Video: Matech Ford GT GT1 racer

The Ford GT was one bad supercar, one that could do business with the world's best and fastest cars. Matech Competition is a Swiss racing team that is quite fond of the GT, already having raced it to victory in the FIA GT racing.

For 2010, Matech has made some serious changes to it's GT and is eyeballing the bigger and better GT1 class. Check out the press release below for details, and the video for some seriously sweet tailpipe music.

Press Release

The 2010 Matech Ford GT1 unveiled

As early as 2009, before the regulations of the new GT Championship came into force, Matech Concepts started developing a new Ford GT1 based on the prototype fielded in the previous season. On the way to the Portuguese circuit at Portimão, Matech Competition stopped in Spain at the Ascari circuit to perform the roll-out of the new car. With Thomas Mutsch at the wheel, the first metres of the Ford GT1 went according to plan, just as the driver and Martin Bartek had been hoping: "The car is completely new. Not a single element, be it the engine, the transmission system, the suspension or aerodynamics are the same as those of the Ford GT1 from 2009. The roll-out was very promising, and we are confident with regard the forthcoming season." The next step will be the "balance of performance" at Portimão on 3 and 4 February, followed by further testing at the Alcañiz circuit where a handful of previously selected drivers will take the wheel of the Ford GT1. This first stage will then be concluded by the presentation of the vehicle to the press in Paris on 1 March.

The driver pairings...

To determine the final line-up for the cockpits of the two Ford GT1 cars, Matech Competition has invited seven drivers to participate in a comparative test in a "special" Ford GT3 on the Portimão circuit. In addition to the five men – Mathias Beche, Yann Zimmer, Borja Garcia, Casper Elgaard and Carlo Van Dam – the group also includes two ladies, Natacha Gachnang and Cyndie Allemann. ''Our goal, clearly, is to form two teams that are as strong as possible by giving young drivers, including
women, an opportunity to compete. For these tests, they will be driving one of our Ford GT3 cars on which we have removed the ballast and the air-restrictor so that it will handle in a similar way on the track as the GT1," explains Martin Bartek. After this initial evaluation, there will be some candidates for further tests, this time in the Ford GT1 at the Motorland circuit near Alcañiz. Jonathan Hirschi and Marc Hennerici will join this test as well.

Hand made Lamborghini built in a basement sees the light of day

This is actually old news, but it was lost amoungst all the mayhem between SEMA and the L.A. auto show. The story is so incredible, however, that we were determined to post this as a credit to the craftsmanship and amazing dedication that was poured into this project.



Seventeen years ago, Ken Imhoff watched Cannonball Run and became so enamored with the Lamborghini Countach in the film, he hand-built his own, in his basement. In what we imagine might be the most Jalopnik build ever undertaken, Ken designed and fabricated his own tig-welded frame, installed a thoroughly massaged 351 cubic inch V8 with a ZF-25 5-speed transmission, hand-formed the aluminum body over a meticulously measured and accurate body form, and finished it all off in a beautiful metallic gray. It took Ken 10 years to complete the project, and the results — as you can see in the gallery — are amazing. There's only one problem, when you build a car in a basement — how do you get it out?



Ken went into the project fully aware of the problem of a getting the car out of his basement — it was your classic ship-in-a-bottle project problem. When the faux Lambo was complete, he actually hired a contractor to knock out a part of the basement wall, build an earthen ramp, and then drag the car out of its subterranean workshop.



A little history on the car.

100% hand crafted Countach out of aluminum and a space tube frame. All aluminum body formed on a wooden buck using an English wheel. My own design space frame with Corvette hubs and custom A-arms. Mated to a ZF-25 5 speed. S.S. 180 degree headers GT40 design "bundle of snakes" Boss 351 bored stroked to 377 515hp 48 IDA Webbers. One off TransAm BBS rim shells to my own center section wheels. Custom brake package to fit 16" wheels. Fuel cell, twin aluminum sprint car (Howe) radiators. All aluminum interior with leather dash, Momo seats and 5 point harness, on board halon fire bottle. quick release steering wheel. Low to the ground at 2700 lbs. 100% body correct by using a real Countach to measure from. Over 10 years in the making.



Major kudos to you, Ken! It's folks like you that keep our hobby alive, and show that anything is possible with the right amount of dedication and time, not to mention money!