In the 1980s, Ford developed a secret supercar with Ferrari performance for a Corvette price. Then, it killed it at the very last minute.

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Ford began the decade with a mission to rebuild its reputation for performance. Its newlycreated Special Vehicle Operations division was messing around with the Fox body Mustang when executives hatched a plan in 1983: Ford should build a new midengine supercar to stick it to Ferrari like the GT40 did in 1966. Codename: GN34

The SVO team contacted Yamaha to build a new hipo engine, and it returned the iconic SHO V6. Next, Ford linked up with legendary designer Giorgetto Giugiaro to create a beautiful wedgeshaped body. After a lot of back and forth, it set up a track test with a GN34 mechanical prototype, a Ferrari 308, a Porsche 944, a C4 Corvette, and none other than F1 champion Sir Jackie Stewart to wring them out.

Amazingly, despite being a rough prototype, the Ford was the clear winner. The design was further refined through focus groups and production plans in Europe were finalized. It looked like a home run. But at the very last minute, the whole thing was canceled when exchange rates shifted and made building the GN34 overseas too expensive.

Instead, its budget was reallocated to develop a fourdoor version of the Ford Bronco… which became the first Ford Explorer, which pretty much changed the car market forever. But at least enthusiasts got something out of it: that Yamahatuned SHO V6, which finally found a home in the Ford Taurus SHO, one of the best factorybuilt sleepers ever made.

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