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First sighting: 2016 Ford GT hits the road

2016 Ford GT prototype spied testingThat see-right-through-it bodywork is really quite strikingHeadlights are temporary on this Ford GT prototype2016 Ford GT won't quite be the 40-inch-height original but it will be pretty low nonethelessThose exhausts will change...Not a lick of paint herePanel gaps will improve for production

► All-new Ford GT prototype caught testing on public roads
► Early development car with temporary lights, exhausts
► Due for launch in late 2016, expected to cost around £250k

Here’s our first sighting of the all-new Ford GT supercar, on the public road with a test engineer behind the wheel.

An early-days prototype, it’s clad with ill-fitting body panels, exposed fasteners, temporary headlights and a complete absence of paint – and it looks rather fantastic, don’t you think?

Presumably those exhaust outlets will shrink a bit before launch?

Well, yes. They’re most certainly temporary, as are the tail-lights and headlights. That could be a clue that they’re going to change from the designs we saw on the original show car, or simply that they’re not yet ready to be fitted to this particular test car.

What hasn’t changed, however, is that incredible layered bodywork towards the rear. The extent to which you can see clean through the free space between the outboard radiators (uncovered by grilles on this test car) and the GT’s tapered central section is really quite striking.

Those equally temporary-looking mirrors appear smaller than the blade-like items on the original show car – let’s hope the driver takes care when he’s parking.

When does the production Ford GT land?

It’s currently scheduled for launch towards the end of 2016, after the new Focus RS has been brought to market.

While the iconic GT40 original and its 2004 reinterpretation relied on V8s with plenty of cubic inches to provide the power, the 2016 Ford GT gets with the downsizing times with a twin-turbocharged 3.5-litre V6, driving the rear wheels. Power is expected to top 600bhp.

While Ford hasn’t yet announced any official pricing plans, it has hinted the GT will be priced in line with the likes of the Lamborghini Aventador, suggesting you’ll need around £250,000 to get under those butterfly doors and behind the wheel. It’ll be a far rarer machine than the last GT, with numbers in the hundreds rather than the thousands. Only around 250 cars are planned to be built each year.

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