虽然福特一直不断打造绿色形象，但这并不意味着他们忽略了关注车辆性能的市场。在2015年北美国际车展上，福特推出了皮卡Raptor（猛禽）与Shelby Mustang（野马）GT350 R的新版本，并首次推出了全新福特GT超跑，可谓赚足了观众眼球。

这款让人目眩的GT超跑，是对福特原版赛车GT 40的现代版全新诠释。原版GT自1966年起称霸勒芒24小时耐力赛，曾经勇夺四连冠。新版GT将于明年作为2017版车型正式投产，同时也将成为明年勒芒大赛的比赛用车，以此纪念GT 40首次跑赢法拉利50周年。熟悉这一项目情况的工业工程师们向《汽车工程》透露，新版GT将交由总部位于安大略万锦市（Markham）的摩缇马蒂工程（Multimatic Engineering）公司打造。该公司在碳纤维组件制造方面经验丰富，并且与福特赛车（Ford Motorsport）有着长期合作关系。

新版GT为中置引擎／后轮驱动，配有一体式碳纤维底盘（monocoque chassis）和20英寸轮胎，使用3.5升双涡轮增压Ecoboost V6发动机。福特的工程师们承诺，它将为7速双离合自动变速传动系提供超过600马力（447千瓦）的动力。这款发动机从福特用于代托纳（Daytona）原型机的赛车型V6上吸取了宝贵经验。

值得注意的是，作为车展上福特展台的主角，这辆车凝聚了大约12个月的研发成果。更令人印象深刻的，也许是在这样一个几乎人人都可以随时拍照并且上传网络的时代，福特的保密工作居然能够如此滴水不漏，没有一张照片被泄漏到网上，直到1月12日在北美国际车展上（NAIAS）正式揭幕，才让世人见到了它的真面目。设计副总监Moray Callum表示，车辆采用将每一条后挡泥板与车顶相连的飞拱造型，以及产生下压力的机翼几何元素，目前外观设计“大概完成了95%”。

采用如此复杂的外观设计，是对运用计算机辅助功能，提高空气动力学效率，以及加强发动机性能的一次很好的操练。根据全球性能交通工具总工程师Jamal Hameedi的解释，车辆中冷器被并入了受到F1赛车造型影响的后挡泥板前缘，其向车辆后部喷射的热气通过尾灯中心排出。设计中还加入了一个活跃的多轴后扰流板，在完全纵向伸展后能够同时提供下压力与拖曳力。

新版GT的前后铝制支架由碳纤维管连接，前悬架呈推杆型布局，并且使用碳陶瓷刹车片与Brembo卡钳。车门能够向上开启，从而使上下车空间达到最大。驾驶舱内的两个座位不可调整，与整个复合舱融为一体（integrated into the composite tub）。踏板与方向盘可通过电动方式调节，仪表板也是可以重新组装的。

该车搭载高性能V6发动机，其一大特点是采用了同时配备对喷（port-facing）和直喷（direct injector）的双燃油喷射系统。福特工程师表示，双喷射系统中的两个喷油器都能使用较小的喷嘴，从而在各种驾驶条件下更精准地控制燃油流量。相比之下，若仅使用大孔喷嘴，虽然在需要时能够增加喷油量，但控制的精准性会大打折扣，在需要较低的燃油量时尤其是如此。

在未来几个月中，《汽车工程》将继续报道更多有关GT的开发过程、技术应用与赛前准备的内容。

全新铝制猛禽（Raptor）皮卡

猛禽也许是在F-150基础上改装的车型，但是其全新第二代车型继续成为了福特高性能家族中十分引人注目的一员，并被看作是F系家族中的“光环（halo）”，福特卡车营销部经理Doug Scott表示。新猛禽沿用了F系列家族中其他兄弟们一贯使用的铝制车身，并首次采用了强度更高的钢制框架。车身比前一款轻了500磅（227千克），减重程度不及F-150（700磅/318千克），因为福特在猛禽皮卡上“加了”一些重量，以实现额外的功能，并搭载更牢固的车身框架。

和GT一样，新猛禽使用的也是3.5升EcoBoost V6发动机，动力比之前车型所使用的，按SAE标准计算动力为411马力（307千瓦）的V8发动机更加强劲，Scott如是说。他还透露，这一新款发动机还配备了真正的双排气系统。另外，尽管排量没有增加，但双涡轮增压V6发动机本身几乎是全新的，只沿用了少数原先采用的部件，而V6将逐步全面引入未来的车型。在新猛禽上还首次实现了福特与通用联合开发的全新行星齿轮10速自动变速器的应用，该变速箱以一种创新的方式与新型双速分动箱整合在一起。

与先前仅使用两轮驱动（2W）、低速四驱（4L）和高速四驱（4H）的车型不同，新猛禽增加了基于不同离合器运行状态的全时四轮驱动（AWD）模式。然而，当车辆自动进入4L或4H状态时，系统也会像驾驶员可选装置一样，机械化地锁定档位。当系统感知到合适的负载状态时，2WD模式同样也是驾驶员可选（driver-selectable）的，或者非常接近这种状态。而所匹配的分动箱则是由博格华纳（BorgWarner）为猛禽皮卡专门设计的。

猛禽的地形处理系统有六种模式：沙砾路面、公路路面、运动、标准、岩石攀爬和“baja”（如在沙漠中高速行进）。而这些模式并非通过旋钮切换，而是显示在仪表板上供驾驶员选择。

新猛禽比F-150宽6英寸（152毫米），悬架更长，有Super Cab和Super Crew两个版本。新车型拥有F-150的全部安全性能，包括自适应巡航和车厢照明（cargo box lighting），以及全景行车记录仪。

新车型还沿用了Fox高性能越野赛车减震器，但将活塞规格从先前的2.5英寸（64毫米）增加到了3.0英寸（76毫米）。

野马（Shelby Mustang） GT 350 R继续采用V8发动机

保留了V8发动机的福特高性能型新版野马Shelby Mustang GT 350 R，随时准备起跑的极简主义之作。在这款车上，福特不但省去了后座、音响、后备箱底板与地毯、备用行车记录仪、排气共振器，还放弃了空调，甚至连补胎液和打气筒也一并舍弃了。新野马采用碳纤维车轮，与铝制车轮相比可以减轻约50磅（23公斤）的重量，整车比前一款车型轻了130磅（59公斤）。

5.2升V8发动机是新野马的一大升级之处，按SAE标准计算可提供超过500马力（373千瓦）的动力。为这款发动机配备的是Tremec 6速手动变速箱。V8是福特使用的首个水平曲轴发动机（详见http://articles.sae.org/13709/），也就是说，其曲轴销呈180º，而非呈传统十字曲轴发动机中的90º。气缸点火双侧交替工作，从而能够减少废气脉冲的同时发生，加上对气阀机构校准与气缸盖的调整，使得这款高端发动机通风性能有所改善。

GT350 R的车身设计，包括经过改造的前饰板，导管式发动机托架（ducted belly pan），还有后扰流板上的微妙边缘设计，都能够增加下压力。悬架则使用了不断演进（continuously variable）的MagneRide（BWI集团的铁粉液电控减震系统），据称反应速度只需10毫秒，能够保证高性能运行的需要。

Ford’s ongoing development of a green image does not mean ignoring the performance market, and at the 2015 North American International Auto Show it introduced new editions of the Raptor pickup and Shelby Mustang GT350R, and dropped a genuine bombshell with the debut of the new Ford GT supercar.

First the head-spinning GT, which is a thoroughly modern interpretation of Ford's original GT40 factory race car that won the 24 Hours of Le Mans four consecutive years beginning in 1966. The new GT will enter production in street trim next year (as a 2017 model) as well as serve as Ford's platform for a Le Mans effort next year—marking the 50th anniversary of the GT40's first victory over Ferrari. Industry engineers familiar with the program tell Automotive Engineering that the new GT will be built by Markham, ON-based Multimatic Engineering, which has extensive experience in carbon fiber component manufacturing and enjoys a long relationship with Ford Motorsport.

Featuring a mid-engine/rear-drive layout and carbon-fiber monocoque chassis and 20-in wheels, the GT is powered by a 3.5-L twin-turbocharged Ecoboost V6 that Ford engineers promise will deliver more than 600 hp (447 kW) to a 7-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission. The engine benefits from learnings gained from Ford's racing V6 used in Daytona Prototype-class machines.

Remarkably, the show car represents approximately 12 months of development. Perhaps even more impressive in an era where nearly everyone carries a mobile camera with internet capability was Ford's ability to keep the car secret—not a single leaked web photo emerged—until its NAIAS unveiling on January 12. The show car's overall exterior form, with its flying buttresses that connect each rear fender to the car's roof and feature a downforce-generating airfoil geometry, is "about 95% finished," according to VP of Design Moray Callum.

The complex exterior is an exercise in careful computational work aimed at making the car aerodynamically efficient as well as enhancing engine performance—intercoolers integrated into the leading edges of the F1-influenced rear fenders eject hot air toward the rear of the car, exiting through the taillamp centers, explained Jamal Hameedi, Global Performance Vehicle Chief Engineer. The design includes an active, multi-axis rear spoiler that provides both downforce and drag when it deploys to full vertical extension.

The carbon-fiber tub connects to aluminum subframes front and rear. Front suspension is by a pushrod-type arrangement. The show car wears carbon-ceramic brake rotors and Brembo calipers. The car's doors swing upward to open to optimize ingress and egress. Inside the cockpit the two seats are non-adjustable, being integrated into the composite tub. The pedal cluster and steering wheel are electrically adjustable, however, and the instrument cluster is reconfigurable.

The high-performance V6 features a dual fuel injection system with both port-facing and direct injectors. Ford engineers said dual injection permits use of smaller nozzle injectors in each of the two systems to more precisely control the fuel flow under all conditions. This contrasts with simply using injectors with larger holes, that would allow the increased fuel flow necessary but would lose precision, particularly when low fuel flow rates are commanded.

Automotive Engineering will provide further reports of the GT's development, technology, and race preparation in the months ahead.

All-new aluminum Raptor

The Raptor may be based on the F-150, but the new second generation continues to be a full-fledged member of the Ford high-performance family and serves as the "halo" of the F-Series family, according to Doug Scott, Truck Marketing Manager. The new Raptor gets an aluminum body like its F-Series cousins and a new higher-strength steel frame. The vehicle is about 500 lb. (227 kg) lighter than the previous model, vs. 700 lb (318 kg) for the F-150, as Ford “gave back” some weight on the Raptor to provide additional feature content and upgrade the frame.

Like the GT, the new Raptor is powered by a 3.5-L EcoBoost V6 that makes more power than the previous model's SAE-rated 411 hp (307 kW) V8, according to Scott. A true dual exhaust is part of the new engine package. Although the displacement is unchanged, the twin-turbo V6 itself is almost all-new, Scott said, with only a handful of carryover parts. It will be phased in across the board. This is also the first application of the new 10-speed planetary automatic that Ford is developing jointly with GM. The transmission is mated to a new two-speed transfer case with a novel integration of its operation.

Unlike the previous model with just 2WD, 4L and 4H, the new Raptor adds an AWD that is based on variable clutch operation. However, when the system automatically goes into 4L or 4H, like the driver-selectable gearing it mechanically locks into position. The 2WD mode is driver-selectable or is very close when the system senses an appropriate load condition. The case is a BorgWarner design, exclusively for the Raptor at this time.

The Raptor gets a terrain management system with six modes: sand, on-road, sport, normal, rock crawl and "baja" (as in high-speed desert operation). Unlike others that are selectable by a turn knob, the Raptor's appears on the cluster for driver to make a pick.

The vehicle is 6.0-in (152 mm) wider than the F-150, has more suspension travel, and will be available in a Super Cab and Super Crew. All the F-150 safety-convenience features, from adaptive cruise to cargo box lighting and 360º camera also are available on the Raptor.

The Fox high-performance off-road racing shocks continue, but the new Raptor specs a larger piston size: to 3.0-in (76 mm), from the previous 2.5-in (64 mm).

Shelby Mustang GT 350 R keeps a V8

There is one new Ford performance variant, however, where the V8 remains king: the Shelby Mustang GT 350 R, a track-ready model that reflects a truly minimalist approach. Ford took out the rear seat, stereo, trunk floorboard and carpet, backup camera, exhaust resonators, even the tire sealer and inflator, and of course deleted the air conditioning. It is equipped with carbon fiber wheels, alone saving some 50 lb (23 kg) vs. aluminum, and the car is 130 lb (59 kg) lighter than the previous model.

A major upgrade is the new 5.2-L V8, which will be SAE-rated at over 500 hp (373 kW). It’s mated to a 6-speed Tremec manual. The V8 features Ford’s first flat-plane crankshaft (see http://articles.sae.org/13709/), which features crankpins spaced at 180º rather than 90º on a conventional cross-plane crank. Cylinder firing alternates from one bank to the other, which reduces overlap of exhaust gas pulses. In conjunction with changes to the valvetrain calibration and cylinder head, the result is improved high-end engine breathing.

The GT350 R's body is designed for increased downforce, starting with a reshaped front fascia, plus a ducted belly pan and a subtle lip on the rear spoiler. Suspension is by continuously variable MagneRide (BWI Group's electronically-controlled damping with iron-powder-filled fluid), with a claimed 10-ms response time for high-performance operation.