would be nifty!

Anyhoo, here's the article and Happy New Year's y'all...!

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The new Ford GT and Mercedes SLR McLaren
by Jim Kenzie

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When Enzo Ferrari rebuffed Henry Ford II's attempts to buy the revered Italian race and sports car marque bearing his name in the early 1960s, the American decided to hit back in the most pointed manner. He commissioned the fabled Ford GT40, which went on to whip Europe's best at Le Mans. Forty years later, a similar scenario may be playing out...

If "heritage" matters to buyers of up-scale cars, how do you explain the success of Lexus? Still, car companies which HAVE heritage go to extraordinary efforts to emphasize it.
Few car makers can claim the heritage of Mercedes-Benz - one of the founders of the company, Carl Benz, could honestly claim to have invented the automobile.

Ford isn't far behind - the world-wide behemoth recently celebrated its centennial year.

The two brands don't compete directly at too many levels. But starting in 2004, both will offer top-level sporting cars, each of which stakes a serious claim to the affections of up-scale buyers who want the very pinnacle of performance.

The 2005 Ford GT and the 2004 Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren may not appeal to exactly the same clientèle, but I'll bet more than one customer will have one of each.

Ford GT: No Retro Tech
The Ford GT is a purpose-built, ground-up, share-nothing-but-the-badge modern execution of the GT40 race cars of the sixties.

The look is more than just beautiful, or merely reminiscent; the scary aerodynamics of the early race cars have been tamed to produce stabilizing downforce at both front and rear in the production car.

The all-aluminium understructure is stunningly stiff and lissomely light, and clad in unstressed aluminium body panels. Ford hasn't released official weight figures, but the GT is expected to place only about a 1,550 kg (3,400 lb) burden on the earth's crust.

The Lincoln Navigator 5.4-litre, four-valve per cylinder, twin-cam V8 engine has been re-cast in aluminium, and a Lysholm screw-type supercharger added to generate what Ford will only say is "more than 500'' horsepower, and a peak of 500 lb/ft of torque at 4,000 rpm 80 per cent of that will be available as low as 2,000 rpm.

Situated race-car-like behind the cabin, and ultra-low thanks to its racing-derived dry-sump lubrication system, the engine drives the rear wheels through a British-built Ricardo six-speed manual transmission. The brakes are large, cross-drilled and ventilated discs with four-piston calipers by Brembo of Italy. ABS is one of the few electronic chassis aids.

18-inch wheels at the front and 19-inchers at the rear are shod with Goodyear Eagle F1 Supercar rubber. The race-car background stops at the cabin. While some of the appearance features of the racer are retained, notably the toggle switches and lovely perforated leather upholstery, the new Ford GT is fully-equipped, with air conditioning, power windows, mirrors and locks, anti-theft system, and an optional high-end McIntosh stereo.

The Ford was developed in conjunction with race car builders and campaigners Jack Roush and Steve Saleen.

SLR: A Legendary Forebear
The Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren also hearkens back to a decades-old race car.

Rudolf Uhlenhaut, head of both Mercedes-Benz passenger car testing and racing car development at that time (the mid-Fifties), decided to build a road-going coupé version of the open 300 SLR racing machine, which was essentially the then-current Grand Prix car with a body draped over it.

The so-called "Uhlenhaut Coupé" incorporated the design and technology of the production 300 SL 'Gullwing' coupe to the competition car.

The intention was to compete in the 1956 Le Mans 24-hour race, but following the tragic 1955 running of that event, where the 300 SLR roadster of Pierre Bouillon (better known under his racing pseudonym, "Pierre Levegh") plunged into the crowd, killing the driver and 82 spectators, Mercedes withdrew from racing.

Only two of these coupes were ever built. They were kitted out as road cars, and have been the stars in Mercedes' historical collection ever since, despite offers of as much as twenty five million dollars (US) from private collectors.

And now, this car has inspired the new SLR McLaren.

As with the Ford, and as the name implies, the SLR was developed in conjunction with a racing organization - McLaren, with whom Mercedes also partners in Formula One racing.

McLaren earned its stripes as a road-car builder with the BMW-engined F1, launched in the mid-1990s. Only 67 road-going F1s were built, but the car still stands as the ultimate in road-going car performance.

I doubt anyone would call the new SLR a pretty car. The proboscis is particularly inelegant, and sadly, according to spy photos and informed speculation, it will infect subsequent Mercedes models like the up-coming SLK roadster.

The droopy aspect of the rear end looks like a particularly sad grouper.

Still, no-one can doubt the visual impact of the car. We couldn't drive five metres without someone waving excitedly at us, and crowds gathered whenever we stopped during our three days of testing in South Africa.

The SLR utilizes a race-bred carbon fibre structure, to which are bolted an aluminium tubular subframe for rear suspension and differential, and an intricate cast-aluminium front structure to support the front suspension, engine and transmission.

According to Harold Dermott, head of Customer Care for McLaren Cars in Woking, England, the choice of aluminium over carbon fibre in this area was heat-related.

"As on the original SLR, the exhaust exits the car ahead of the doors, so the mufflers and catalytic converters are right beside the engine. This generates tremendous amounts of heat in the engine compartment, and the aluminium conducts it away better than carbon fibre could."

Further forward, carbon fibre again is used for the crash tubes which absorb impact in a frontal collision. The crash test performance of this car is said to have even surprised the engineers.

Despite all these weight-saving materials, the SLR tips the scales at a hefty 1,768 kg (3,889 lb.) That is about 200 kilograms lighter than the similarly-engined Mercedes-Benz SL 55 AMG roadster, although that car does sport a weighty retractable roof.

SLR: Automatic Only
The SLR engine, built by AMG, Mercedes' in-house racing skunkworks, has surprisingly similar specs to the Ford - a 5.4-litre V8 (Mercedes calls it 5.5, but at precisely 5,439 cc, either their PR department is cheating or their engineers can't do math - you guess which...), with aluminium block and heads, screw-type supercharger, and dry-sump lubrication.

But the Merc does with only one camshaft per bank and three valves per cylinder, plus two plugs per pot, in current Mercedes fashion.

Borrowing a phrase from Mazda's RX-8 and Nissan's 350Z, Mercedes calls the SLR's configuration "front mid-engine". The engine is located well behind the front axle centerline, with about half of it disappearing from view beneath the front firewall. Oh well, you won't likely be changing your own spark plugs on a car like this anyway.

Mercedes has turned the wick up on this motor considerably higher than Ford - output is given as 626 horsepower (by European measurement standards; it'll be 617 in Canada and the U.S.) at 6,500 rpm, and a torque plateau of 575 lb/ft of torque from 3,250 to 5,000 rpm, this time with almost 90 per cent of that peak value available from 2,000 rpm

With grunt like this, you really only need direct drive and a clutch, but Mercedes supplies a beefed-up version of one of their own five-speed automatic transmissions. Manual control is available either through Mercedes' typical side-to-side toggling of the shift lever, or via buttons on the backside of the steering wheel spokes.

Two sets of adjustments available to the driver, via rotating switches on the dash. You can select Comfort, Sport or Manual shift programs, the first two being slightly slower and slightly faster automatic changes respectively, the third leaving the shift points entirely to your discretion. The SLR will not upshift if the engine hits the red line; it stays there until you shift or, I guess, you run out of fuel.

The other rotating knob governs the speed of the shifts in Manual mode.

Three levels are available, labelled I, II and III, but referred to in the press materials as "Sport", "SuperSport" and "Race". Each setting shifts quicker than the last.

Rear drive, of course.

All-aluminium double wishbone suspension is de rigueur for a proper high-performance car - both of our cars have it. The SLR adds a Formula One-inspired antiroll bar, situated high above the suspension so as not to disturb the underbody air flow, critical to aerodynamic performance.

The SLR has insanely large ceramic brake rotors - 370 mm in diameter, 36 mm-thick and internally-ventilated at the front; 360 x 26 solid discs at the rear. Alloy wheels, 18 inches in diameter, in five- or ten-spoke form, are standard (buyer's choice) on the world-wide specification. A truly ugly, bent-blender-blade look-alike, low-rent speed-shop "turbine''-style wheel is optional, and is listed as standard spec for the US and, maybe, for us. Fortunately, you can "credit-delete'' these; do yourself, and on-lookers, a favour...

The SLR's interior is a mix of bespoke McLaren fittings - lightweight one-piece carbon fibre seat shells, with three different sets of pads available for drivers of varying girth, and exclusive trim materials, including a gorgeous red leather upholstery, designed to mimic the interior of the Uhlenhaut Coupe - and traditional Mercedes HVAC and radio controls, plus a steering wheel said to be unique to this car, but which looks like it came straight from the corporate parts bin.

The latter strategy was neither mere expedience, nor a cost-cutting measure, said McLaren's Dermott. "Unlike our F1,which was essentially the focussed distillation of Technical Director Gordon Murray's personal vision of what a high-performance sports car should be, the SLR is a team effort between Mercedes and us. The car was carefully researched, and prospective customers said they wanted a considerable degree of 'Mercedes-ness' in the car, which connotes their corporate brand values of comfort, safety and reliability."

Michael Scheer, Project Manager - Engineering for the car, says the Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren creates a new niche in high-performance cars.

"There are road-going race cars," he says, in which company he includes the Ferrari Enzo, Porsche GT3 and Lamborghini Murciélago, "and high-performance GT cars," by which he means things like the Aston Martin Vanquish, and Ferrari's 575M Maranello and 456GT.

"The SLR has pace that's equal to the race cars, and superior to the GT cars. Yet it is as practical and luxurious as the GT competitors, with 272 litres of trunk space and lots of equipment."

Tight-Fitting
Interesting that the Ford GT isn't even on the Mercedes-McLaren team's radar screen. Is this another example of Europe underestimating America?

The Ford is intended to be more of pure performance car than the SLR. But the driving experience in the two is not that far removed.

First, neither is easy to get into. In the Ford, you swing open the conventionally-hinged door, which - as in the old race car - takes a big chunk of the roof with it. Pivot, plunk your bum down on the seat, and pull your legs in.

Getting out is actually harder, since you have worry about not smacking that roof section of the door with your forehead.

In the SLR, the door pivots upward and forward, more like a Lamborghini than a 300 SL Gullwing. The massive side sill is reminiscent of the old 300 SL, though, and requires some agility to negotiate.

Once inside either car, you're definitely snugly fitted. The SLR feels more spacious; the thickness of the A-pillar and placement of the side-view mirrors makes the Ford feel somewhat claustrophobic. Both will be changed prior to production, says Ford.

Despite their relative lack of adjustability, the McLaren seats are remarkably comfortable. Some of the aluminium trim looks a bit tinny, to be frank, but at least it is real metal.

For what is purported to be a Grand Turismo car, the SLR generates a LOT of noise. Some of it - notably the wooffle of the mighty V8 engine - is welcome. Other components - road noise, tire roar, various clunkings from the rear suspension - are less desirable.

While exploring the car's performance potential, the driver may neither notice nor care; the passenger might not be so tolerant.

In interesting contrast, the ostensibly more aggressive Ford is actually quieter, if memory serves - that qualifier based on the fact that I drove these two cars several weeks apart, on different roads and tracks, in different countries - on different continents, actually.

Perceived performance is very nearly identical, the Ford's lesser power being compensated for by the lesser weight (the power-to-weight ratios are pretty close - 3.1 kg per hp in the Ford, 2.8 in the Merc) and by the Ford's manual transmission.

Both cars emphasize torque over revs. Both offer up a V8 bellow; the Merc is perhaps the noisier of the two. Ford hasn't published any factory-authorized acceleration numbers, but a sub-four second 0 - 100 km/h number is almost assured. Mercedes does quote 3.8 seconds for their car - in other words, probably a wash.

Top speed may be irrelevant in our market, apart from bragging rights.

Mercedes quotes 334 km/h for the SLR; the Ford shouldn't be much, if any, behind, provided the road is straight and cop-free enough.

In either case, your exposure time for a two-lane pass is measured in low-tenths of a second - you're out there, you're past, you're gone.

Fabulous.

The gearboxes in the early Ford GTs I drove weren't completely fettled - each one had its own quirks, but none were as slick and sweet as they likely will be when the final production adjustments are made. One huge surprise in the Ford - clutch pedal effort is no threat to the most tender of thigh muscles.

Not even a worry in the autobox Merc, naturally. The Manual mode is preferred for twisty-road driving as we encountered in the hills around the wine-growing regions of Stellenbosch; either of the auto-shift modes would be your Cape Town choice.

Regardless, shifts are never either sloppy or slap-in-the-face harsh.

Going the High-Tech Route
Both cars have amazing brakes. The Ford's use somewhat more conventional technology, to excellent effect.

Mercedes, as you'd expect, goes the higher-tech route. Even at what remains of the famed Kyalami Race Circuit near Johannesburg South Africa, where we were treated to hot laps as a passenger in an SLR with Le Mans veteran Chris Goodwin, the attending technicians were saying that they'd get maybe 60 laps out of a set of front tires, maybe 80 out of a set of rears, but that the brakes would last pretty much forever.

In road use, this translates into never having to say you're sorry, as the pedal fades to the floor and you careen into the guard rail - or worse.

The SLR also borrows the "Sensotronic'' semi-brake-by-wire system from the SL. Among other things, this will automatically bring the car to a halt in city traffic, and lock the brakes in a Subaru Hill-Holder fashion if you press the pedal hard enough at a stop.

But at low speeds, it also means lousy brake pedal feel, and very poor modulation. You'll feel like a klutz - and, worse still, look like one to your passenger - as you lurch and jabber your way through traffic.

They're also noisy, squealing embarrassingly in gentle use.

Once you are on the open road and leaning on the pedal, they are fantastic.

Mercedes says this is a justifiable compromise, but cars like high-performance Porsche and Ferrari models - and the Ford GT - manage this balance much better.

Too much technology, perhaps?

The SLR also has an adjustable rear wing, which the driver can deploy manually, or which automatically angles itself to about ten degrees at speeds in excess of 95 km/h, or to 65 degrees when the driver tosses out the anchors.

Unlike a similar feature on the old 300 SL, this isn't really an air brake as much as an aerodynamic downforce generator, adding some 167 kg of mass-free pressure to the car for shorter and straighter stops. Sadly, this device also completely blocks your vision out the rear view mirror. It's a sure bet that unless the guy behind you has another SLR (or possibly a Ford GT; neither scenario is likely) he ain't gonna be stopping as fast as you, and it'd be nice to be able to see him and possibly take evasive action before he demolishes your car.

The Straight Goods
Both cars offer outstanding handling. Mercedes makes a point of the SLR being "accessible", fitting it with all their electronic aids, including directional stability control.

The Ford GT doesn't even have traction control.

"During the development of the GT, I was driving a Mustang Cobra SVT coming home from the Woodward Dream Cruise," says Neil Hanneman, Chief Engineer on the Ford GT and an outstanding race driver. "We were at an intersection with a bunch of cool cars around, and my wife - God bless her - suggested I lay a patch. I revved the car up, dropped the clutch, and - nothing! The traction control just killed me!"

"I swore the GT would not embarrass its drivers that way. Its traction control system is the driver's right foot." The Ford's nose tucks in gently if you lift in a hard corner, but it's all beautifully controllable.

Chris Theodore, Ford's vice-president of Advanced Product Creation, says their intention was also to build a car that wouldn't bite you.

I had an unintentional opportunity to test this claim on the Gingerman Race Circuit in south-west Michigan. Hanneman had come with me to give me a few pointers.

"Try third gear through turn seven, rather than second," he suggested. "You can carry more speed out of the corner and let the car's torque do the work on the exit."

No problems.

Of course, I arrived at turn eight a bit sooner and at a considerably higher rate of knots than before. In the middle of that right-hand bend, I was forced to lift, or drive off the track.

Lift I did.

Uh-oh - the back end started to come around.

Counter-steering frantically, I managed to catch it. But the "reverse pendulum" reaction slide is what usually does you in cases like this; I even more frantically started dialling opposite-opposite lock. More through good luck that good management, the car stayed on the pavement.

In the SLR, the directional stability control system (dubbed ESP - Electronic Stability Program - in Mercedes-speak) would have bailed me out long before I ran into problems, as it did on at least one occasion when I got a bit over-excited on a South African two-lane twisty.

So, do you want your car to flatter you, to save your butt every time, or do you want it to allow you to prove that you're a pretty good shoe?

That may be the biggest difference between the philosophies surrounding these two outstanding machines. Mercedes-Benz has stated that they will build about 500 SLRs a year for seven years. Slap down a deposit on the 375,000 euro price (at time if writing, that's a shade over $600,000 CDN) and you can book a flight to London England, near McLaren's home of Woking, for pick-up some time in 2007.

Ford will crank out some 1,500 GTs for three years, when new proposed U.S. Federal crash test procedures may make continued production prohibitively expensive. As it is, the price ($150,000 US, or $197,000 CDN at current exchange rates) has to rank as the super-car bargain of all time.

As Chris Theodore put it when he gave the Ford GT's development team their overall mandate, "I want you to imagine you're sitting at a stoplight in a Ford GT, and no matter what car pulls up beside you, no matter how exotic, how much they paid or what badge it's wearing, you'll be able to say, 'My car looks better than your car; it is faster than your car; it handles better than your car; and I didn't get ripped off when I bought it..."

Would that be true if that car alongside was a Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren?

I wish I could be there to find out.