The history of Ford's GT supercars is a complex web of motorsport pedigree, creative engineering, and stacks upon stacks upon stacks of self-referential retro styling and ethos.
The original GT40 of course was well documented as a product developed to try and down-trail Ferrari on the race track (which it proudly did in 1966, with the help of a couple of capable Kiwis). Its sleek, low-slung design also ensured that it would stand the test of time as a style icon of '60s motoring.
Fast forward to 2004, and Ford releases the first GT. It's a wonderful modern rendition of the original — upscaled in every dimension, of course. But though it's competitive in its segment against rivals like the Ferrari 360, gone was the positioning at the 'hypercar' end of the scale, and its racing programmes were limited.
It was only with the current GT that Ford truly returned to its GT40 roots; what with a successful, explosive Le Mans campaign, and with track performance to match just about anything else out there. And now, a tuning company have unveiled plans to mesh the best of the new GT with the best of the old GT40.
The company is called Superformance, and in the build up to this year's SEMA event in Las Vegas on October 30, they've unveiled a render of their star show inclusion; a GT40 equipped with the 3.5-litre, twin-turbo EcoBoost V6 from the current-day supercar. They call it the Future Forty.
This sounds like a pretty lofty project, but Superformance are no stangers to the blue oval. They're known currently as one of the most highly regarded builders of replica GT40s in America, although these normally come with more traditional naturally aspirated V8s under the clam-shell bonnet.
The engine choice will no doubt get plenty of tongues wagging. Even now, a year after the Ford GT's reveal, certain Ford faithful still sulk at the choice of implementing a filthy V6 instead of a V8 or even a V10. But, the GT's EcoBoost engine has proven to be more than capable its motorsport application. And Superformance are set to make the one in the Future Forty even more lethal.
Click here to read more about New Zealand's first 2017 Ford GT
As standard, the 3.5-litre EcoBoost engine produces 482kW of power and 746Nm of torque. But both should increase with Superformance's addition of two Honeywell Garrett turbos and a Magnaflow exhaust. Although naturally, revised performance numbers haven't be specified.
Other changes somewhat unique to the Future Forty are its race-inspired livery and rear-wing. The eagle eyed will also have noted that it sports headlights much closer to those of the modern GTs than the original GT40.
Superformance plan to bring one of these beasts to SEMA for its technology showcase, but are yet to say whether more will be produced — let alone at what price.