With a little over 4,000 examples made, the
second-gen Ford GT is hardly what you’d call “common” – but it’s not uncommon
to find them coming up for sale. The GTX1, though, is a very different story.
That’s what makes this such a rare opportunity. And its unique livery makes it
all the more so.
Following the concept showcased at SEMA in 2005,
Ford contracted the convertible-conversion specialists at the Genaddi Design
Group to build 30 examples of the GTX1 roadster – based on the retro
super-coupe but with a T-top evocative of the GT40 in which Ken Miles and Lloyd
Ruby won the 1966 Sebring 12-hour endurance race.
Apart from the open cockpit, the GTX1 was otherwise
mechanically identical to the Ford GT on which it was based, right down to the
5.4-liter supercharged V8 that sent its 550 hp and 678 Nm of torque to the rear wheels through a six-speed manual gearbox.
Only one of those 30 is known to have been done up
in Hertz-style black and gold livery, and that’s the one you see here. It’s the
24th example made, and also features smoked headlights and the signatures of no
less prominent figures than Carroll Shelby, Roger Penske, Henry Ford III, Edsel
Ford, Dan Gurney, Tony Kanaan, and both Mario and Michael Andretti. It also
just so happens to be one of only three fitted with the larger luggage
compartment, making it just a little more usable as a daily driver or for
long(er) road trips.
With all those elements in place, this GTX1 is bound
to attract its share of attention in Monterey next month when Mecum Auctions
sells it off to the highest bidder. Given how rare it is to see examples of the
GTX1 come up for sale, we couldn’t tell you how much it might go for. Mecum’s
never handled one before (as best we can tell), but RM sold one three years
back for US$ 330k, and the the last one we saw for sale carried an asking price in
excess of half a million dollars.
