Rare racer speeds into Craig Ford
Even when it’s parked indoors, the Ford GT at Craig Ford looks fast.
The shiny red muscle car looks expensive, too.
Craig Ford is one of just a few dealerships in the state to have one of the $160,000 cars.
The dealership had its name drawn from a hat to get the retro-style automobile.
Ford is expected to make just 3,500 GTs.
“It’s a privilege to be able to have one sitting there,” said Burl McMillen, a salesman at the dealership.
The GT sits about 20 feet from McMillen’s desk in the Craig Ford lobby, but he said it’s not too much of a distraction.
“It’s a pleasant distraction if anything,” he said.
The Ford dealership in Rifle also had a GT, but when it sold recently, Craig became the only dealer in Northwest Colorado with a GT.
The GT is one of only three street-legal cars that can go more than 200 mph when it rolls of the assembly line, Craig Ford owner Jerry Thompson said.
The car arrived at the dealership Monday and since then, a steady stream of car enthusiasts has come to look at the throwback to 1960s muscle cars.
Thompson said no serious buyers have come in yet, but he expects to sell the car anyway.
“People are into these retro things,” Thompson said as he looked at the 550-horsepower, two-seater.
The GT resembles the Ford GT of the 1960s that surprised the racing world when it won the 1966 Le Mans.
“It came out of nowhere and blew everyone away,” Thompson said.
Craig Ford’s GT has less than a mile on the odometer, but Thompson said looking at it every day can be tempting.
“I’d love to get out there and give it a try,” he said.
Thompson said he won’t test drive the GT because when somebody spends more than $150,000 on a car, they want to know they’re the only person to drive it.
The GT will be in the Moffat County Young Life Car Show on Saturday in downtown Craig.
Thompson said he hopes having the rare car at the show will bring in car fans from throughout the region.
“Maybe this can entice them,” Thompson said.
Brandon Johansson can be reached at 824-7031 or bjohansson@craigdailypress.com
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