Couldn't agree more that the GT40 is a lot better looking than anything they've designed lately. Ford isn't the only company trying to market retro-looking cars thinking the public will buy anything that looks retro. The only good one, I think, is the Jag reissue of the S-type car (a Ford under the skin).
Look at the 70s Ferraris (Boxer, Daytona) compared to what they make now- the modern cars may be better but they don't have the looks of the old ones. Look at everything Lambo has made since the Countach- the last decent looking car they made was the Miura (inspired, by the way, by the GT40)And if you look at a Boxer, a Maserati Bora, a Miura, next to a GT40 there is still no comparison. They are great cars, but not as beautiful as a GT40. (I have no pretensions to neutrality here.)
The new Tbird is nothing to write home about, either, none of the grace and crispness of the 55-57 design.
I realize this web site is about cars, not musical instruments, but I can't help but observe that the big players in guitar manufacturing (Fender and Gibson) figured out a while back that their best designs were done in the 50s and 60s, and their most popular guitars and amplifiers are reissues of their earliest efforts, or updates of same. It was a great era for design, not only in motorcars but lots of other things as well.
We're fortunate, in a way, to be able to have modern recreations of the GT40 that benefit from better materials and machining technology but preserve the looks and spirit of the original design. After all, if you had your heart set on a Bugatti Royale or a Doble Series E, you'd have a lot harder time finding someone to reproduce it...
Jim Rosenthal
